Become great at Account Based Marketing
Land Bigger Deals Faster
Learn how to plan, build, test, measure, optimize, and scale account-based marketing in any B2B company.
Online course:
Account based marketing
By Steve Watt,
Marketing Director@ Seismic
Course length: 3h 00min
Master the strategies, tactics, metrics, and wisdom you need to become an ABM leader and accelerate the growth of your company and of your career
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is the hottest topic in B2B because, when done right, it WORKS. Companies of all sizes, in all industries, are closing bigger deals faster and more efficiently by thinking and operating very differently.
Others are struggling to implement ABM because they fail to understand how fundamentally different it is from traditional inbound and outbound B2B sales and marketing. Their shortcuts and missteps waste time and money, then they write ABM off as another fad while their competitors leave them in their dust.
Get a lesson preview
After taking this course, you’ll:
- Clearly explain what ABM is, what it isn’t, and how it challenges so many of the beliefs, practices, and metrics taken for granted in almost every B2B organization.
- Evaluate the three types of ABM and determine which one(s) are best for your company (hint: it’s very likely that a blended approach of two or even all three is best).
- Gain enthusiastic executive and cross-functional alignment and co-ownership. Marketers who try to do it alone fail.
- Develop an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), tier strategy, cluster strategy, and contact identification plan that goes well beyond basic demographics and technographics.
- Plan the right multi-threaded, multi-channel, multi-touch campaigns and cadences to cut through the noise and become a priority for your most valuable prospects.
- Understand the ABM technology landscape, what tools may be right for your particular challenges, and when to introduce them. Don’t fall into the trap of buying new technology too soon.
Skills you will master
Milkah Simiyu
Engaging and practical lessons.
Troy Pacheco
The number of real-life examples in this course made it easy to identify how we could add some of these strategies to our existing marketing environment.
Milford Crosby
I liked the whole course. I learned and felt entertained at the same time. Win win.
Learn how to plan, build, test, measure, optimize, and scale Account-Based Marketing in any B2B company, and in any industry
ABM is strategy and execution, creativity and analytics, established best practices and continuous experimentation.
If ABM is already part of your job, this course will give you the frameworks, tools, and insights you need to perform at much higher levels. If your company isn’t there yet, or if you’re looking to join a new company, this course will position you to powerfully and credibly evangelize and lead what could be the most impactful growth strategy the company has ever employed.
Ideal for you if…
- You work in (or want to work in) a B2B organization with average deal sizes of $10k or greater.
- You want to elevate yourself above the masses of marketers vying for promotions and new opportunities to lead growth initiatives.
- You are a CEO, CMO, CRO, or sales leader seeking larger deals, shorter sales cycles, higher margins, and greater customer retention and upsell.
This course is probably not for you if…
- You firmly believe that activity metrics (dials etc.) drive sales performance, top of funnel metrics (leads etc.) drive marketing performance, and all you need is more of the same.
- You expect immediate results and will not invest in new ways of doing business that require planning, building, and iterating over many months (even years in some cases).
- You don’t work well with others. ABM is extremely collaborative and cannot be done “heads-down” in isolation.
- You are already an ABM expert. While this course will cover a lot of advanced material, those who are well versed in ABM strategy, tactics, metrics and tools will find some sections redundant.
Skills you should have before taking this course:
This course is appropriate for novice, beginner, and intermediate-level ABM leaders and practitioners, as well as for senior B2B leaders interested in building more strategic, collaborative sales & marketing alignment. Once foundational topics have been covered, we’ll quickly move into rather advanced concepts.
- Students should have a basic foundation in B2B sales and marketing strategies, processes, and metrics. As the saying goes, you’ve got to know the rules before you break them.
Steve Watt
Marketing Director@ Seismic
Steve Watt has been on a deep dive into ABM for two and a half years (which is actually a pretty long time in such a new and fast-growing field). He led creation of a very successful ABM practice in one company, failed in an attempt to do the same in another (and now knows why), and has worked as an ABM consultant and advisor for two other firms.
He is currently Marketing Director at Seismic, helping make sales teams better by becoming more productive and engaging with buyers in a compelling way.
Course overview
Your full course curriculum:
Account based marketing
1 A little red Ferrari, problems with conventional demand gen, & laying solid ABM foundations
How a little (very little) red Ferrari cracked open a seemingly impenetrable market, unlocked game-changing growth, and changed the way a mid-sized tech company thinks about demand generation.
Topics covered:
- Learn what’s wrong with conventional sales, marketing, demand generation, and how it all slows growth and builds walls between the people who should be collaborating.
- Understand the three different types of ABM, how to best assess your company's needs, and why a blended approach is very likely the best approach.
- Avoid three deadly ABM mistakes.
2 Planning your pilot
Two of the most important steps of ABM are gaining executive and cross-functional alignment, and planning a solid pilot program. We’ll go deep into why these steps are crucial, and how to rally the team around doing them right.
Topics covered:
- How to gain (and maintain) executive sponsorship for ABM.
- How to bring in sales, customer success, and other vital stakeholders as enthusiastic co-owners of the program.
- How to plan the right size pilot: Big enough to be material; small enough to be manageable.
3 Absolutely nailing the ideal customer profile, account selection, & tier strategy
People often think account selection is simple and obvious. They’re wrong. Mistakes made here will undermine your chances of success and waste your time and money for months. Maybe years. We’ll make sure you start on a strong footing.
Topics covered:
- Blending qualitative and quantitative approaches to develop a powerful Ideal Customer Profile
- Selecting the right accounts (and ensuring all stakeholders are fully on board with the decisions)
- Tiers and clusters. There’s much more to it than simple industry segments.
4 Research, journey, & channels
Now that you’ve got your account list, and your tier and cluster strategy, you need to determine who, exactly, you need to engage and what approach and message are most likely to resonate with them.
Topics covered:
- Determining how many contacts you need in each account, and what roles they are in.
- Data sources and manual research approaches to capturing the right names and contact information.
- Insight research, buyer intent, social listening… how deep should we go?
- Channel and cadence planning.
5 Optimizing & scaling
Once your pilot is in the market you've still got a lot of work ahead of you. No matter how well planned and built, it will still be inefficient and ineffective compared to what it will become. You've got to keep your foot on the gas in terms of testing, measuring, and communicating. So much communicating! We'll also talk about the ABM Hype Cycle and how many companies have gotten off track in the early days of their ABM journey.
Topics covered:
- Maintain focus and momentum once your pilot is in-market.
- Build a predictable, repeatable cash machine.
- Ensure effective ongoing communication to lay the foundations for scaling ABM post-pilot.
6 ABM tools & careers
There are hundreds of jobs available RIGHT NOW that require ABM experience, and not nearly enough skilled and experienced people to fill them. How do you get started in ABM? How do you hire experienced people in such a competitive market? Is ABM a separate career path or is it a core competency for any B2B marketing career?
Topics covered:
- Build a good understanding of the ABM technology landscape, and how and when tools can help you enhance your impact.
- Continue your learning with a wide range of ABM content from those shaping the industry.
- Explore some different approaches to building your team and enhancing your ability to accelerate and de-risk your ABM programs.
- Accelerate your career trajectory as an ABM practitioner and leader.
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Learn Account Based Marketing: FAQ
Who is this course for?
This course is essential for you if:
- You work in (or want to work in) a B2B organization with average deal sizes of $10k or greater.
- You want to elevate yourself above the masses of marketers vying for promotions and new opportunities to lead growth initiatives.
- You are a CEO, CMO, CRO, or sales leader seeking larger deals, shorter sales cycles, higher margins, and greater customer retention and upsell.
What will you learn?
After taking this course, you will:
- Clearly explain what ABM is, what it isn’t, and how it challenges so many of the beliefs, practices, and metrics taken for granted in almost every B2B organization.
- Evaluate the three types of ABM and determine which one(s) are best for your company (hint: it’s very likely that a blended approach of two or even all three is best).
- Gain enthusiastic executive and cross-functional alignment and co-ownership. Marketers who try to do it alone fail.
- Develop an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), tier strategy, cluster strategy, and contact identification plan that goes well beyond basic demographics and technographics.
- Plan the right multi-threaded, multi-channel, multi-touch campaigns and cadences to cut through the noise and become a priority for your most valuable prospects.
- Understand the ABM technology landscape, what tools may be right for your particular challenges, and when to introduce them. Don’t fall into the trap of buying new technology too soon.
What does the course include?
Our ABM training includes 7 lessons, 3h 00min of video material, several assignments, and a final exam.
Are subtitles available for the lessons?
Lessons have English subtitles and transcriptions available.
Will I receive a certificate of completion?
After taking this course, you will receive the Account Based Marketing Certification from CXL, with credentials that you can add to your LinkedIn profile.
What is the refund policy?
All plans come with a 7-day refund period .
How long will it take for me to finish it?
This is entirely up to you – it’s how many study hours per week you can put in. This course is 0 long.