My Experience Running High-Impact Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Campaigns

Planning, executing, and measuring ABM campaigns, including personalization strategies and multi-touch reporting.

Fishing with a net catches minnows. Fishing with a spear catches whales. This is how I execute Account-Based Marketing (ABM) to close 6-figure deals.

The Mindset Shift: Accounts, Not Leads

In traditional demand gen, you want 1,000 leads. In ABM, I only want 50 accounts. But I want to penetrate those 50 accounts so deeply that they can't ignore us.

I learned this the hard way when I generated 500 leads for a B2B SaaS company, but none of them could afford the product. The sales team hated me. I switched to ABM, targeted only the Fortune 500, and generated 10 leads. 3 of them closed for $1M+ ARR. The sales team loved me.

1. Building the Dream 100 List

The success of ABM is 90% list building. I don't just guess. I use data.

Technographics: I use tools to find companies using my competitor's software.
Intent Data: I follow companies that are actively searching for "Enterprise Security Solutions" (or whatever we sell) on review sites like G2 or Capterra.
Firmographics: Revenue > $50M, Employee count > 200.

Tool Requirement: Finding the right stakeholders is key. Social Search helps me find the CMO, CTO, and VP of Sales at these target companies.

2. My Multi-Touch Orchestration Strategy

You can't just send an email. You need to surround the account. Here is my "6-Week Siege" play:

Week 1-2: Air Cover (LinkedIn Ads)

I upload the account list to LinkedIn Matched Audiences. I serve them educational content—"How Company X saved $5M". No ask. Just value. I want them to recognize our logo.

Week 3: The Personalized Email

Now that they've seen the ads, I send a hyper-personalized email. Not "Dear Sir". I reference a podcast they were on or a recent quarterly report.

"Saw your Q3 report mentioned expansion in APAC. Here is how we helped [Similar Company] scale in that region."

Week 4: The Direct Mail Package

Physical mail is underrated. I send a high-value package to the decision-maker's office. A book, a handwritten note, or something relevant to their industry. It has a near 100% open rate.

Week 5-6: The Outbound Call

My BDRs call. But the script isn't "Do you have 15 mins?". It's "I sent you a package last week about APAC expansion...". The conversation is warm.

3. Personalization at Scale

For one client, we created unique landing pages for each of the top 20 accounts. `myselfanee.com/cocacola`, `myselfanee.com/nike`.

The page addressed them by name. "Coca-Cola's Guide to [Our Solution]". The logo was there. The copy spoke their language. The conversion rate on these pages was 28%. The industry average is 2%.

4. Measuring Success: Engagement usage

I don't track clicks. I track "Account Engagement Score".

Did 3+ people from the account visit the site? (+10 points)
Did they spend >5 mins on the pricing page? (+20 points)
Did they download the technical spec sheet? (+50 points)

When an account hits 100 points, it becomes a "Marketing Qualified Account" (MQA) and is handed to sales immediately.

Conclusion

ABM isn't a tactic; it's a strategy that aligns specific marketing efforts with specific sales goals. It requires patience, research, and creativity. But the ROI is unmatched because you stop wasting money on people who can't buy.

If you are ready to identify your targets, start by digging for their contact info with specific tools like the Email Extractor to build your initial outreach database.