ABM Isn't Dead—It Just Got Smarter: The 2025 Modern ABM Playbook
ABM skeptic on my client call: 'How can this work after all the 6sense hype?' Here's what I told him.
I was just on a call with a client this week where I've been brought on as their Fractional ABM Lead—my first ABM-focused title in years, honestly. It’s much more common that I’m brought on as a Fractional DDG where ABM is a small, but mighty part of my lengthy JDs. But anyway…during our kickoff, I was meeting a new member of the cross-functional team I'll be working with. Naturally, he was a skeptic.
He immediately, politely but immediately, mentioned the hype of ABM back in the 6sense/Demandbase/Terminus era. You know the one. The era where companies were dropping $100K+ annually on platforms that promised the world but delivered expensive lead scoring 2.0. His question was direct: "How can this actually work today, if at all?"
I get it. The ABM backlash is real. But here's the thing—ABM didn't fail. The implementation approach failed.
👋 Hi, it’s Kaylee Edmondson and welcome to Looped In, my newsletter exploring demand gen and growth frameworks in B2B SaaS. If you’re one of the 22 people that have subscribed since last Sunday, hello! So glad you’re here—you’ve just joined 2k+ marketers who read Looped In every Sunday.
The Real Problem Wasn't “ABM”—It Was the Approach
The stats don't lie: 97% of marketers report that ABM delivers higher ROI than other marketing strategies. Companies implementing ABM strategies have seen a 208% increase in marketing-generated revenue over three years. Ad-influenced accounts progress through the sales pipeline 234% faster than those not influenced by targeted advertising.
But if ABM is so effective, why are people saying it's dead?
Well mainly because hyped up posts claiming things are dead are all the rage on LinkedIn these days…but also because most companies got sold on expensive, all-in-one platforms that were supposed to magically solve their pipeline problems. Instead, they got complex systems that required dedicated teams just to operate, with minimal integration to their existing tech stack, lots of smoke and mirrors on how the tech itself actually delivered against the promises, and ROI that was kinda impossible to measure.
The evolution happening now? Modern ABM is about systematic, data-driven account targeting for any company with a defined Target Account List (TAL)—not just enterprise companies with massive budgets.
A Modern ABM Framework That Actually Works
After implementing this approach across companies from Seed to Series C, here's the framework that consistently drives results:
1. ICP Modeling: Building Your Revenue North Star
Most ICP definitions are trash. "All SaaS companies between 50-500 employees" isn't an ICP—it's a demographic spray-and-pray.
Real ICP modeling means:
Analyzing your closed-won customers for highest LTV + NPS scores
Interviewing your AEs and CSMs about which accounts are easiest to close and retain
Backtesting your model against historical data
I just worked with a client who thought their ICP was "fortune 500." After running this analysis, we discovered their real ICP was "hyper-growth mid-market SaaS companies showing interest in digital transformation." That one insight changed everything about their targeting and messaging.
Tool recommendation: Keyplay excels at ICP modeling—it makes the data analysis piece way less painful.
2. TAM Mapping: From Broad Universe to Focused Target
The difference between TAM (Total Addressable Market) and TAL (Target Account List) is everything. Your TAM might be 50,000 companies. Your TAL should be something like 1,000-5,000 accounts you can realistically convert.
Step-by-step process:
Start broad with firmographic matches using Apollo or Sales Navigator
Use lookalike tools like DiscoLike, Ocean.io, or Clay to find similar companies
Supplement with web scraping from industry directories or review sites
I typically centralize this entire TAM map in Clay because it makes the enrichment and scoring so much cleaner.
One Series B client reduced their "addressable market" by 60% using this approach but increased conversion rates by 40% because they were finally targeting companies that actually needed their solution.
3. Account Research + Tiering: Quality Over Quantity Every Time
Not every account deserves the same level of attention. Smart resource allocation starts with proper tiering based on:
Firmographics: Company size, industry, growth stage, etc.
Technographics: Current tech stack, implementation complexity, etc.
Account fit signals: Recent funding, hiring patterns, tech changes, etc.
Tiering framework I use:
Tier 1: Highest fit + highest revenue potential (get the white-glove treatment)
Tier 2: Good fit, moderate revenue potential (automated but personalized)
Tier 3: Fits ICP but lower priority (mostly automated)
Upload this enriched TAL to your CRM and focus your ad spend on Tier 1 accounts. This is where the magic happens—you're not spraying and praying anymore.
4. Signal Tracking: The New Lead Scoring (But Actually Useful)
Forget traditional lead scoring. Modern ABM is about orchestrating multiple signals across three categories:
1st-Party Signals: Data you own
CRM engagement, webinar attendance, content downloads
Product usage patterns, support ticket themes
2nd-Party Signals: Exclusive data partnerships
Ad engagement data, review site activity
Partner ecosystem interactions
3rd-Party Signals: Public data goldmine
Social media engagement, job postings, tech stack changes
Industry news, funding announcements
Send the most important signals to your CRM and set up Slack notifications for high-value triggers. But here's the key—only track signals that correlate with closed deals. Everything else is just noise.
5. Awareness Scoring: Beyond MQL/SQL to AIDA
Traditional lead stages are broken for account-based strategies. Instead, I use the AIDA model to track account progression:
Unaware → Attention → Interest → Desire → Action
Unaware: Account fits ICP but no known engagement
Attention: Initial touchpoint—visited website, opened email
Interest: Deeper engagement—downloaded content, attended webinar
Desire: Evaluation mode—requested demo, pricing page visits
Action: Ready to buy—multiple stakeholders engaged, trial started
This gives your sales team a much clearer picture of where to focus their efforts. Are you moving warm accounts through the pipeline, or do you need to generate awareness with net-new accounts?
6. Contact Sourcing: The Complete Stakeholder Map
Avoid the classic mistake of focusing only on decision-makers. B2B purchases involve buying committees, and you need intel on the entire group.
Persona tiering I recommend:
Tier 1: Decision Makers (budget authority)
Tier 2: Champions (internal advocates)
Tier 3: End Users (product users)
Upload the entire stakeholder map to your CRM, but enrich phone numbers only for Tier 1 and Tier 2 contacts. This saves budget while ensuring you can reach the people who actually matter.
7. Demand Gen: Resource Allocation Based on Expected Return
Here's where modern ABM gets strategic. With all your account and contact data, you can deploy resources based on proven ROI:
1:1 Plays for Tier 1 accounts:
Warm introductions through mutual connections
Personalized direct mail and gifting campaigns
Exclusive event invitations and dinners
Custom videos and personalized microsites
Manual outreach from senior team members
1:Many Plays for Tier 2 and 3:
Automated but personalized email sequences
Targeted social media content and ads
On-site personalization and content
Retargeting campaigns across channels
The beauty is matching investment level to account potential. Your Tier 1 accounts might get a $500 gifting campaign, while Tier 3 gets a $5 automated email sequence.
8. Prioritized Sales Process: All Your Data in One Place
By this point, your CRM contains:
Enriched Target Account List with scoring
Real-time intent signals and engagement data
AIDA-based awareness scores
Complete tiered stakeholder maps
This enables your sales team to prioritize effectively. No more "spray-and-pray" outbound or hoping the "right" leads come inbound.
Sales enablement becomes laser-focused:
Task workflows triggered by high-intent signals
Account digests with recent activity and context
Signal-based playbooks (e.g., "recent funding" play)
Segment-specific talk tracks and resources
Getting Started…
Look, I'm not going to sugarcoat this. Setting up modern ABM properly takes work. But the alternative—continuing to burn budget on generic campaigns while your competitors eat your lunch—is likely worse.
Start here:
Week 1: Run your ICP analysis using closed-won data (and interesting test I’m experimenting with right now is also running a test against your closed-lost data — more on that later)
Week 2-3: Build your TAM map and basic tiering
Month 2: Implement signal tracking for your top 3 highest-correlation signals
Month 3: Layer in AIDA awareness scoring and stakeholder mapping
The companies getting ABM right in 2025 aren't the ones with the most sophisticated platforms. I’m feeling like the market has thankfully moved on from that approach. But they are the ones with systematic processes for identifying, tracking, and engaging their highest-value accounts.
Why This Matters More Than Ever
91% of companies using ABM increase their average deal size, with 25% seeing increases of over 50%.
73% of companies notice improved account engagement since implementing ABM.
And here's the kicker—74% of B2B marketers expect their ABM budgets to increase in 2025.
While your competitors are still debating whether ABM is dead, the smart money is doubling down on systematic account-based approaches. The question isn't whether to do ABM—it's whether you'll do it strategically or get left behind.
The skeptic on my client call? By the end of our conversation, he was asking about implementation timelines. Because when you strip away the platform complexity and focus on the fundamentals, ABM isn't just alive—it's the most effective B2B strategy available today. I’m biased…but still.
Your Next Steps
This week: Pull your last 20 closed-won deals and analyze them for ICP patterns. What do your best customers actually have in common?
Next 30 days: Build your TAM map using the three-step process above. Focus on getting 500-1000 high-quality accounts into your initial TAL.
Tool stack essentials:
Keyplay for ICP modeling
Clay for TAM mapping and enrichment
Your existing CRM (but set up properly)
One signal tracking tool to start (don't go overboard)
The 2025 ABM playbook isn't about expensive platforms or complex technology. It's about systematic thinking, quality data, and strategic resource allocation.
ABM isn't dead. It just grew up.
See ya next week,
Kaylee ✌
Sources:
97% of marketers report ABM delivers higher ROI
Source: WebFX 2025 ABM Statistics Report
URL: https://www.webfx.com/blog/ppc/account-based-marketing-statistics/
208% increase in marketing-generated revenue
Source: Jobera (via RevNew 2025 ABM Statistics)
234% faster pipeline progression
Source: RollWorks Command Center Data (via RollWorks Blog)
URL: https://www.rollworks.com/resources/blog/17-account-based-marketing-statistics
91% of companies see increased deal sizes
Source: WebFX 2025 ABM Statistics Report
URL: https://www.webfx.com/blog/ppc/account-based-marketing-statistics/
74% of B2B marketers expect their ABM budgets to increase in 2025
Source: Single Grain (2025 ABM Budget Optimization Report)
This is a great read and super aligned to my thinking - especially with signals and scoring.