Hosted by: Mark Kilens, Founder at TACK
Speakers: Jenna Chambers, VP Marketing, Demand Science
Overview
If your account-based marketing (ABM) motion feels more like a marketing team fantasy than a full-company strategy, you’re not alone. In this TACK Insider session, we unpack how marketers can align with sales in ways that are tactical, sustainable, and actually work.
Jenna, a career marketer turned revenue leader, shares clear steps to get sales teams invested—from comp plans to customer journeys—without fluff or wishful thinking. Here’s the playbook.
1. Start With Buy-In—Or ABM Will Flop
Before you can expect sales to champion ABM, you need to get them on board in the first place. That means going beyond excitement and PowerPoint decks to real behavior change. Jenna outlines three reliable approaches:
- Incentivize it through comp plans: Structure commissions to reward progress in ABM motions—not just closed deals. This builds alignment from day one.
- Paint the future vision: Share data and case studies that show how ABM impacts ACV, time-to-close, and deal quality—but don’t rely on excitement alone.
- Start with innovators, not mandates: Find one or two sales champions who are open to change. Enable them deeply. If they succeed, others will follow.
“Your goal is to create fear of missing out. When other reps see someone succeeding with ABM, they’ll ask to join—not resist.”
2. Redefine the Sales Process—Together
ABM flips the traditional sales funnel. You’re often engaging accounts long before a need arises. That means sales and marketing need a new way of working—not just shared KPIs.
- Map new customer journeys: Don’t wait for inbound signals. Instead, define what early-stage engagement looks like and how to move prospects from problem-aware to solution-aware.
- Co-create sales cycles: Involve sales in defining how ABM cycles work. Think through different engagement paths—like targeting incumbents early or nurturing “white whale” accounts.
- Share responsibility: Codify what marketing and sales each own across the journey. Use a joint RACI model if needed, but always align on who does what, and why.
3. Build Smarter Account Plans
Not all account plans are equal. Great ABM plans focus less on internal goals and more on what the customer needs—long before they’re ready to buy.
- Anchor to the buyer’s North Star: Define what success looks like for the economic buyer six months post-signature. Then reverse-engineer how you support it.
- Map the full decision unit: Go beyond job titles—capture who influences whom, internal politics, and communication styles. Tools like Crystal Knows help.
- Treat account plans as living documents: As conversations evolve, update pain points, personality cues, and buying readiness in real-time.
- Use go-to-account thinking: Instead of a generic sales playbook, customize plans around what this specific account needs to move forward.
4. Equip Sales to Read and React to Engagement Data
Marketers often dump engagement data on sales without showing how to use it. In ABM, that’s a waste of time.
- Define what engagement actually looks like: Sales needs clarity on what to look for—intent signals, repeated site visits, content depth—not just demo requests.
- Match outreach to stage: A visit to your pricing page requires a different response than someone downloading an awareness-level ebook. Train reps to meet buyers where they are.
- Blend fit and intent data: Combine first-party signals (site behavior, content consumption) with CRM and RevOps insights to prioritize outreach.
- Use data to personalize, not just segment: The best reps integrate engagement insights into meeting prep and message strategy—not just for campaign planning.
5. Co-Create Everything: Messaging, Lists, and Motion
One big theme: Don’t let either sales or marketing operate in a silo. That includes selecting accounts, writing outbound messages, and interpreting feedback.
- Build your ICP together: Blend marketing’s data with sales’ front-line insights to build a shared definition of “ideal.”
- Tier your accounts: Define who gets 1:1 attention, who falls into clusters (1:few), and who gets light-touch 1:many.
- Write outbound messages together: Avoid fluffy marketing copy or pushy sales scripts. Collaborate to create outreach that starts real conversations.
Pull Quote
“Don’t write your account plans from your perspective. Write them from the buyer’s. That shift alone makes your outreach more personal and effective.”
Key Takeaways
- Sales buy-in isn’t a feeling—it’s a system. Incentives, peer proof, and small wins create momentum.
- ABM reorders the funnel—plan for earlier engagement and less obvious signals.
- Account plans should start before opportunities exist and center on customer outcomes.
- Engagement data only works when sales knows how to act on it.
- Real sales-marketing alignment means co-creating everything—from messaging to motion.