What you'll get
- 5 copy-ready blocks
- 6 min read
- One-page ABM plan (fill in the brackets)
- Tier and play table
- Handover rule (fill in the brackets)
- 30-day start
- Plan, filled in
How to use it
- Step 1: Book 90 minutes with the heads of marketing and sales. Fill in Part 1 together, in order.
- Step 2: Leave a line blank if you cannot agree it. A blank line is the next piece of work.
- Step 3: Complete Parts 2 and 3 before any outreach starts.
- Step 4: Review the page monthly. Change the list quarterly, not weekly.
An ABM strategy is seven decisions that marketing and sales take together, in order. This template puts all seven on one page, then adds a play for each tier, a handover rule and a first 30 days.
Part 1: The one-page plan
One-page ABM plan (fill in the brackets)
ABM PLAN: [your company], [quarter], owners [marketing lead] and [sales lead]
1. GOAL
This programme exists to: [win new accounts / enter a new market / grow existing customers]
We will call it working when: [one countable result, in accounts]
2. IDEAL CUSTOMER PROFILE
Sector, size band and geography: [ ]
The problem, in the customer's words: [ ]
Knock-outs: [ ] / [ ] / [ ]
3. ACCOUNT LIST
Accounts on the list: [ ] Tier 1: [ ] Tier 2: [ ] Tier 3: [ ]
Where the list lives, and who may change it: [ ]
4. BUYING COMMITTEE
Roles we must reach in every Tier 1 account: [budget owner] [day-to-day owner] [technical evaluator]
Tier 1 accounts with all three named: [ ] of [ ]
5. REASON TO TALK NOW
Triggers we watch for: [new site / new leader / regulation with a date / system at its limit]
Who checks for them, and how often: [ ]
6. PLAYS
One play per tier, set out in Part 2.
7. MEASURES AND HANDOVER
Reported monthly: accounts in outreach, roles named per account, accounts in conversation,
pipeline from the list
Handover rule, set out in Part 3: [one sentence]Part 2: A play for each tier
A play is the sequence of touches one tier receives. Write it down before launch.
Tier and play table
TIER 1 (one-to-one) TIER 2 (one-to-few) TIER 3 (one-to-many)
Research Per person Per account Per segment
Content Made for the account Made for the cluster Existing content
Marketing warms by [brief on their trigger] [cluster brief or event] [posts, newsletter]
Sales opens with A note to each role A note to the core roles A note to one role
Touches per person 10 to 14 8 to 10 5 to 7
Channels Up to 6 4 2
Owner [named seller] [named seller] [marketing]The touch and channel counts are the ones we use. Adjust them to your capacity.
Part 3: The handover rule
ABM warms the account. Account-based selling opens it. The plan must say when one becomes the other.
Handover rule (fill in the brackets)
An account passes from marketing to a named seller when ANY of these is true:
- A person at the account replies, asks a question or accepts an invitation
- Two or more people at the account engage in the same [30] days
- A trigger event lands on the account
On handover:
- The seller contacts the person within [one] working day
- Marketing sends the seller: what the account saw, who engaged, the trigger
- Marketing keeps warming the other roles. It does not stop.
The account returns to marketing when: [no reply from three roles in a quarter]Part 4: The first 30 days
30-day start
Week 1 Agree Part 1. Score and tier the list. Name an owner for every Tier 1 account.
Week 2 Map the buying committee for Tier 1. Write one true reason to talk now per account.
Week 3 Marketing starts warming Tier 1 and Tier 2. Sales drafts the first notes.
Week 4 Sales starts Tier 1 outreach. First monthly review: what is blank, what moved.Worked example (illustrative, not a real company)
Quaywise sells warehouse software. Its marketing lead and Sam Carter, who leads sales, fill in the page. All names are invented.
Plan, filled in
1. Goal: win new accounts among regional logistics operators.
Working when: six Tier 1 accounts are in conversation with two or more people.
2. ICP: logistics operators with two to ten sites. Problem: "stock counts differ between sites."
Knock-outs: signed with a competitor this year / one site only / outside our delivery region.
3. List: 40 accounts. Tier 1: 10. Tier 2: 15. Tier 3: 15.
4. Committee: VP Supply Chain, warehouse operations lead, Head of IT Applications. Named in 6 of 10.
5. Triggers: second site announced, new operations leader. Checked every Monday.
7. Handover: Northfield Logistics passed to Sam when Dana Whitfield, VP Supply Chain, replied to
the second-site brief. Marketing kept warming Marcus Lee, Head of IT Applications.Line 4 is the useful one. Four Tier 1 accounts have a gap in the committee, so week 2 is research, not outreach.
Five mistakes to avoid
- A list described, not named. "Mid-size logistics firms" is a segment. The plan needs company names.
- Marketing writes it alone. If sales has not signed line 1, sales will not work line 3.
- A Tier 1 too large to research. Then every account gets the Tier 3 play under a Tier 1 label.
- No handover rule. The account is warmed, nobody calls and the interest fades.
- Reporting clicks and sends. Every measure on the page counts accounts.
Why this works on named accounts
Common questions
What should an ABM strategy template include?
Seven things: a goal agreed with sales, an ideal customer profile, a tiered account list, the buying committee roles, the triggers you watch for, a play per tier, and measures with a handover rule.
How many accounts should a first ABM plan cover?
As many as your team can research properly. Work out Tier 1 from your own hours with the account tiering worksheet, then add lighter tiers around it.
What is the difference between an ABM plan and a key account plan?
An ABM plan covers the whole list and how each tier is treated. A key account plan covers one company: its people, what you know and your next moves.
Read next
Related articleWhat Is ABM in Marketing? A Plain-English Definition for Named AccountsRead →More from the Academy
Account Tiering Worksheet (Tier 1, 2, 3)
For teams with a scored account list and no agreement on who gets the most attention.
You leave with tier rules, a capacity sum, a worksheet, a treatment card and one list tiered.
Target Account Selection Scorecard
For founders and sales leaders who have an ICP on a slide and need a ranked list of named accounts.
You leave with a one-page ICP, an 11-point weighted scorecard and three tiers.
Buying Committee Map
For sellers working a large account through a single contact.
You leave with nine roles to look for, a map you can paste into a spreadsheet, a brief for each person and a coverage check that shows where the account is exposed.
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