Over the past few years, ABM has soared in popularity. Today, more than 70% of B2B companies have employees who are fully or partially focused on ABM activities. But as Terminus Co-Founder & CMO Sangram Vajre explained in a recent interview, the problem ABM currently solves for hasn’t gone away entirely. "The whole point of the last 15 years, the problem we were solving for was, 'How do I optimize for the right person, at the right time, with the right product I want to sell?' So finally, with ABM we just went in a different direction than just generating more of the same… So I think it’s a natural evolution, but the problem is still the same: How do I give my sales team the best opportunity to win?" In order to continue giving Sales the best opportunity to win, our ABM playbooks are inevitably going to need to evolve.

1. Future
ABM
of
The
ABM

2. Today, 70% of all B2B companies are doing
some form of account-based marketing (ABM).
30%
70%
source: SiriusDecisions

3. 85% of marketers say ABM delivers higher
returns than any other approach they use.
15%
85%
source: ITSMA

4. But here’s the problem…

5. As account-based marketers, we’re investing
all this time, energy, and money into crafting
these incredible experiences….

6. As account-based marketers, we’re investing
all this time, energy, and money into crafting
these incredible experiences….

7. As account-based marketers, we’re investing
all this time, energy, and money into crafting
these incredible experiences….

8. But then when someone from one of our target
accounts lands on our website, we treat them
like any other website visitor.
What a typical
website visitor
sees:
What an ABM
prospect sees:

9. Wait a second…These are our ABM prospects,
the best of the best, and this is the experience
they’re getting?

10. When ABM prospects land on your website,
you should be rolling out the red carpet — you
should be engaging with them one-to-one.

11. Instead, we’ve been forcing them to fill out
forms and making them wait for follow-up
phone calls and emails.

12. In some cases, these are CEOs and other top
executives dropping by with specific questions
about your product…

13. Why haven’t we been answering their
questions in real-time?

14. The Scale Problem

15. There’s a natural tension between
ABM and scale. After all, ABM is
intended to achieve a “persona of
one,” that is, every interaction
should be — or at least convincingly
resemble — a one-to-one exchange.
Joe Chernov
CMO, InsightSquared
“

16. For years, it’s been impossible to provide the
type of one-to-one touch ABM requires to all of
the prospects visiting your site.

17. And even when you’re focused on just a few
target accounts, catching the people from
those accounts at the right times can prove
challenging, if not impossible.

18. The good news?
Technology is catching up.

19. Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to
revolutionize the way we do ABM.

20. 40%
of sales activities can
now be automated
with AI
(source: McKinsey)
Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to
revolutionize the way we do ABM.

21. 40% 30%
of sales activities can
now be automated
with AI
(source: McKinsey)
of all sales teams will
be using AI by 2020
(source: Gartner)
Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to
revolutionize the way we do ABM.

22. 40% 30% 3.4x
of sales activities can
now be automated
with AI
(source: McKinsey)
of all sales teams will
be using AI by 2020
(source: Gartner)
^ that’s how much
more likely high-
performing sales
teams are to be
using AI
(source: Salesforce)
Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to
revolutionize the way we do ABM.

23. But technology alone isn’t the answer. You also
need the right methodology.
Today, that means conversational marketing.

24. ?
1. CAPTURE 2. QUALIFY 3. CONNECT
• Replace lead capture forms with messaging
• Bots capture leads even when you’re offline
• Targeting let’s you filter out the noise
The Conversational Marketing Methodology

25. ?
1. CAPTURE 2. QUALIFY 3. CONNECT
• Replace traditional marketing automation with
conversational A.I.
• Bots ask leads qualifying questions and can
book demos for reps 24/7, 365.
The Conversational Marketing Methodology

26. ?
1. CAPTURE 2. QUALIFY 3. CONNECT
• Intelligent routing connects leads to the right
reps based on sales territory
• Bots replace manual meeting scheduling
The Conversational Marketing Methodology

27. When you apply the principles of conversational
marketing to ABM, you end up with a strategy
that matches the on-demand, always-on world
that we’ve all seen emerging.

28. By taking a conversational approach to ABM,
you can finally roll out the red carpet for your
best leads.

29. Here’s how you do it…

30. STEP 1
Set up personalized
welcome messages
for target accounts.

31. STEP 1
Set up personalized
welcome messages
for target accounts.
STEP 2
Connect outbound email
to real-time messaging.

32. STEP 1
Set up personalized
welcome messages
for target accounts.
STEP 2 STEP 3
Connect outbound email
to real-time messaging.
Get alerts whenever
prospects visit your
site or open email.

33. Want to learn more about
the future of ABM?
Click here to read
our in-depth post.

34. See why thousands of businesses are using
Drift to generate CQLs and close deals faster.