🕵🏻♂️ The ABM mirage
Why everybody gets excited about ABM, what is really required to make it work, and 8 pillars of ABM
My morning has started with a Whatsapp message from a fellow sales rep with whom we executed a year-long ABM program landing multi-million sales opportunities with companies like EasyJet:
This perfectly represents that status of ABM in 2025.
In this newsletter, we’ll cover:
Why the "ABM" everyone's excited about is just a glamorous rebrand of lead generation
What real account-based marketing actually requires (and why most teams run away)
The 8 foundational pillars of ABM program and where AI sits there.
Let’s dive in.
Drive pipeline THIS quarter with full-funnel ABM programs.
If any of these challenges sound familiar:
You are aligned in theory with sales but don’t do anything in practice aside from receiving wish lists from sales and sharing with them your marketing plan. In reality, you work in silos and miss the revenue targets and are being pressured by your executives.
You understand that your marketing and sales playbook is broken (mqls, gated content) but despite many attempts you don’t know how to fix it
Your outbound, paid ads and organic pipeline drastically decreased while CAC increased mostly because most of your market is problem unaware and not buying.
You lack brand awareness among target accounts and sales can’t get even a reply.
You clearly see that you're already behind your revenue targets
We can help.
We'll develop a custom full-funnel ABM strategy aligned with your resources, budget and stack and execute it together to drive results THIS quarter.
The ABM mirage that everyone loves
Here's what gets presented as "ABM" at most companies:
The Pitch:
Marketing finally understands sales needs
Sales can provide their dream account wish list
AI will automate most of the heavy lifting
Programmatic ads will create account awareness
Dynamic personalization will engage buying committees
Everyone stays in their lane with minimal process changes
Why leadership loves it:
Sounds sophisticated and modern
Requires minimal organizational change
Promises predictable, attributable, and scalable results
Fits existing budgets and team structures
Can be launched quickly with current resources
Makes marketing and sales working together
Why sales gets excited:
Marketing will finally target their accounts
No more random MQLs from companies they've never heard of
Technology will do the hard work of research and engagement
"Personalized" outreach sequences executed at scale will book more meetings
Why marketing buys in:
Clear account targeting replaces broad demographic campaigns
Attribution becomes easier with focused account lists
AI promises to solve personalization at scale
Display ads and email campaigns can continue unchanged
Success metrics remain familiar (opens, clicks, form fills)
Technically, what I described above can be defined as ABM (because the accounts and the personalization is there.) It's the perfect solution that requires no one to change how they work.
The problem?
It's not different from the lead generation playbook companies have been running for years - just with a shared account list and "personalized" subject lines.
But it's very different from how how enterprise B2B buyers actually evaluate and purchase enterprise product or services.
When this approach inevitably fails, teams double down on volume:
More accounts in the target list.
More AI-generated content.
More automated touchpoints.
More ad spend.
Until somebody is laid off, or the leadership takes the decision to shut it down.
How did we get there?
It all started with ABM platforms selling the enterprise pipeline miracle:
Buy an ABM platform
Get a list of dream accounts from sales
Launch programmatic display ads
Build dynamic landing pages where the account name and logo will be automatically changed based on the domain or IP
Create personalized outbound cadences
Easy to launch. 100% measurable. 0 work from sales.
The ABM mirage model created a false expectation that ABM is 100% marketing initiative where sales, product, CS, and subject-matter experts should do nothing.
The hype was picked up by many marketing agencies with junior marketers who NEVER had an experience of working, selling, or even talking to Enterprise B2B buyers.
They saw a new "predictable revenue model" that could be labeled as a high-ticket service. You just need to sound smart.
And it hit the mark!
It 100% matched executive expectations because it is just a small upgrade of a lead gen program their company ran for the last decade. And AI in 2025 just made it more “believable”.
GET ACCESS TO A NEW FULL-FUNNEL ABM 2.0 COURSE
What's included with the course access:
12 modules covering step-by-step ABM strategy development: goal decomposition, ICP, account list building, ABM team, warm-up and activation playbooks, reporting, scaling ABM and building a cohesive ABM & demand gen function.
Short explanation videos and "how to" examples. We believe it's better one time to see a practical example then listen to the theory hundreds of times.
5 orchestrated and ready-to-use ABM playbooks and a detailed explanation
Report dashboard for 4 types of ABM programs: new revenue, pipeline acceleration, expansion and churn prevention
Live case studies and examples of the campaigns we implemented with the clients of Fullfunnel.io in the past few years
17 templates to simplify your ABM strategy launch: ICP, revenue analysis, intent data tracking, account warm-up cadence, customer research, account scoring and prioritization, ABM budget planning and forecasting, account planning, reports, personalized offers, and many more.
Planning & Presenting a Pilot ABM Program to Execs and Sales Framework
Minimal viable stack recommendation and guidelines on how to use it to avoid ramping up budget and being pressured to show ROI for the purchased $50k software
What ABM actually is (and why it scares executives).
Real account-based marketing isn't a marketing tactic with sales support, enhanced by technology.
ABM is a cross-functional program that requires significant change management on how your organization identifies, engages, and converts enterprise accounts.
Here's what it actually requires:
Organizational Changes:
Structuring teams from horizontal silos to cross-functional operations: marketing, content, client success, sales (SDRs and AEs), subject-matter experts & product
*Learn more about cross-functional teams here:
Discovery calls, Sales Opportunities and Revenue as core lagging indicators. Account engagement and velocity KPIs as leading indicators.
*Learn more about measuring ABM here:
Joint planning and execution between marketing, sales, and customer success
Process Changes:
Incorporating ABM in your Go-To-Market strategy, not creating a new, siloed function
Adjusting sales processes to run account research, full buying committee mapping and regular engagement, leveraging marketing initiatives and content for nurturing, using 1st party and 3rd party signals to add value to the conversations and facilitate opportunity creation
Account selection based on a likelihood of creating a sales opportunity, not based on firmographics or “great logo to have”
Readjusting content strategy from "SEO-first" to "buyer needs first"
Creating 1:1 account plans based on 1st party research insights, not generic GPT research
Quality over quantity approach to account engagement: relationship-building activities that may not show immediate ROI
Regular program and account progression reviews, and strategy adjustments
Investing A LOT in brand awareness by engaging industry thought leaders, communities and partners via educational thought leadership programs
Resource Commitment:
An engaged marketing leader who is willing to drive change
Content marketer that understands account-based content strategy
Designer to support the content with infographics and visuals
Demand generation marketer that manages paid promotion aligned with the buyer journey
SDR / BDM focused on account research and engagement
Account Executive focused on 1:1 account plans execution
Subject-matter expert to share industry trends and provide insights about jobs-to-be-done, challenges, and KPIs of target buyer persona
*See a detailed breakdown of responsibilities here:
When executives hear what change management is required to make ABM work, they run away from it. And it's their choice.
But the companies that make these foundational changes are the ones generating consistent enterprise pipeline while others chase AI shortcuts and wonder why their "ABM" isn't working.
Here is a collection of our ABM transformation case studies:
The ABM Pilot Program With 60% Marketing-Sourced Enterprise Pipeline
Demand generation strategy: a 7-figure pipeline, 9 enterprise leads, 10x ACV
ABM campaign that generated $300k in revenue: step by step case study
ABM case study: 10 discovery calls and 26 active focus accounts from a pilot
Sales in ABM: Results and live case study with Jim Kanichirayil
Below, I’ll share the 8 essential pillars of every ABM program, and where technology and AI can help.
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Academy includes:
All our B2B marketing courses including ABM playbook, Demand Gen Playbook, LinkedIn Allbound marketing playbook and 11 more courses that aren't available publicly + all upcoming courses.
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Learn more and join the academy here.
8 pillars of ABM program.
1. ABM program goals.
There are 4 goals ABM helps to achieve:
Net new revenue - generate sales opportunities
Pipeline acceleration - win stalled opportunities
Expansion - upselling or cross-selling to existing customers
Renewal / Churn prevention - renewing contracts with key customers
Make sure to include all 4 campaigns in your marketing plan.
2. Account selection criteria / ABM ICP.
ICP includes:
Firmographics
Buying committee
Account qualification
Account segmentation
Account enrichment
When you nail down these fundamentals, you can leverage AI. Here are some of our use cases.
a) Account Enrichment & Qualification.
Instead of manually scoring hundreds of accounts, we use AI to check:
→ account qualification and disqualification criteria,
→ segment by tier
→ segment by likelihood to generate an opportunity.
b) Buying Committee Enrichment.
We map out the buying committee first in Sales Navigator. Then, upload contacts to enrich with:
→ Emails
→ Social activity
→ Semantic analysis of their profile.
3. Account List Building.
Engagement threshold to identify engaged accounts
Sources of intent and engagement data
Account-ICP fit
Product-need evidence signals
Make sure all accounts are qualified and fit ICP. Avoid broad targeting or creating a wish list.
*Learn more about selecting accounts for ABM here:
4. ACCOUNT RESEARCH AND PLANNING.
Account key initiatives, strategy, and goals.
The role of every buying committee in the strategic initiatives, their KPIs, needs, and challenges
Value proposition mapping and 1:1 account planning: how exactly your product fits their needs and what value it brings.
This is another area where AI can partially help. Lots of publicly available information can now be collected really fast with AI, including:
→ Strategic priorities and business challenges from recent news, press-releases, and executive posts
→ Necessary information for the qualification
→ Product-need evidence
What it can’t give you is the insights you can gain only through 1-1 interactions with the buyers. This should be the key focus for your SDRs.
5. ACCOUNT DEVELOPMENT.
Warm-up: how marketing and sales will create awareness inside buying committee, connect and engage with them.
Activation: how sales should activate accounts
Nurturing: how marketing and sales will stay in touch with target accounts
Most teams use AI & technology here to craft “personalized” outreach sequences and ads. While the use cases should be completely different.
a) Monitoring buying signals, account engagement, and product-need evidence, including:
→ Executive / specific position hires
→ Funding announcements
→ Tech stack changes
→ Product mentions
b) Buyer enablement by matching your content library to collected account insights:
→ Industry-specific pain points
→ Stage in buying journey
→ Recent challenges from research or conversations
6. TEAM AND SKILLSET.
We’ve covered it above already.
7. TECHNOLOGY STACK.
If you are building a pilot ABM motion, don't buy an expensive stack. Start with Sales Navigator and website traffic reveal software.
If you have robust processes and scaling ABM, consider more expensive software to enhance your processes.
8. REPORTING.
Define key metrics and leading indicators for all 4 campaigns.
Create simple dashboards to track campaign performance.
Align everybody on reporting.
*Learn more about measuring ABM here:
TLDR;
Most "ABM programs" are just expensive lead generation with account lists and AI personalization.
Real ABM requires organizational transformation that most companies aren't willing to undertake:
Cross-functional teams with shared revenue goals
Account-focused processes and KPIs
Deep relationship building over automated touchpoints
Quality engagement over volume metrics
Patient investment in long-term pipeline development
The companies that make these foundational changes generate consistent enterprise pipeline.
The ones chasing the ABM mirage wonder why their expensive technology stack isn't producing results.
The success of ABM lies not in your stack or budget, but in making necessary changes, setting up cross-functional teams, adjusting their KPIs, and enabling them to focus on meaningful account engagements.
Listen to Full-Funnel Live - 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝗕𝗠 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 $𝟳𝗠 𝗣𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲.
*If you want to attend the next live episode, sign up here to receive an invite. Usually, we host them every Wednesday at 4 pm CET (Central Europe) - 11 am ET (Eastern Time).
In the new episode of Fullfunnel Live, we dived into a must-see topic for anyone focused on account-based marketing - 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝗕𝗠 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 $𝟳𝗠 𝗣𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗹𝗹 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻:
How to adapt your strategy for 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 (buyers not active on social) vs. 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 (oversupply of content and outreach).
The difference between 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 and 𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲-𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 to identify high-conversion accounts.
How to run ABM and nurture buyers in markets with 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀 (2+ years).
The 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘃𝘀. 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝗕𝗠 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 and how to solve common team bottlenecks.
How to create 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁-𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 and support sales reps effectively.
What to do when neither marketers nor sales teams have deep product or customer knowledge.
How to leverage a common ABM framework and adapt it to your unique situation (team, market, product, etc.).
Finally, you will understand how to leverage a common ABM framework, and where and how to adapt it to your unique situation (team, market, product...).
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