Terms

Account-Based Selling

Account-based selling is a strategic B2B sales approach where marketing and sales teams collaborate to target a select group of high-value accounts with personalized campaigns. Instead of pursuing a large volume of individual leads, this model treats each target company as a unique market, requiring deep research into its specific needs and key stakeholders. This highly-focused strategy is designed to increase deal size, improve win rates, and foster long-term customer relationships.

Key Components of Account-Based Selling

The process begins by identifying high-value target accounts that fit an ideal customer profile. Deep research is then conducted to understand each account’s unique challenges and key decision-makers. This insight fuels the creation of highly personalized messaging and tailored outreach strategies designed for maximum impact.

A core component is the tight alignment between sales, marketing, and customer success teams. These teams collaborate to execute account-specific campaigns and build strong, long-term relationships. Success is tracked using account-based metrics to continuously measure and optimize the approach.

Benefits of Implementing Account-Based Selling

Adopting an account-based selling model offers significant advantages by shifting focus from quantity to quality. This strategic alignment of resources toward high-value accounts yields a higher return on investment and strengthens the entire sales process.

  • Revenue: Increases average deal size and customer lifetime value by focusing on high-potential accounts.
  • Efficiency: Optimizes resource allocation, directing sales and marketing efforts where they will have the greatest impact.
  • Relationships: Fosters deeper, long-term connections with clients through personalized engagement and tailored solutions.
  • Alignment: Unifies sales, marketing, and customer success teams, creating a cohesive and consistent customer experience.
  • Acquisition: Improves win rates and lowers customer acquisition costs by targeting best-fit companies.

Account-Based Selling vs. Account-Based Marketing

While often used together, account-based selling and marketing have distinct focuses and functions.

  • Selling: This sales-led strategy treats each account as a market of one, coordinating multiple departments to close high-value deals. It excels in enterprise settings with complex sales cycles, leading to larger contracts but can be resource-intensive. Mid-market firms may apply it selectively to their top-tier accounts.
  • Marketing: This marketing-driven approach focuses on creating personalized campaigns to engage and nurture specific accounts before sales involvement. It improves marketing ROI but requires strong data and alignment. It's effective for enterprises warming up key targets and for mid-market companies aiming to increase engagement with a select list of prospects.

Strategies for Successful Account-Based Selling

This is how you execute a successful account-based selling strategy.

  1. Identify high-value accounts that align with your ideal customer profile.
  2. Conduct in-depth research to understand each account's needs and key players.
  3. Align your sales, marketing, and customer success teams to deliver a cohesive experience.
  4. Create personalized outreach and campaigns to engage multiple stakeholders.
  5. Measure performance with account-based metrics and continuously refine your approach.

Common Challenges in Account-Based Selling

While effective, account-based selling is not without its hurdles. The strategy demands significant organizational commitment and precise execution to succeed. This creates a core trade-off between the potential rewards and the required investment.

  • Benefit: The highly personalized approach can lead to higher contract values and stronger, long-term customer relationships.
  • Drawback: This same approach is resource-intensive and can lengthen sales cycles, requiring significant investment and patience.

Frequently Asked Questions about Account-Based Selling

Is account-based selling only for large enterprises?

Not exclusively. While ideal for enterprise sales, mid-market companies can also apply its principles by focusing on a smaller, strategic list of high-value accounts. The key is adapting the scale to your available resources.

How is success measured in account-based selling?

Success is tracked with account-level metrics, not just lead volume. Key indicators include account engagement, pipeline velocity, deal size, win rates, and ultimately, customer lifetime value from your target accounts.

What is the ideal team structure for ABS?

A successful ABS team requires tight collaboration between sales, marketing, and customer success. Often, a dedicated "account team" is formed for top-tier targets, ensuring a unified strategy and consistent communication throughout the customer journey.

Other terms

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Revenue Forecasting

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Salesforce Administrator

A Salesforce Administrator is a certified professional who manages and customizes the Salesforce platform to meet a company's specific business needs.

Salesforce Administrator

Lookalike Audiences

Lookalike audiences are groups of potential customers who share similar characteristics and behaviors with your existing, high-value customers.

Lookalike Audiences

Sales Territory Management

Sales territory management is the process of grouping accounts into territories and assigning them to reps to maximize sales and market coverage.

Sales Territory Management

Return on Investment (ROI)

Return on Investment (ROI) is a key performance metric that measures the profitability of an investment relative to its initial cost.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Hot Leads

Hot leads are prospective customers who have shown significant interest and are ready to buy, making them a top priority for sales teams.

Hot Leads

Warm Outreach

Warm outreach is contacting prospects with whom you have a pre-existing connection, like a mutual contact, making your message more personal and effective.

Warm Outreach

Persona Map

A persona map visually outlines a target customer, detailing their goals, behaviors, and pain points to help your team build genuine empathy.

Persona Map

Infrastructure as a Service

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a cloud computing service that offers essential compute, storage, and networking resources on-demand.

Infrastructure as a Service

Gone Dark

Going dark is when a once-responsive prospect suddenly stops all communication, leaving you wondering what went wrong.

Gone Dark

Opportunity Management

Opportunity management is the process of tracking potential sales from first contact to a closed deal, helping teams prioritize and win more.

Opportunity Management

Inside Sales Rep

An inside sales rep sells products or services remotely from an office, using digital tools like phone and email to connect with customers.

Inside Sales Rep

Data Cleansing

Data cleansing, or data scrubbing, is the process of detecting and correcting inaccurate records from a dataset to improve data quality.

Data Cleansing

Warm Outbound

Warm outbound is a sales strategy for contacting prospects who've shown interest in your brand through prior engagement, like website visits.

Warm Outbound

Small to Medium-Sized Business

A small to medium-sized business (SMB) is a company whose employee count and annual revenue fall below certain industry-specific thresholds.

Small to Medium-Sized Business

Sales Kickoff

A sales kickoff (SKO) is an annual event for a sales team to celebrate wins, align on goals, and get motivated for the upcoming year.

Sales Kickoff

Unique Selling Point

A Unique Selling Point (USP) is the distinct feature or benefit that sets your product, service, or brand apart from the competition.

Unique Selling Point

Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)

A Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) is a prospect who has shown interest based on marketing efforts but isn't yet ready for a sales conversation.

Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)

Sales Team Management

Sales team management is the process of leading, coaching, and motivating a sales team to achieve its sales goals and drive revenue growth.

Sales Team Management

Salesforce Object Query Language

Salesforce Object Query Language (SOQL) is a query language used to search your organization's Salesforce data for specific information.

Salesforce Object Query Language

Data Enrichment

Data enrichment is the process of enhancing raw data by adding missing information from other sources, making it more complete and actionable.

Data Enrichment

Lead Response Time

Lead response time is the duration between a potential customer showing interest and your team's first point of contact with them.

Lead Response Time

B2B Contact Base

Learn about B2B contact base, including building an effective B2B contact base, & strategies for expanding your contact base.

B2B Contact Base

CRM Integration

CRM integration connects your CRM software with other tools, creating a unified system for all your customer data and business processes.

CRM Integration

Event Marketing

Event marketing is a strategy where brands engage directly with target audiences through live events like trade shows, conferences, or webinars.

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HTTP Requests

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HTTP Requests

Marketing Intelligence

Marketing intelligence is gathering and analyzing data about your market, customers, and competitors to inform strategic marketing decisions.

Marketing Intelligence

Version Control Systems

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Version Control Systems

Inventory Management

Inventory management is the process of ordering, storing, and using a company's inventory, from raw materials to finished goods.

Inventory Management

Conversion Rate

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Conversion Rate

Direct Mail

Direct mail is a marketing method where businesses send physical promotional materials directly to potential customers' mailboxes.

Direct Mail

Sales Script

A sales script is a pre-written guide of talking points that helps salespeople navigate conversations with potential customers.

Sales Script

User Testing

User testing involves observing real users interact with a product to identify usability issues and improve the overall user experience.

User Testing

Price Optimization

Price optimization is the process of finding the ideal price for a product or service to maximize profitability or other business objectives.

Price Optimization

Cross-Site Scripting

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) is a web security vulnerability that allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into trusted websites.

Cross-Site Scripting

Payment Processors

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Payment Processors

LPI

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LPI

Request for Information

A Request for Information (RFI) is a formal process for gathering information from potential suppliers before issuing a more detailed proposal.

Request for Information

Cost Per Impression

Cost Per Impression (CPI) is the price an advertiser pays for each time their ad is displayed to a user, irrespective of clicks.

Cost Per Impression

Direct-to-Consumer

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Direct-to-Consumer

Sales Performance Management (SPM)

Sales Performance Management (SPM) is a suite of tools and processes that help businesses monitor, analyze, and boost sales team performance.

Sales Performance Management (SPM)

No Spam

“No Spam” is a commitment to sending only relevant, solicited messages. It means avoiding bulk, unwanted emails to respect the recipient's inbox.

No Spam

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a performance-based model where affiliates earn a commission for promoting another company’s products or services.

Affiliate Marketing

Single Page Applications

A Single Page Application (SPA) is a web app that interacts with the user by dynamically rewriting the current page rather than loading new pages.

Single Page Applications

Cross-Selling

Cross-selling is a sales tactic of encouraging customers to purchase products or services that are related to what they're already buying.

Cross-Selling

Social Selling

Social selling is the art of using social media to find, connect with, build relationships with, and nurture sales prospects.

Social Selling

Buyer's Journey

The buyer's journey maps the path a potential customer takes, from first becoming aware of a problem to making a final purchase decision.

Buyer's Journey

SEM

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is a digital marketing strategy that uses paid tactics to increase a website's visibility in search engine results.

SEM

ABM Orchestration

ABM orchestration aligns marketing and sales actions across channels to deliver seamless, personalized experiences to high-value accounts.

ABM Orchestration

Serverless Computing

Serverless computing is a cloud model where the provider manages servers, so developers can focus on code without worrying about infrastructure.

Serverless Computing

CRM Analytics

CRM analytics is the process of analyzing data from your CRM to uncover insights that help you better understand and serve your customers.

CRM Analytics

Buyer’s Remorse

Buyer’s remorse is the sense of regret or anxiety that can arise after making a purchase, often questioning if it was the right decision.

Buyer’s Remorse

Behavioral Analytics

Learn about behavioral analytics, including implementing behavioral analytics successfully, & key metrics in behavioral analytics.

Behavioral Analytics

Nurture

Nurture is the process of building relationships with potential customers, guiding them through the sales funnel with personalized communication.

Nurture

Video Selling

Video selling uses personalized video messages to engage prospects, build rapport, and guide them through the sales funnel to close more deals.

Video Selling

Brag Book

Learn about brag book, including crafting your outstanding brag book, essential components of a brag book, & brag book vs. resume: unveiling the differences.

Brag Book

Digital Strategy

A digital strategy outlines how your business will use online channels, data, and technology to achieve its goals and connect with customers.

Digital Strategy

Dark Social

Dark social is the sharing of content through private channels like messaging apps or email. This traffic is hard to track as it lacks referral data.

Dark Social

Mobile App Analytics

Mobile app analytics involves collecting and analyzing data from mobile apps to understand user behavior and optimize the app's performance.

Mobile App Analytics

Firmographic Data

Firmographic data is information used to classify firms. It includes attributes like industry, employee count, location, and annual revenue.

Firmographic Data

Below the Line

Learn about below the line, including key strategies for below the line marketing, & distinguishing above and below the line tactics.

Below the Line

Low-Hanging Fruit

Low-hanging fruit are the most obvious and easy-to-tackle tasks or goals that provide a quick, valuable return for minimal effort.

Low-Hanging Fruit

Functional Testing

Functional testing verifies that software performs its intended functions as specified in the requirements, ensuring it works as users expect.

Functional Testing

Compliance Testing

Compliance testing ensures a product or system adheres to specific regulations, standards, or policies set by governing bodies or organizations.

Compliance Testing

Champion/Challenger Test

A Champion/Challenger test pits a new 'challenger' against the current best-performing 'champion' to see which one performs better.

Champion/Challenger Test

Decision Buying Stage

The decision stage is where a well-researched buyer chooses a vendor. They compare specific products and pricing before making their final purchase.

Decision Buying Stage

Data Appending

Data appending is the process of adding new data fields to your existing database records to enrich and complete your information.

Data Appending

Headless CMS

A headless CMS is a back-end content repository that delivers content via API to any front-end, decoupling the content from its presentation layer.

Headless CMS

Regression Analysis

Regression analysis is a statistical method for estimating the relationships between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables.

Regression Analysis

Freemium Models

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Freemium Models

Applicant Tracking System

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Applicant Tracking System

Operational CRM

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Operational CRM

Generic Keywords

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Generic Keywords

Revenue Operations (RevOps)

Revenue Operations (RevOps) is a business function that aligns a company's sales, marketing, and customer service teams to drive predictable revenue.

Revenue Operations (RevOps)

CRM Data

CRM data is the information businesses use to manage customer relationships. It covers contact details, purchase history, and communication logs.

CRM Data

Predictive Analytics

Predictive analytics uses historical data, statistical algorithms, and machine learning to identify the likelihood of future outcomes.

Predictive Analytics

Customer Loyalty

Customer loyalty is a customer’s devotion to a brand, shown by their repeat purchases and engagement, driven by positive experiences and trust.

Customer Loyalty

Segmentation Analysis

Segmentation analysis is the process of dividing a broad market into smaller, distinct groups of consumers with similar needs or characteristics.

Segmentation Analysis

Overcoming Objections

Overcoming objections is the process of addressing and resolving a prospect's concerns or hesitations to move a sale forward.

Overcoming Objections

Email Deliverability Rate

Your email deliverability rate is the percentage of sent emails that successfully land in a recipient's inbox, rather than bouncing or going to spam.

Email Deliverability Rate

Total Addressable Market (TAM)

Total Addressable Market (TAM) represents the maximum revenue a company can earn by selling its product or service in a specific market.

Total Addressable Market (TAM)

Sales Metrics

Sales metrics are quantifiable data points that track and measure a sales team's performance against specific goals and objectives.

Sales Metrics

Lead Scoring Models

Lead scoring models rank prospects by assigning points for their behaviors and demographics, helping sales teams prioritize their outreach.

Lead Scoring Models

Contract Management

Contract management is the process of creating, executing, and analyzing contracts to maximize performance and minimize financial risk.

Contract Management

Contact Discovery

Contact discovery is the process of finding accurate contact details for potential leads, including names, emails, phone numbers, and job titles.

Contact Discovery

Sales Automation

Sales automation uses software to streamline and automate repetitive, manual sales tasks, freeing up reps to focus on selling.

Sales Automation

Robotic Process Automation

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) uses software bots to mimic human actions and automate repetitive, rules-based tasks on digital systems.

Robotic Process Automation

Product-Led Growth

Product-Led Growth (PLG) is a business strategy where the product itself drives user acquisition, conversion, and expansion.

Product-Led Growth

Artificial Intelligence in Sales

AI in sales uses smart technology to automate repetitive tasks, analyze customer data, and help sales reps close deals more efficiently.

Artificial Intelligence in Sales

Day Sales Outstanding

Day Sales Outstanding (DSO) is a financial ratio that shows the average number of days it takes for a company to receive payment for a sale.

Day Sales Outstanding

Sales Partnerships

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Sales Partnerships

System of Record

A System of Record (SoR) is the authoritative data source for a specific type of data. It acts as the single source of truth for an organization.

System of Record

Persona-Based Marketing

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Persona-Based Marketing

Warm Calling

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Warm Calling

Customer Data Platform (CDP)

A Customer Data Platform (CDP) centralizes customer data from all sources to create a complete, unified profile for each individual customer.

Customer Data Platform (CDP)

Lead Enrichment Software

Lead enrichment software adds crucial data to your leads, like contact info and firmographics, to help you better understand and engage them.

Lead Enrichment Software

Sales Cycle

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Sales Cycle

Account Development Representative

An Account Development Representative (ADR) identifies and qualifies new business opportunities, creating a pipeline for account executives.

Account Development Representative

Sales Stack

A sales stack is the suite of tech tools—from CRMs to prospecting software—that sales reps use to close deals faster and more efficiently.

Sales Stack

User-generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) refers to any form of content, like images, videos, or text, created and shared by users on online platforms.

User-generated Content