What you'll get
- 6 copy-ready blocks
- Spreadsheet-ready
- 5 min read
- Tier rules card
- How many Tier 1 accounts can you carry?
- Tiering worksheet header (paste into a spreadsheet)
- Treatment card
- Promotion and demotion rules
- Worksheet, filled in
How to use it
- Step 1: Score every account out of 100. The Account Scoring Tool does this from the scorecard criteria.
- Step 2: Work out your Tier 1 capacity with the sum in Part 2. Do this before you look at the scores.
- Step 3: Apply the rules in Part 1, then cut Tier 1 down to capacity.
- Step 4: Record the result in the worksheet and agree it with sales and marketing in one sitting.
- Step 5: Re-tier every quarter with Part 5.
Tiering decides how much effort each account on your list receives. Scores tell you fit; tiers turn fit into a plan the team can carry. Do this after scoring and before any outreach.
Part 1: Tier rules
Tier rules card
TIER 1 "Top logos" Score 90 or more. A current reason to act. We can name three roles to reach.
Treatment: one-to-one. A plan per account. Researched per person.
TIER 2 "Look-alikes" Score 75 to 89. Resembles a Tier 1 account or an existing customer.
Treatment: one-to-few. Researched per account, messages shared across similar accounts.
TIER 3 "Watch and warm" Score 60 to 74, or a good fit with no reason to act yet.
Treatment: one-to-many. Light touch; promoted when a trigger lands.
BELOW 60 Not on the list this quarter.The bands are the ones we use. Move them if your scores cluster differently, but keep three tiers and keep Tier 1 the smallest.
Part 2: Capacity sum
How many Tier 1 accounts can you carry?
A. People who will work Tier 1 accounts: [ ]
B. Hours each can give to Tier 1 work per week: [ ]
C. Hours one Tier 1 account needs per week
(research, writing, calls, plan review): [ ]
Tier 1 capacity = A x B / C = [ ] accounts
If more accounts qualify than capacity allows, the lowest scorers move to Tier 2.Use your own numbers. If you have never timed C, track one account for two weeks before you commit to a figure.
Part 3: Worksheet
Tiering worksheet header (paste into a spreadsheet)
Account Score /100 Reason to act now (with date) Roles we can name Proposed tier Final tier Owner Why this tier Review date"Why this tier" is one line. If nobody can write it, the account is in the wrong tier.
Part 4: What each tier receives
Treatment card
TIER 1 TIER 2 TIER 3
Research Per person Per account Per segment
Account plan One page each One per cluster None
Touches per person 10 to 14 8 to 10 5 to 7
Channels Up to 6 4 2
People approached 3 or more roles 2 roles 1 role
Plan review Fortnightly Monthly QuarterlyPart 5: Quarterly re-tier
Promotion and demotion rules
PROMOTE to Tier 1 when: a trigger event lands · a second person engages · a customer refers you in
DEMOTE from Tier 1 when: no response from three roles in a quarter · the reason to act has passed ·
a knock-out appears (wrong size, wrong system, frozen budget)
SWAP, do not add: every promotion into a full Tier 1 moves one account out.Worked example (illustrative, not a real company)
Quaywise, a warehouse-software seller, tiers five accounts from its scored list. All names are invented.
Worksheet, filled in
Capacity: 2 people x 10 hours / 2 hours per account = 10 Tier 1 accounts. Nine places taken.
Account Score Reason to act now Roles named Final tier Why this tier
Northfield Logistics 92 Second site announced (March) 3 1 Fit, trigger and three roles
Harlow Freight 91 None found 1 2 High fit, no reason yet, one role
Calder Cold Chain 84 New operations director (May) 2 2 Look-alike of Northfield
Pennant Parcels 72 None found 1 3 Watch for a trigger
Orrin Retail Group 55 None 0 Off list Below 60Northfield scored 75 in the scorecard example. Conversations with two people since then lifted its access and problem scores, and it was re-scored at 92. Harlow scored above 90 and still went to Tier 2: no current reason to act and one known role. Fit alone does not earn Tier 1.
Five mistakes to avoid
- Tiering by company size or logo. A famous name with no reason to act is a Tier 3 account.
- A Tier 1 larger than capacity. Then nobody gets one-to-one treatment, whatever the label says.
- Letting sales and marketing tier separately. Two lists means two half-efforts.
- Never demoting. Tier 1 fills with accounts that stopped responding a year ago.
- Skipping "why this tier". The line is what you defend when someone asks to add their favourite.
Why this works on named accounts
Common questions
What is account tiering in ABM?
Sorting a target account list into groups that receive different levels of effort: one-to-one for the top tier, one-to-few for the middle and one-to-many for the rest.
How many accounts should be in Tier 1?
As many as your team can work one-to-one, and no more. Part 2 turns that into a number from your own hours.
How often should accounts be re-tiered?
Every quarter, and at once when a trigger event lands on a lower-tier account.
Read next
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