What this is
This guide helps you prepare for a successful ABM strategy before launching campaigns in Propensity.
It outlines the key questions, expectations, and requirements that should be addressed to ensure your campaigns generate meaningful engagement and sales outcomes.
When to use this
Use this guide before:
Launching your first ABM campaign
Setting up your initial audience or targeting
Aligning marketing and sales teams
Defining campaign goals and expectations
Why this matters
ABM success depends on more than just launching campaigns.
Many teams struggle because they:
Expect immediate results without proper setup
Treat ABM like traditional lead generation
Lack alignment between marketing and sales
Don’t have a clear plan for handling engaged leads
Preparing upfront helps ensure:
Better targeting and messaging
Stronger alignment between teams
More effective use of budget
Higher conversion potential
1. Define your goals and expectations
Before starting, clearly define what success looks like.
Ask yourself:
Are you focused on brand awareness, engagement, or pipeline generation?
Are you trying to generate MQLs or booked meetings?
Do you have the internal resources to convert engagement into sales?
Important:
ABM is designed to generate and warm up high-intent leads
It does not guarantee booked meetings or closed deals
As highlighted in onboarding guidance, sales involvement is critical to converting results
2. Understand your current marketing maturity
Your starting point matters.
Consider:
Have you run paid ads, email campaigns, or outbound before?
What worked well?
Where did performance fall short?
If you are new to ABM:
Expect a learning curve
Focus on building a repeatable process, not immediate results
3. Evaluate how you generate leads today
Understand your current baseline.
Ask:
How many leads do you generate per month?
What qualifies as a warm or hot lead?
How are leads currently passed to sales?
This helps you:
Set realistic expectations
Measure improvement over time
Align on what “success” means
4. Align marketing and sales
ABM only works if marketing and sales are aligned.
You should clearly define:
Who follows up with leads
When leads are handed off
What qualifies as an MQL vs SQL
From the onboarding framework:
MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead): engaged with marketing
SQL (Sales Qualified Lead): validated by sales as a real opportunity
Without this alignment:
Leads go unused
Engagement is wasted
ROI drops significantly
5. Assess your sales capacity
This is one of the most overlooked factors.
Ask:
How many sales reps do you have?
Can they follow up consistently on engaged leads?
Do you have tools for outreach (email sequencing, CRM)?
Important:
ABM generates engagement signals, not closed deals
Sales must actively convert those signals into opportunities
If your team cannot follow up:
Results will be limited, regardless of campaign performance
6. Define your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
Not every account is a good fit.
You should define:
Industry
Company size
Geography
Buying roles
Strong ICP definition ensures:
Better targeting
Higher engagement quality
More efficient budget use
7. Plan your budget realistically
ABM requires consistent investment.
You should account for:
Platform fee
Media spend
Campaign duration
From onboarding guidance:
Budget should support ongoing campaigns, not short tests
Underspending often leads to weak or inconclusive results
8. Prepare your messaging and content
Before launching campaigns, ensure you have:
Clear value propositions
Relevant landing pages
Messaging aligned to your audience
Avoid:
Sending users directly to generic demo pages
Using unclear or low-value messaging
Your content should:
Reflect your audience’s needs
Match their stage in the buyer’s journey
9. Understand how ABM actually works
ABM is not a one-step process.
It follows a structured flow:
Identify target accounts
Generate engagement across channels
Build awareness and intent
Pass warm leads to sales
Convert through outreach
As shown in the onboarding framework, marketing and sales work together across the funnel to drive results
Common mistakes to avoid
Expecting immediate meetings or pipeline
Treating ABM like traditional lead generation
Not following up on engaged leads
Running campaigns without a clear ICP
Using weak or generic landing pages
Underestimating the importance of sales involvement
Important notes
Successful ABM campaigns start before launch. By preparing properly, you ensure:
Stronger campaign performance
Better alignment between teams
More efficient use of budget
Higher likelihood of conversion
ABM works best when:
Expectations are clear
Sales and marketing are aligned
Engagement is actively converted into pipeline