Account-Based Marketing Best Practices: What Needs to Be in Place Before You Start
TL;DR
ABM is not a campaign - in our view, it is a coordinated go-to-market motion combining sales outreach, advertising, and content targeting the same named accounts simultaneously
The foundational conditions matter more than the tools - most programs underperform because alignment, account lists, and infrastructure are not in place before the first campaign runs
9 best practices that consistently separate ABM programs that generate pipeline from those that only generate reports
The Influence Loop - Always On, Authority Builder, and Precision Connect - is how Hey Sid operationalises these conditions for lean B2B teams
Part of the ABM Hub: ABM Strategy: Step-by-Step Playbook for B2B | ABM Tactics for B2B SaaS | ABM Campaign Examples
Account-based marketing is often described as running ads at a list of companies. That framing misses most of what makes ABM work.
At Hey Sid, we define ABM as a coordinated go-to-market strategy where sales and marketing target the same high-value accounts with aligned messaging, across multiple channels, over an extended period. Advertising is one input. It is not the strategy on its own.
This guide covers 9 account-based marketing best practices: the conditions we consistently see in place before ABM programs produce pipeline, before you run the first ad or send the first message. It is written for B2B marketing directors and revenue leaders at companies with long sales cycles and a defined set of target accounts. Whether you are new to ABM or have run a program that underdelivered, these are the conditions that separate programs that generate pipeline from those that generate reports.
What Account-Based Marketing Actually Is
ABM is a go-to-market model where sales and marketing focus on a defined list of accounts that match your ideal customer profile, rather than generating leads at volume. For the full definition, benefits and how it compares to other approaches, see our guide: What is Account-Based Marketing (ABM)?
9 Account-Based Marketing Best Practices
Step 1: Align Sales and Marketing Before Anything Else
ABM tends to underperform when marketing runs campaigns independently from sales. It works best when both teams are targeting the same accounts, in the same time window, with coordinated activities.
This alignment conversation needs to happen before any tool is purchased or campaign launched. Specifically, teams need to agree on:
Which accounts to target - a shared, maintained list, not two separate lists that diverge over time
The role of each team - marketing drives awareness and engagement signals; sales activates accounts through direct outreach
Shared KPIs - meetings booked from target accounts and pipeline generated, not ad impressions or email open rates in isolation
A regular cadence - a weekly or biweekly sync where both teams review account engagement and coordinate next steps
Without this foundation, every other condition on this list is weakened. For meeting formats and shared KPIs in more detail, see our sales and marketing alignment playbook.
Step 2: Build a Defined, Prioritised Target Account List
ABM requires focus. The quality of your account list tends to determine the ceiling of your program.
A well-built target account list is not a CRM export. It is a curated set of companies that match your ICP - scored, tiered, and reviewed regularly. Understanding the objectives of account based marketing starts here: you cannot define success metrics without first defining who you are targeting and why.
At minimum, your list needs:
A clearly defined ICP: company size, geography, technology stack, maturity stage
A prioritised list of accounts - for a first mid-market B2B program, 50-100 accounts is a reasonable starting range, though the right number depends on team size and deal complexity
Identified decision-makers and influencers within each account - not just company names
Account tiering: Tier 1 accounts receive deep personalisation; Tier 2 and 3 receive scaled engagement
For a detailed framework, see How to Build a Winning ICP for ABM. To make sure sales will actually use the list, see how to build target account lists sales will work.
Step 3: Commit to a Multi-Channel Engagement Strategy
In most B2B ABM programs that consistently produce pipeline,, target accounts encounter the brand across multiple touchpoints before a conversation starts. Single-channel programs can work - particularly at early stages or with limited budgets - but coordinated multi-channel engagement is where ABM tends to perform most reliably.
A functional ABM channel mix typically includes some combination of:
Direct sales calls and personalised email outreach
LinkedIn connection requests from sales team members
LinkedIn advertising targeting the same decision-makers
Thought leadership content from executives appearing in target accounts' feeds
Webinars, events, or digital content distributed to the account list
The underlying logic: advertising builds familiarity. Sales uses that familiarity to convert interest into conversations. The two reinforce each other.
At Hey Sid, Always On (person-level advertising), Authority Builder (thought leadership), and Precision Connect (automated LinkedIn outreach) run against the same named individuals simultaneously - so outreach lands in a context of existing familiarity rather than cold. For examples of how multi-channel coordination works in practice, see ABM Campaign Examples: 7 B2B Campaigns That Worked.
Step 4: Define Clear Messaging for Your Target Accounts
ABM is more likely to work when the message speaks directly to the business challenges of the accounts being targeted. Generic product messaging rarely performs in ABM contexts.
Before launching, companies benefit from having:
A value proposition framed around the pain points of the target audience - not a general brand statement
Defined pain points per account tier or segment, ideally grounded in real sales call data and closed-won analysis
Customer proof points or case studies relevant to the challenges of the accounts being targeted
A clear next step: what you are asking target accounts to do - book a demo, attend a webinar, accept a connection request
Messaging should speak to the business challenge of the accounts being targeted, not the features of the product.
Step 5: Secure Sales Commitment to Active Outreach
ABM does not replace outbound sales activity. It amplifies it.
A pattern we see in underperforming programs: advertising runs but sales does not follow up. Target accounts see ads, visit the website, engage with content - and then nothing happens because sales is not coordinating outreach against those same accounts.
Sales teams running ABM benefit from committing to:
Ongoing call activity against the account list
Personalised email outreach - not mass sequences sent to everyone
LinkedIn engagement: connection requests, comments on prospect posts, direct messages
Following up on engagement signals from marketing: account visits, ad clicks, content downloads
The split is straightforward: marketing keeps accounts warm and generates signals. Sales uses those signals to time outreach and personalise conversations. Without the sales side of this, ABM functions more like branding than pipeline generation.
Step 6: Put CRM and Data Infrastructure in Place
You cannot define success metrics without first defining who you are targeting and why. Our ABM strategy playbook shows how the list feeds into the rest of the program. Without it, the program is difficult to measure, refine, or scale. That said, many ABM programs operate successfully with simpler setups; the key is consistency, not complexity.
Before starting, at minimum:
Your CRM should be actively used by sales - not a backup system updated monthly
Target accounts should be logged with contacts mapped to each account
Meetings, calls, and opportunities should be tracked against account records
Where possible, ad engagement and outreach signals should sync back into the CRM so both teams can see the full engagement picture per account
Hey Sid's HubSpot integration syncs ad impressions and engagement data directly into HubSpot records - so sales can see which contacts have been exposed to ads and what they engaged with before making contact. For teams without this level of integration, even a manually maintained account engagement log is better than no tracking at all.
For the tools to build around your CRM, see our ABM tech stack framework. For a broader view of how intent signals fit into this infrastructure, see Intent Data for B2B: How to Find and Act on In-Market Accounts.
Step 7: Prepare Relevant Content Assets
Content is used at every stage of an ABM program: in ads, in outreach messages, in sales conversations, and in follow-up emails. Teams that start ABM without content assets often find themselves pausing campaigns to build them mid-flight.
Before launching, a minimum content set typically includes:
At least one customer case study relevant to the challenges of the target accounts
An industry insight or point-of-view piece on a problem the ICP faces
A product explainer - a short video or one-page document that clearly explains what you do and for whom
Thought leadership posts for LinkedIn - at least one executive posting consistently on topics relevant to the account list
Content does not need to be elaborate. A well-written case study and consistent executive presence on LinkedIn tend to outperform polished brand materials that never reach the right people.
Step 8: Set a Realistic Time Horizon
ABM is a pipeline-building strategy, not a short-term campaign. Evaluating results at 30 days and adjusting strategy based on those numbers is one of the more common ways teams interrupt a program before it has had time to work.
A broadly indicative timeline for a B2B company with a longer sales cycle - though this varies significantly by deal size, sales cycle length, and existing account familiarity:
Period | What to Expect |
Weeks 1-4 | Awareness building begins. Ad impressions accumulate. Sales outreach initiates first contact. |
Months 2-3 | Familiarity increases. First meetings may begin from the most engaged Tier 1 accounts. |
Months 3-6 | Pipeline impact starts to become measurable for programs running consistently. |
Months 6-12 | Compounding returns as warm accounts move into active sales cycles. |
These are indicative ranges, not guarantees. Programs with shorter sales cycles or accounts that already have some brand familiarity tend to see results sooner. To know which numbers to watch at each stage, see ABM metrics that matter.
For example, Devotion Ventures ran Hey Sid's Influence Loop for 4 months and produced 45+ qualified meetings.
Step 9: Assign an Internal ABM Owner
ABM programs without a named internal owner tend to drift. Campaigns run but are not reviewed. Accounts engage but no one follows up. Sales and marketing stop syncing after the first month.
One person needs to be responsible for:
Maintaining the account list and keeping it current
Running the weekly sales-marketing alignment sync
Monitoring engagement signals and flagging accounts that are ready for outreach
Reporting on pipeline from the account list to leadership
This does not need to be a dedicated full-time role. It is typically someone in marketing leadership, sales leadership, or revenue operations. The role is coordination, not execution - but without it, execution fragments and the program loses momentum.
How Hey Sid Puts These Best Practices Into Action
Building and maintaining all 9 of these conditions simultaneously requires significant internal coordination - something many lean B2B teams find difficult to sustain alongside day-to-day work. That is the problem Hey Sid was built to solve.
The Influence Loop combines Always On (person-level advertising to named accounts), Authority Builder (done-for-you thought leadership from your executives), and Precision Connect (warm, automated LinkedIn outreach) - running against the same defined individuals, coordinated through a single platform and synced into your CRM.
It operationalises account list management, multi-channel engagement, content production, and reporting as a managed service - so marketing directors do not need to coordinate multiple separate tools and agencies to run a functioning ABM program.
Book a demo: heysid.com/demo
Common ABM Mistakes to Avoid Before Launch
Running Ads Without Sales Outreach
Running advertising to a named account list without coordinating sales outreach tends to produce brand awareness rather than pipeline. The combination of both is where ABM works. One without the other rarely converts.
Treating Content as Optional
Sales outreach without supporting content assets - no case studies, no thought leadership, no social presence from the team - tends to produce lower response rates. Content is infrastructure that makes outreach land differently. Build the minimum viable set before launch.
Skipping CRM Hygiene Before Launch
Launching ABM into a CRM where contacts are unmapped, accounts are duplicated, and activities are not tracked makes the program very difficult to measure. The data problem is worth solving before the campaign problem - not during it.
Conclusion
Account-based marketing best practices are not a checklist to complete once. They are operating conditions that need to be maintained throughout the life of the program.
Sales and marketing alignment, a quality account list, multi-channel engagement, clear messaging, sales outreach commitment, CRM infrastructure, content assets, a realistic time horizon, and an internal owner - these 9 conditions consistently appear in ABM programs that generate pipeline rather than just impressions.
For lean B2B teams that need support building and coordinating these conditions, Hey Sid's Influence Loop combines the three channels that drive ABM outcomes into one managed service - targeting the same named individuals across ads, content, and outreach, with full CRM visibility.
Book a demo: heysid.com/demo
Related: ABM Strategy: Step-by-Step Playbook for B2B | Intent Data for B2B | B2B Demand Generation: The Complete Guide
FAQ
What are account-based marketing best practices for small B2B teams?
Start with a smaller account list rather than trying to run ABM at scale immediately. The coordination between sales and marketing matters more than the size of the list - a focused program against fewer accounts tends to outperform a loosely coordinated one against many. Prioritise CRM hygiene, a weekly sales-marketing sync, and a minimum viable content set before expanding scope. If you are deciding how much ABM your team can run, see ABM Light vs Full ABM.
What’s the first thing to fix if ABM isn’t working?
Start with sales and marketing alignment. In most underperforming programs, marketing is running campaigns while sales is not following up on the same accounts. Check that both teams work from one shared list and meet every week to review engagement. Fix that before you change channels, budget or creative.
How do you know you’re ready to launch ABM?
You are ready when you can answer yes to five questions. Do sales and marketing agree on one account list? Is sales committed to outreach against it? Can your CRM track activity per account? Do you have at least one case study and one executive posting on LinkedIn? Is one person responsible for running the program? If any answer is no, fix that first.
Which ABM best practice matters most?
Sales and marketing alignment. Every other practice depends on it. A strong account list, good content and the right tools still underperform if the two teams target different accounts or work on different timelines.
Does ABM work without a large budget?
ABM does not require a large budget, it requires a focused one. A program targeting 50 accounts with coordinated advertising, sales outreach, and thought leadership content can cost significantly less than a broad demand generation programme targeting thousands of companies. The constraint is discipline and coordination, not spend. Mercuri International cut its monthly ad spend by more than 85%, from 70,000 SEK to 10,000 SEK, by focusing on the right decision-makers instead of broad campaigns (read the Mercuri case).For how to split the budget across channels, see our ABM budget planning guide.
What role does content play in ABM?
Content serves three functions: it warms accounts through advertising before outreach begins, it gives sales teams credible material to share during conversations, and it establishes the executive team as a trusted voice with the target market. The minimum viable content set for ABM is at least one case study, one point-of-view piece, and a consistent LinkedIn presence from at least one executive.
