ABM, the new regime

Time to talk tech stack. Out with the old, in with the new.

There’s a new wave (finally) shaking up ABM, and I’m so here for it.

In the last year since going solo I’ve ripped 5 brands away from an overly complex ABM tech stack to take them back to the basics of what works.

In that timeframe the landscape of B2B ABM has started to shift—for the better. The promise of an all-in-one ABM solution has been over-hyped, over-sold, and under-delivering for years. I’ve seen annual contracts starting at $100k (with 3-year commits) ranging to just north of $300k ACV depending on the package and features brands think they need access to.

For some brands wrapping $300k of their annual budget in 1 piece of tech might be a drop in the bucket, but for most that’s a pretty substantial percentage. Think about how many SQLs you could generate if you could covert the majority of that $300k back into variable campaign spend…

Cost alone is enough to force the conversation on the great unbundling that’s starting to happen, but functionality is a close second. Pin point solutions have entered the market loudly and are iterating at a pace the traditional leaders just can’t keep up with.

Across my client base and my network, I’m seeing:
- Keyplay for ICP modeling and builds
- Pocus and Common Room for aggregation of intent signaling
- RB2B and Koala for visitor identification
- Clay and Warmly for outbound orchestration
- Smartly for ads

The future of ABM / ABX / AB-whatever-you-want-to-call-it is less about mysterious intent signals, and more about a return to the fundamentals. I’m seeing more and more CMOs excited about rearchitecting the way they think about GTM through the lens of technology, people, and processes.

Over the next few weeks I’ll document out a few chapters of my thoughts, lived experiences, and input from others leading the wave of this new era.

Something to the tune of:
- Account Selection, and how to do it better
- Account Engagement, 1:1 / 1:few / 1:many
- Account Measurement, and the mindset shift needed to do this well

If you’re trying to get an ABM program off the ground and have specific questions, I’d love to hear them! If you or your brand have found difficult learnings, or winning pockets of success and would like to share them with readers, let’s make it happen! Otherwise, see you back here next week with the first installment.

Have a great week ahead!
Kaylee