Terms

Target Account List

A target account list is a curated list of companies that a business has identified as its most valuable prospects for sales and marketing efforts. This list serves as the foundation for an account-based marketing (ABM) strategy, allowing teams to concentrate resources and personalize outreach to the accounts most likely to become high-value customers.

Importance of a Target Account List

A target account list is crucial for efficiency. It focuses your team's energy and budget on prospects most likely to convert, preventing wasted resources on unqualified leads. This also ensures sales and marketing teams are aligned and working toward the same goals.

This focus enables highly personalized outreach tailored to each account's specific needs. By delivering relevant messaging, companies increase engagement, build stronger relationships, and improve conversion rates. This ultimately leads to closing more high-value deals and maximizing ROI.

How to Build a Target Account List

This is how you can create a focused list of high-value prospects.

  1. Define your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) by analyzing the common traits of your best customers.
  2. Use your ICP to identify potential accounts, building a master list from various data sources.
  3. Research each account to understand their needs, find key decision-makers, and confirm they are a good fit.
  4. Prioritize the list by scoring accounts and segmenting them into tiers based on their potential value.
  5. Collaborate with sales and marketing to finalize the list and ensure alignment on the top targets.

Target Account List vs. Target Market List

While both lists guide outreach, they serve different strategic purposes based on a company's goals.

  • Specificity: A target account list is a curated set of high-value companies for personalized ABM campaigns. It offers higher ROI and team alignment but is resource-intensive. Enterprises and mid-market firms use it for strategic, high-value deals where personalization is key.
  • Reach: A target market list is a broader collection of potential customers for wide-net campaigns. It's simpler and better for general brand awareness but often has lower conversion rates. This approach is useful when launching new products or when the ideal customer profile is less defined.

Best Practices for Managing a Target Account List

Managing your target account list is an ongoing process, not a one-time task. To maximize its effectiveness, you need to regularly refine and update it. Adopting a few key practices ensures your list remains a dynamic and valuable asset for your GTM teams.

  • Alignment: Ensure sales and marketing teams collaborate closely, working from the same list and sharing insights.
  • Refinement: Revisit and update your list quarterly, but avoid refreshing more than 20% to allow for outreach.
  • Prioritization: Segment accounts into tiers and use a scoring system to focus resources on the highest-potential prospects.
  • Data: Leverage firmographic, technographic, and engagement data to keep your list accurate and relevant.
  • Tracking: Monitor campaign performance against the list and make data-driven adjustments to optimize your strategy.

Common Mistakes to Avoid with Target Account Lists

Creating a target account list is a great first step, but several common pitfalls can undermine its effectiveness. Avoiding these mistakes ensures your ABM efforts don't go to waste and that your teams remain focused on high-value opportunities. Watch out for these common errors:

  • Foundation: Lacking a clearly defined Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) to guide account selection.
  • Alignment: Failing to ensure sales and marketing teams are on the same page.
  • Data: Relying on outdated or incomplete information, leading to mis-targeted outreach.
  • Stagnation: Treating the list as a one-time project instead of a dynamic, evolving asset.

Frequently Asked Questions about Target Account List

How many accounts should be on a target account list?

The ideal size depends on your team's capacity. A good starting point is 50-100 accounts per sales rep. This ensures each account receives the personalized attention required for effective account-based marketing without overwhelming your team.

How often should I refresh my target account list?

Refresh your list quarterly to keep it relevant, but avoid replacing more than 20% at a time. This allows your team enough time to properly engage accounts while still adapting to market changes and new opportunities.

What's the best way to measure the success of a target account list?

Measure success by tracking metrics like account engagement, pipeline velocity, and win rates within your target accounts. The ultimate goal is to see a higher conversion rate and deal size from these accounts compared to non-targeted outreach.

Other terms

Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
00 items

Feature Flags

Feature flags let you remotely control features in your app without new code. This enables safe testing, gradual rollouts, and quick rollbacks.

Feature Flags

Docker

Docker is a tool that packages applications and their dependencies into isolated environments called containers for easy deployment and scaling.

Docker

Sales Engagement

Sales engagement is the sum of all interactions between a seller and a prospect, aimed at building a relationship and moving a deal forward.

Sales Engagement

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

Revenue Operations KPIs

Revenue Operations KPIs are quantifiable metrics that track the performance, efficiency, and health of a company's revenue-generating engine.

Revenue Operations KPIs

Inbound Sales

Inbound sales attracts interested prospects who've engaged with your brand, letting sales reps connect with warm leads instead of cold outreach.

Inbound Sales

Outbound Leads

Outbound leads are potential customers a business proactively contacts through outreach like cold calls, emails, or social media.

Outbound Leads

Payment Processors

Payment processors are companies that handle card transactions, connecting merchants with the banks needed to complete a sale.

Payment Processors

Regression Testing

Regression testing ensures that new code changes don’t negatively impact existing features. It's a key step to maintain software quality after updates.

Regression Testing

Dynamic Territories

Dynamic territories are fluid sales assignments that adjust based on real-time data, ensuring reps can focus on the highest-value accounts.

Dynamic Territories

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

End of Quarter

“End of Quarter” (EOQ) refers to the final weeks of a business quarter when sales teams rush to meet quotas, often leading to a flurry of deals.

End of Quarter

Touchpoints

A touchpoint is any time a potential or existing customer comes in contact with your brand, from seeing an ad to receiving an email.

Touchpoints

Analytics Platforms

Analytics platforms are tools that collect and analyze data from various sources, helping businesses track key metrics and make informed decisions.

Analytics Platforms

Firmographics

Firmographics are descriptive attributes of organizations, used to segment companies by characteristics like industry, size, and location.

Firmographics

Break-Even

Learn about break-even, including calculating your break-even point, importance of break-even analysis, & break-even analysis vs. profit margins.

Break-Even

Product Qualified Lead

A Product Qualified Lead (PQL) is a user who has experienced a product's value, signaling a strong potential to convert to a paid customer.

Product Qualified Lead

B2C2B

Learn about B2C2B, including how B2C2B transforms sales, key strategies for B2C2B success, & differences between B2C2B and B2B2C.

B2C2B

Simple Object Access Protocol Application Programming Interface

A Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) API is a web service that uses XML to exchange structured information between different applications.

Simple Object Access Protocol Application Programming Interface

Sales Training

Sales training is the process of honing a salesperson's skills and knowledge to enhance their effectiveness and drive sales success.

Sales Training

Demand Generation

Demand generation is the process of creating awareness and interest in your products to build a pipeline of qualified leads for your sales team.

Demand Generation

Stress Testing

Stress testing is a type of software testing that determines a system's robustness by pushing it beyond its normal operational capacity.

Stress Testing

B2B Sales Channels

Learn about B2B sales channels, including types of B2B sales channels, strategies for effective channel selection, & integrating technology in B2B sales.

B2B Sales Channels

B2B Demand Generation Strategy

Learn about B2B demand generation strategy, including key elements of demand generation, & crafting your demand generation plan.

B2B Demand Generation Strategy

Account-Based Analytics

Account-Based Analytics measures engagement and impact across target accounts, not just individual leads, to guide B2B sales and marketing efforts.

Account-Based Analytics

Buying Criteria

Buying criteria are the specific requirements and standards a customer uses to evaluate products or services before making a decision.

Buying Criteria

Kanban

Kanban is a visual project management method that uses a board to visualize workflow, limit work-in-progress, and maximize team efficiency.

Kanban

Event Tracking

Event tracking is the method of collecting data on specific user actions, or 'events,' on a website or app, such as clicks or downloads.

Event Tracking

Upsell

Upselling is a sales tactic encouraging customers to purchase a higher-end version of a product or related add-ons to boost revenue.

Upsell

Trigger Marketing

Trigger marketing uses customer actions or events to automatically send highly relevant, personalized messages at the perfect moment.

Trigger Marketing

Channel Marketing

Channel marketing is a strategy where a company sells its products or services through third-party partners, like resellers or affiliates.

Channel Marketing

Remote Sales

Remote sales is selling from a distance. Reps use digital tools to connect with prospects and close deals without meeting them in person.

Remote Sales

Buying Process

The buying process is the journey a customer takes from first realizing a need to making a final purchase decision and evaluating it afterward.

Buying Process

Target Buying Stage

The Target Buying Stage identifies a prospect's position in the buying journey, from initial awareness to the final decision to purchase.

Target Buying Stage

Customer Lifetime Value

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is the total revenue a business expects from a customer throughout their entire relationship with the company.

Customer Lifetime Value

Intent-Based Leads

Intent-based leads are potential customers whose online actions—like searches or content engagement—signal a clear interest in buying a solution.

Intent-Based Leads

Performance Monitoring

Performance monitoring involves collecting and analyzing data to track a system's operational health and efficiency, ensuring it meets set standards.

Performance Monitoring

B2B Data Platform

Learn about B2B data platform, including key benefits of B2B data platforms, choosing the right B2B data platform, challenges in implementing B2B data platforms.

B2B Data Platform

Functional Testing

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

Functional Testing

Contact Data

Contact data is the set of details, like names, emails, and phone numbers, used to get in touch with a person or business for outreach.

Contact Data

Sales Methodology

A sales methodology is the framework that guides how your sales team approaches the entire sales process, from prospecting to closing deals.

Sales Methodology

Content Management System

A Content Management System (CMS) is software for creating, managing, and modifying website content without needing specialized technical skills.

Content Management System

Dynamic Segment

Dynamic segments are self-updating lists that group contacts based on real-time data, ensuring your outreach is always timely and relevant.

Dynamic Segment

Product Champion

A product champion is an internal evangelist who drives a product's adoption and success by ensuring it solves real problems for their team.

Product Champion

Sales Pipeline Velocity Formula

The sales pipeline velocity formula is a key metric that measures how quickly deals move through your pipeline and turn into revenue.

Sales Pipeline Velocity Formula

Browser Compatibility

Learn about browser compatibility, including understanding the importance, common challenges, best practices, & tools for testing.

Browser Compatibility

CPM

CPM, or Cost Per Mille, is a key advertising metric. It's the cost an advertiser pays for one thousand views or impressions of a single ad.

CPM

Challenger Sales

The Challenger Sales model is a methodology where reps teach prospects, tailor their pitch, and take control of the sales conversation.

Challenger Sales

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)

Follow-up

A follow-up is a communication sent after an initial interaction to continue the conversation, provide more value, or prompt a response.

Follow-up

Geo-Fencing

Geo-fencing creates a virtual boundary around a real-world location. It triggers actions on a device when it enters or exits this area.

Geo-Fencing

De-dupe

De-duping, or data deduplication, is the process of eliminating duplicate copies of data within a dataset to improve accuracy and save space.

De-dupe

Buying Intent

Buying intent is the collection of online cues and behaviors that signal a prospect is actively researching and moving toward a purchase decision.

Buying Intent

Purchase Buying Stage

The purchase stage is when a buyer has decided on a solution and is ready to buy. They're comparing vendors to make a final choice.

Purchase Buying Stage

Logo Retention

Logo retention is a key B2B metric that measures a company's ability to retain its customers, or 'logos,' over a specific period.

Logo Retention

Inventory Management

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

Inventory Management

Pain Point

A pain point is a specific, recurring problem your target customers face, causing them frustration, inefficiency, or added costs.

Pain Point

Sales Territory

A sales territory is a specific group of customers or a geographic area that a salesperson or sales team is responsible for managing.

Sales Territory

Marketo

Marketo is a marketing automation platform used by B2B marketers to manage lead generation, nurturing, email marketing, and analytics.

Marketo

Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is the emotional commitment an employee has to their organization, motivating them to contribute to the company's success.

Employee Engagement

Sales Operations Analytics

Sales operations analytics is the practice of analyzing sales data to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the entire sales process.

Sales Operations Analytics

MOFU

MOFU, or Middle of the Funnel, is the crucial evaluation stage in the buyer's journey where leads compare solutions to their known problem.

MOFU

Market Intelligence

Market intelligence is the process of collecting and analyzing data about your target market, competitors, and industry to guide business strategy.

Market Intelligence

Email Cadence

An email cadence is a scheduled sequence of emails sent to prospects over a specific period to nurture leads and drive engagement.

Email Cadence

Email Deliverability

Email deliverability is the ability for your emails to successfully land in your recipients' inboxes instead of their spam folders.

Email Deliverability

Customer Centricity

Customer centricity is a business approach that puts the customer at the heart of every decision, aiming to build loyalty and long-term value.

Customer Centricity

Channel Partner

A channel partner is a company that works with a manufacturer or producer to market and sell their products, software, or services to customers.

Channel Partner

User Interaction

User interaction is any action a user takes within a digital interface, like clicking a button, scrolling a page, or filling out a form.

User Interaction

B2B Data Enrichment

Learn about B2B data enrichment, including benefits of B2B data enrichment, implementing B2B data enrichment strategies, B2B data enrichment vs. data cleaning.

B2B Data Enrichment

Lead Enrichment

Lead enrichment adds third-party data to your raw lead lists, creating fuller prospect profiles for more effective and personalized outreach.

Lead Enrichment

Data-Driven Lead Generation

Data-driven lead generation is the process of using data insights to identify, attract, and convert high-quality leads into customers.

Data-Driven Lead Generation

Regression Analysis

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

Regression Analysis

Load Testing

Load testing is a type of performance testing that determines how a system behaves under both normal and anticipated peak load conditions.

Load Testing

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

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

MEDDICC

MEDDICC is a sales qualification framework for complex B2B deals. It helps reps identify and validate key aspects of an opportunity to close more effectively.

MEDDICC

Bad Leads

Learn about bad leads, including identifying bad leads, warning signs of bad leads, impact of bad leads on sales, & strategies to minimize bad leads.

Bad Leads

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

Sales and Marketing Analytics

Sales and marketing analytics involves measuring and analyzing performance data to maximize effectiveness and optimize return on investment (ROI).

Sales and Marketing Analytics

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)

Sales Pipeline Reporting

Sales pipeline reporting is the process of analyzing sales data to track progress, identify bottlenecks, and forecast future revenue.

Sales Pipeline Reporting

Closed Question

A closed question is a type of query that elicits a simple, often one-word answer like 'yes' or 'no,' or a specific, factual response.

Closed Question

Application Programming Interface Security

API security is the practice of protecting application programming interfaces from attacks, preventing data breaches and unauthorized access.

Application Programming Interface Security

Value-Added Reseller

A Value-Added Reseller (VAR) is a company that adds features or services to an existing product, then resells it as an integrated solution.

Value-Added Reseller

Competitive Intelligence (CI)

Competitive intelligence (CI) is the ethical gathering and analysis of market data to inform strategic business decisions and gain an advantage.

Competitive Intelligence (CI)

Yield Management

Yield management is a dynamic pricing strategy that adjusts prices based on demand to maximize revenue from a fixed, perishable inventory.

Yield Management

Marketing Play

A marketing play is a repeatable tactic used to achieve a specific marketing goal, like generating leads or driving engagement.

Marketing Play

Webhooks

Webhooks are automated messages sent by an app when a specific event occurs. They push real-time data to another app's unique URL.

Webhooks

Network Monitoring

Network monitoring is the continuous process of tracking a computer network's performance and health to detect and resolve issues proactively.

Network Monitoring

GTM

A go-to-market (GTM) strategy is an action plan that outlines how a company will reach target customers and achieve a competitive advantage.

GTM

Brand Awareness

Learn about brand awareness, including understanding its importance, building an effective strategy, key metrics to track, & examples in the real world.

Brand Awareness

B2B Marketing Analytics

Learn about B2B marketing analytics, including key components of B2B marketing analytics, & getting started with B2B marketing analytics.

B2B Marketing Analytics

Intent Data

Intent data tracks a user's online behavior—like searches and site visits—to identify signals that they are ready to make a purchase.

Intent Data

Sales Playbook

A sales playbook is a guide that outlines your sales process, best practices, and tools to help reps sell more efficiently and consistently.

Sales Playbook

Sales Enablement Content

Sales enablement content refers to the materials and tools that empower your sales team to engage prospects and close deals more efficiently.

Sales Enablement Content

Buyer Intent

Learn about buyer intent, including understanding buyer intent signals, strategies to capture buyer intent, & buyer intent vs. customer interest.

Buyer Intent

Site Retargeting

Site retargeting is a marketing strategy that shows ads to people who have previously visited your website but left without converting.

Site Retargeting

Value Chain

A value chain is the series of business activities required to create and deliver a product or service, from conception to the final customer.

Value Chain

Time on Site

Time on site, or session duration, is a key web metric that tracks the total time a visitor spends on your website during a single visit.

Time on Site

No Forms

No Forms is a method for capturing lead data directly from your website visitors' profiles without requiring them to fill out any forms.

No Forms