Sep 11, 2024 11 min read Sales

Account Based Sales: A 2024 guide

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Customers have different budgets and needs. There are the smaller ones with smaller budgets and general needs, and then there are huge brands with a large budget and specific needs. Account-based sales is a targeted and personalized approach that sells to big brands with huge budgets and specific needs.

Account-based sales is in fact sales personalization at its best. In this approach each big-shot customer gets its own team of marketers, sales people, and customer service representatives to make sure they won’t have to move a muscle if they need anything.

The pipeline in account-based sales (ABS) is not a crowded one (can you guess why?), but the deal size and customer lifetime value are beyond anything that a typical sales method can generate.

If you’re wondering whether you should use this highly personalized and highly effective approach in your sales process, you’ve come to the right place. Follow along and you’ll find out what account-based sales is, how to plan and implement it, and how to make sure it’s effective.

What is account-based sales (ABS)?

Account-based sales (ABS) is a B2B sales approach that focuses on building a highly personalized relationship with some valuable accounts. These valuable accounts are typically large organizations with a huge budget to spend on your products, so having them as a customer would drastically increase your revenue.

Account-based sales is a highly targeted and personalized framework, and to do it right you need to coordinate all your marketing, sales, customer success (and even product development) efforts to cater to the needs of particular high-value customers. It might take longer than usual to strike a deal with these customers, but their extremely high life-time value and order size value would justify these efforts.

Should you invest in account-based sales?

The main prerequisite you should consider before investing in account-based sales is whether the deal would be large enough for an account-based approach (typically more than $50,000). Is the customer or account you’re targeting big enough and does it have a large enough budget?

Then comes the issue of your team’s capability to handle an account-based approach. Assuming that you have a competitive product and service to offer, do you have the manpower to handle the needs of these accounts?

An account-based approach involves building relationships with many contacts or decision-makers in an organization and the sales cycle is typically complex and long (three months at least). This demands a high level of coordination between marketing, sales, and customer service departments from the initial phase of account planning and defining ICPs to data management, creating targeted sales and marketing content, and dedicated customer service strategy.

Step 1: Define your ideal customer profile (ICP)

The foundation of a successful account-based sales strategy is a well-defined ideal customer profile (ICP). This first step involves identifying the specific attributes of companies most likely to become your best customers and generate substantial revenue.

According to TOPO (now Gartner), the ICP defines the attributes of accounts that best match the accounts you want to attract, retain, and grow. To create an accurate ICP, you should analyze three key datasets:

1- Qualitative input, such as sales team feedback;

2- Internal data, including historical closed/won data by account type, account-level profitability, and customer satisfaction;

3- External data, such as predictive analytics.

Snowflake, a cloud data platform company, defined its ICP for account-based sales by focusing on data-intensive organizations across various industries. In just 15 months starting in 2018, Snowflake increased its revenue by 300%, quadrupled its sales team, and raised $500 million to support global expansion.

Strategies that drove Snowflake's explosive growth were:

Snowflake targeted companies looking to move from outdated, on-premise systems to modern, cloud-based solutions.
They focused on firms using legacy software, organizations committed to cloud adoption, and those already using other cloud tools, such as Tableau.
It shifted from broad demand generation to account-based marketing. They paired each marketing manager with 30 sales reps thus enabling them to target each account accordingly.
Snowflake crafted hyper-personalized messages for its top 10 accounts. It used a lighter approach for the remaining 90 accounts and refined its strategy through A/B testing.

How can you define your ICP for account-based sales that drive similar results?

Here’s a 6-step framework for defining your ideal customer profile for your account-based sales strategy.

1- Analyze your current customer base

Start by examining your existing high-value customers. In account-based sales, consider factors such as:

Annual contract value (ACV) or customer lifetime value (CLV)
Retention rates and churn risk
Upsell and cross-sell success
Implementation time and resource requirements
Customer satisfaction scores using CSAt tools

Use this analysis to create a profile of your "dream" customers. What do they have in common? These insights will form the foundation of your ICP. For instance, Snowflake likely found that large enterprises with complex data needs were their most valuable customers.

2- Conduct thorough market research

Go beyond your existing customer base to understand broader market trends and opportunities. This involves:

Analyzing industry reports and forecasts
Studying competitor positioning and target markets
Identifying emerging technologies or regulations that could impact your target accounts
Conducting surveys or interviews with potential customers to understand their pain points and needs

Snowflake's success was partly due to its keen understanding of the market shift towards cloud-based solutions. It positioned itself at the forefront of this trend and targeted companies ready to transition.

3- Identify key attributes

Based on your customer analysis and market research, define specific attributes that characterize your ideal accounts. These typically fall into three categories:

Firmographics:

Company size (revenue, number of employees)
Industry or vertical
Geographic location
Growth rate or funding status

Technographics:

Current technology stack
Legacy systems in use
Recent technology investments
Digital maturity level

Buying committee:

Key decision-makers and their roles
Typical buying process and timeline
Common objections or concerns

The goal here is to be specific enough to focus your efforts but not so narrow that you limit your potential market.

4- Leverage your sales and customer success teams

Your customer-facing teams have invaluable insights into what makes an ideal account. Set up structured interviews or workshops to gather their insights:

Ask sales reps about the characteristics of deals that close quickly and those that drag on
Have customer success managers identify traits of accounts that achieve the most value from your product
Get insights from support teams on which types of customers require the least assistance

Use this information to refine your ICP and to develop strategies for engaging with your target accounts.

5- Validate with external data

Enhance your ICP with third-party data to identify accounts that match your criteria and show high buying intent. This includes:

Technographic data to understand a company's current tech stack
Intent data to identify accounts actively researching solutions in your space (55% more leads converted when sales leaders used intent data).
Financial data to gauge a company's ability to invest in your solution
News and social media monitoring for trigger events (like leadership changes or funding rounds)

Integrating this external data with your internal knowledge can help you prioritize accounts and personalize your outreach.

6- Segment and prioritize

Not all accounts that fit your ICP will be equal in terms of potential value or likelihood of conversion. Develop a tiering system to prioritize your efforts:

Tier 1: Perfect fit accounts with high potential value and strong buying signals

Tier 2: Good fit accounts that may require more nurturing or have slightly lower potential value

Tier 3: Accounts that fit some ICP criteria but may not be ready to buy or have lower potential value

Step 2: Create a list of accounts to target

After defining your ideal customer profile, it's time to build your actual list of target accounts. This step turns your profile into a concrete list of companies on which to focus your sales efforts.

To build your target account list:

Set your list size

Decide how many accounts you want to target. A common approach is to have two lists:

A larger list of about 200 accounts
A smaller, high-priority list of 20-50 accounts

Use data sources

Combine information from various places to find matching companies:

Your CRM system and sales tool: This is often your best starting point, as it contains data on past and current customers and leads.
Industry databases: These can provide detailed company information and help you discover new potential targets. Use services like D&B Hoovers or ZoomInfo to find companies in your target industries.
Social media platforms like LinkedIn: These can offer insights into company activities, growth, and potential decision-makers.
Email-finding tools: Platforms like Skrapp.io can help you find verified email addresses for key decision-makers within your target accounts. This tool integrates with LinkedIn and helps you easily collect contact information as you research potential accounts.
Company websites and annual reports: These sources can provide up-to-date information on a company's goals, challenges, and recent developments.

Look for good fits

Search for companies that match your ideal customer profile. Pay attention to things like:

Company size: Consider both revenue and number of employees.
Location: If you're targeting specific geographic areas, filter accordingly.
Technology stack: Look for companies using complementary technologies.
Industry: Focus on the sectors where your product or service has the most impact.
Business challenges: Identify companies facing problems your solution can address.

Check for readiness

Beyond just matching your ideal profile, try to identify companies that show signs they might be ready to buy. These signals include:

Recent growth or funding rounds: Expanding companies often need new solutions.
Leadership changes: New executives might be open to new vendors.
Job postings in relevant areas: This could indicate new initiatives or expansion.
Public statements about goals or challenges: Look for companies discussing problems you can solve.
Competitor contracts ending: Companies might be looking to switch vendors.

Rank your picks

Once you have a list, rank the accounts based on how well they fit your criteria and how likely they are to buy. This helps you decide where to focus your efforts. A proper account-based marketing platform can help you a lot in targeting and segmenting your target accounts.

Get team input

Review the list with your sales and marketing teams. Ask them to review your list and suggest:

Accounts to add or remove
Information about specific companies or contacts
Ideas for approaching certain accounts

Plan your approach

For your high-priority list, start thinking about how you'll contact each account. This is what we’ll cover at our next point. Read on!

Step 3: Define an outreaching strategy

Woohoo! You've got your target account list. Now comes the fun part - figuring out how to woo these dream clients. Here's how to develop your outreach strategy:

Research each account thoroughly

Company website and blog: Begin with the company's official website and blog. Review their product or service offerings, recent news, press releases, and stated goals. Look for sections like "About Us," "News," or "Blog" to gather insights into their market positioning and strategic direction.
Annual reports and financial statements: For publicly traded companies, annual reports and financial statements are a gem. These documents provide insights into the company’s financial health, business strategy, and plans. Pay attention to the CEO’s letter to shareholders and the management discussion sections.
Social media profiles: Platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook can offer real-time updates on a company’s activities, new initiatives, leadership changes, and organizational culture. Follow these profiles to stay updated on the latest developments and understand the company's tone and priorities.

Pinpoint and prioritize main stakeholders

Understanding the buying committee's dynamics is crucial. It’s not enough to just know the CEO's name. Different roles within an organization have varying levels of influence over purchasing decisions. Aim to identify and engage with those who are most likely to influence or make buying decisions:

C-Level executives: These individuals, such as CEOs, CFOs, and CTOs, typically drive strategic decisions. High-level pitches that align your solution to the company's long-term objectives depend on them.
Department heads: Heads of departments like IT, Marketing, or Sales are often responsible for functional needs and budgetary decisions. They can provide insights into specific departmental challenges and needs.
Managers and team lead: Managers or team leads involved in day-to-day operations can provide practical insights into how your solution could solve immediate problems or improve workflows.

Create a detailed map of the buying team, noting who influences whom, who holds the budget, and who might be the gatekeeper.

Then, tailor your outreach for different roles, as each stakeholder will care about different aspects of your solution. A CTO might focus on security and scalability, while a CMO will be interested in how your product can drive customer engagement or reduce churn.

Craft hyper-personalized messaging

The days of templated emails are over. Your messaging must speak directly to the recipient’s context:

Start with specificity: Reference specific initiatives the company is undertaking or recent news that affects them. For example, if a company has recently merged or acquired another firm, mention how your product can ease the integration process.
Use data and insights: Use any data points or insights from your research to support your claims. If you know their competitors have started using a similar product, subtly hint at this as a reason for them to consider your solution.
A/B test different approaches: Not all messages will land perfectly the first time. A/B testing different subject lines, email formats, and value propositions can provide insight into what resonates most with your audience.

Choose appropriate communication channels

Different accounts will have different communication preferences. The trick is to meet them where they are most comfortable:

Email is often the first and primary channel for reaching potential customers. It allows you to send detailed information and follow-ups. Craft a clear and concise message personalized to the recipient’s needs. You can use Skrapp.io’s email verification tool to ensure your emails are directed to valid addresses and reduce bounce rates.

LinkedIn is useful for connecting with professionals and engaging with their content. You can send connection requests or InMails. LinkedIn also allows you to see updates and changes within the company, which can help personalize your approach.

Phone calls

Cold calling provides a personal touch and can be effective for high-priority accounts. They can also help you get direct feedback and interact more effectively than other channels.

Webinars and virtual events

Hosting or inviting accounts to webinars and virtual events on topics that interest them can help build credibility and establish thought leadership.

Develop valuable, account-specific content

Content is a powerful tool in account-based sales, particularly when tailored to your target accounts' needs and interests. You can create:

Industry-specific white papers: Craft white papers addressing challenges specific industries or market segments face. These can be used to educate your prospects and demonstrate thought leadership.
Case studies: Use case studies that showcase successful outcomes from similar companies in the same industry or facing similar challenges. Highlight measurable results and concrete benefits achieved.
Personalized product demos: Offer personalized product demos built for each account's unique needs. This shows you understand their challenges and are prepared to provide a customized solution.

KPIs to track for ABS

An account-based sales pipeline is not a busy one and might be more costly to maintain, but it provides large contract values and long customer lifecycles.

Some of the key performance indicators (KPIs) you should track when doing an account-based sales approach are:

1- Account engagement metrics: open rates, response rates, number and duration of content page visits, etc.

2- Account conversion metrics: number of sales meetings/demos booked, content downloads, event attendance, callbacks, etc.

3- Revenue metrics: contract/purchase value, lifetime value, acquisition costs, profit margin, etc.

Finally

Account-based sales (ABS) is the most personalized and tailored B2B sales approach, and it’s very effective. However, before you jump on its saddle and ride at full gallop, you need to make sure you can handle the toughness.

Is your product and service advanced enough to be suitable for large businesses? Can you generate a large deal size (more than $50,000) with your campaign? Do you have the strategy, manpower, and technology to do account-based sales right?

If your answer to these questions is a definitive “yes”, then you might need to go through the article again and find out how you can plan and implement account-based sales strategy the right way.