What is the #1 mistake that B2B Sales teams make with ABM/ABX based on our experiences and conversations at B2B Fusion with GTM teams?

(Lessons learned over years in ABX/ABM, a LinkedIn series, see comments)

𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬, 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐁𝐌/𝐀𝐁𝐗 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚.

1. Simply investing in ABM tools and technology is not enough – sales teams need to evolve their skills and conversations to effectively leverage the account insights from ABM. One Sales leader shared (paraphrashing), “If we are going to make that investment on the marketing side, we got to make the investment to help our people understand what to do with it. How does my conversations sound different as a result of now what I know about that account?”

2. In another engagement, a Sales leader expressed concern that their organization may lack readiness for ABM implementation due to coordination issues and unclear goals between sales and marketing. Proper alignment between these teams on the ABM strategy and process is crucial.

3. Successful ABM requires evolving the sales process and conversations based on the account insights, rather than just relying on the same old product pitches that can typically be found on a website.

So in summary, the #1 mistake is not properly transforming the sales motion, skills, and alignment with marketing to take full advantage of the account intelligence and personalization opportunities that ABM provides. Simply implementing ABM technology without adapting the sales process is a common pitfall.

What have you seen or experienced?