Why does ABM fail in some companies?

The #1 reason: not using ABM to align Sales with Marketing.

Here is an example:
Sales and Marketing leadership select 15 high-value, strategic accounts to focus on. Marketing gets tasked with sourcing Account research. There is no internal capacity or expertise to deliver this.

There are two ways to execute:

1.    Hire an agency to deliver the research. Find one that fits your budget. Give them the 15 accounts and a brief. A few weeks later, you have comprehensive Account insights to share with Sales.

OR

2.    Consider the desired OUTCOME – making high-performing Enterprise reps more efficient, and accelerating sales cycles. PARTNER with consultancy/agency that is willing to put in the effort to understand:

a) Your business model, customer and partner landscape, value proposition
b) Your business objectives
c) Your sales cycle, entry points, relationship dynamics
d) Your history with the 15 accounts, past and present challenges
e) The account owners’ short and long-term objectives in the chosen Strategic accounts.

This allows the agency to conduct relevant research based on the factors above, and deliver only RELEVANT insights in a concise form.
Most importantly, the biggest mistake is to just hand over the research insights. The feedback we have from our clients shows that Account owners find the most value in discussing the insights, jointly working on setting relationship and revenue goals, and agreeing on the account strategy.

Strategic ABM partners ask smart questions that can help account owners and teams uncover potential new plays to progress targeted accounts.

So what is the DIFFERENCE?

1.    In the first case, time-poor Enterprise reps must sacrifice further time reading and sorting through generalized research, which does not help them progress the relationships and trust in their Strategic accounts. Naturally, the company will get limited ROI from this exercise and see ABM as failing to deliver value.

2. With the second option, asking the right questions upfront leads to delivering RELEVANT insights. Using the research to agree on an Account strategy and building an execution plan facilitates marketing and sales collaboration, equipping reps to build relationships across the entire decision-making committee faster. The outcome? High ROI on ABM programs.