Introduction A bold strategy for companies that don’t want to wait around for revenue to show up There’s never been a more exciting or a more rewarding time to be in B2B sales & marketing. After decades of hunch-based, adrenaline-fueled, Hail-Mary revenue generation, we’re entering a completely new era. An era steered by strategy, tuned by technology and driven by data. It’s all coming together right now, as you’re • Across both – the lead-centric approach is or business development is giving way reading this sentence – a perfect storm of giving way to an account based strategy to a far better mousetrap: Account Based innovation that’s giving enlightened companies that aligns everyone around the deals that Sales Development (ABSD). an unprecedented degree of control over their matter most own fortunes (and an unfair advantage in the That’s what this is all about: a new sales marketplace). Put all three of these together and a hugely development role that lives at the center exciting model takes shape. And it works: the of a coordinated, integrated Account Based We’ve already experienced Phase One—a wave companies following this new model are Everything approach. of transformation in the people, processes and growing like wildfire and running circles around technologies that create and convert their old-school competitors. If you’re in marketing, sales or sales opportunities: development, this is the beginning of Pick any B2B company that has experienced an exciting new phase of your career. • In marketing – ideas like marketing automation, insane growth over the last 12-18 months. inbound tactics, content marketing, lead Chances are, they’re using the strategy that Hang on to your hat. scoring and nurturing have re-invented you’re about to discover. demand creation • In sales – the increasing specialization and This is Account Based Everything (ABE) – professionalization of sales development is and it’s driven by a new incarnation of the sales replacing cold calling with intelligent, laser- development discipline. Today, what used to targeted prospecting be called prospecting, inside sales, telesales 3