What you'll get
- 1 copy-ready blocks
- Spreadsheet-ready
- 4 tables
- 9 min read
- Monthly dashboard (copy this block)
How to use it
- Step 1: Start with the account list you are working. Write down how many accounts are on it today. That number is the base for everything else.
- Step 2: Agree the counting rule for each of the five numbers in Part 2, in writing, with sales and marketing. Do it before the first report, not after a bad month.
- Step 3: Copy the dashboard in Part 3 into a spreadsheet. Fill in last month and this month. Take 30 minutes, not a day.
- Step 4: Read it with the four questions in Part 4 and write one decision under it.
- Step 5: Keep every month on the same sheet. A single month tells you little. Six months in a row tells you where the work is stuck.
Most ABM metrics lists run to fifteen or twenty measures: impressions, clicks, engagement scores, lead counts. Few of them tell a sales head what to do on Monday. This template keeps five. Every one is a count of your own named accounts, so each has a fixed total behind it and none can grow just because more activity was sent. It is a monthly view for the person who reviews the programme, not a weekly working sheet. The weekly sheet is the outbound dashboard linked at the end.
Part 1: The five numbers
These are the five numbers, the same five the weekly sheet tracks, read monthly. Each answers one question about the list.
| # | Number | The question it answers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Outreach accounts | How many of the accounts on the list are we actually working? |
| 2 | Coverage rate | How much of the list does that cover? |
| 3 | Active buying committees | In how many accounts is more than one person engaged? |
| 4 | Active conversations | How many accounts are in a live conversation about the problem? |
| 5 | Value of pipeline generated | What is the real opportunity value inside those accounts? |
Read them in that order. The first two tell you about effort. The last three tell you about the accounts.
Part 2: How to count each one
A number is only useful if two people would count it the same way. Settle these rules first. The rules below are our suggestions. Change them to suit your sales cycle, then keep them fixed.
| Number | Count it as | Leave out |
|---|---|---|
| Outreach accounts | Accounts where at least one person has received a message written for that account this month | Accounts with a bulk sequence or a newsletter only |
| Coverage rate | Outreach accounts divided by accounts on the list. Write it as a fraction, for example 14 of 40 | Accounts added to the list this month, until they have been worked once |
| Active buying committees | Accounts where two or more named people have replied, opened a conversation or taken part in a call in the last 30 days | One person with many replies |
| Active conversations | Accounts where someone has said something back about the problem in the last 30 days | Replies that say "not now" or "unsubscribe" |
| Value of pipeline generated | The value of opportunities that your sales team has accepted and logged in your CRM, in one currency, counted once | Estimates, hopes and the same deal counted at two stages |
Three notes on the table.
- The weekly outbound dashboard counts coverage as depth: how much of each mapped buying committee has been reached inside the accounts being worked. This monthly sheet counts breadth: how much of the list is being worked at all. If your team runs both, write down which definition each report uses.
- A reply is not a conversation. Count a conversation only when the person says something about the problem, the timing or the people involved.
- Pipeline value is the only number that sales, not marketing, should sign off. If the sales team will not accept the opportunity, it is not pipeline.
Part 3: The monthly dashboard
Copy it into a spreadsheet. Spreadsheet headers are tab separated.
Monthly dashboard (copy this block)
ACCOUNT LIST: [Name of the list] MONTH: [Month and year] OWNER: [Name]
NUMBER LAST MONTH THIS MONTH CHANGE ONE LINE ON WHY
Accounts on the list
Outreach accounts
Coverage rate (of the list)
Active buying committees
Active conversations
Value of pipeline generated [currency]
ACCOUNTS THAT MOVED THIS MONTH
[Account] moved from [stage] to [stage] because [one line]
[Account] moved from [stage] to [stage] because [one line]
ACCOUNTS THAT STALLED
[Account], [days since last reply], [what we will try next]
ONE DECISION FOR NEXT MONTH
[One sentence: what we will change, add or stop]Fill in the "one line on why" column for every row, even when the number has not changed. A flat number with a reason is a decision. A flat number without one is a number nobody has read.
Part 4: Four questions to ask of it
Read the dashboard in this order. Stop at the first question you cannot answer.
- Is the list the right size? If the accounts on the list rise every month while coverage falls, you are adding faster than you can work. Cap the list before you chase a better number.
- Do the numbers hold together? Outreach accounts should lead the others. Committees cannot be higher than outreach accounts. Conversations cannot be higher than outreach accounts. If one is, a rule is being applied differently by different people.
- Where does the list drop off? Compare the five from left to right. A sharp fall between two numbers shows where the work is stuck.
- What did we do differently in the month the number moved? If you cannot name a change, do not claim the result. Write "unknown" and watch it for another month.
What each drop usually points to
| Where it falls | What it often means | What to look at |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage is low | Too few people working too long a list | Cap the list, or add capacity |
| Outreach is high, committees are low | One contact per account | Multithreading, the buying committee map |
| Committees are high, conversations are low | Replies, but no talk about the problem | The first line of each message |
| Conversations are high, pipeline is flat | Interest without an owner or a next step | The handover to your sellers |
These are patterns to test, not rules. Treat each as a first guess.
Part 5: What to leave out
Some measures feel useful and tell a sales head very little. Keep them on a marketing sheet if you need them, but not on this page.
- Impressions and clicks. They show that an advert was served. They do not show that anyone at the account cares.
- Emails sent and calls made. These measure your effort. Put them on the weekly working sheet.
- Lead counts. A list of names is not a list of accounts. Ten names at one company is one account.
- A single engagement score. It mixes opens, visits and replies into one figure nobody can act on.
- Meetings booked. A meeting with one junior person is not progress on an account. If you want a meeting measure, count meetings by account and by role.
Worked example (illustrative, not a real company)
Halden Systems, an invented firm, sells asset tracking software to large hospital groups. Its list has 40 named accounts. Here are two months of its dashboard. All figures are invented.
| Number | October | November | One line on why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accounts on the list | 40 | 40 | List capped in October |
| Outreach accounts | 14 | 22 | Second consultant started on 3 November |
| Coverage rate | 14 of 40 | 22 of 40 | Follows outreach accounts |
| Active buying committees | 2 | 4 | Two accounts reached a second person after an introduction |
| Active conversations | 3 | 5 | Two came from the same two accounts |
| Value of pipeline generated | 0 | 1 opportunity logged, value agreed with sales | One account asked for a proposal |
The reading, in the four questions. The list is the right size. The numbers hold together: committees and conversations are both below outreach accounts. The sharpest fall is between outreach accounts (22) and committees (4), so most accounts have one contact. The change in the month was a new consultant, and the introduction route is the thing to repeat. The one decision: ask every active contact for an introduction to a second person before the next review.
Halden did not claim the pipeline figure as a result of the new consultant. One opportunity in one month shows a direction, not a rate. These numbers show the shape of the page, not a result to expect.
Five mistakes to avoid
- Changing a counting rule in the middle of a quarter. The trend breaks and nobody trusts the earlier months.
- Reporting the five numbers without the base. "22 outreach accounts" means little. "22 of 40" tells the reader the size of the job.
- Letting marketing and sales each keep their own count of accounts and conversations. Use one sheet and one owner.
- Adding a sixth number whenever someone asks for it. Replace one, do not add one.
- Reporting pipeline before sales has accepted it.
Why this works on named accounts
Read next
Related articleABM for a Small Team: Picking Target Accounts and Proving It WorksRead →More from the Academy
Outbound Weekly Dashboard
For teams that review outbound on feelings and anecdotes.
You leave with a paste-in weekly dashboard on the five account KPIs, a 20-minute review agenda and a reading guide for when a line flattens.
Account Review Template, Grow Your Accounts
For account owners who look after customers that bought once and have not been asked since.
You leave with a one sheet portfolio, a grow, hold or protect call for each account, five questions for a review call and a note to file.
Account Penetration Tracker (Sheets)
For teams working a named account list.
You leave with a paste-in tracker: one row per account, six statuses, the five KPIs your weekly review needs and a rule that flags any account going stale.
Pipeline Coverage Calculator
Work out how much pipeline, and how many accounts, your target needs. Uses only your own numbers. Runs in your browser.
Want this in your inbox?
Optional. We use your email only to send you this, nothing else.