Joe Quinn’s foray into account-based marketing was a happy accident.
When Joe Quinn started working at National Instruments in 2003, he was as a regional marketing manager focused on traditional marketing tactics, like lead generation. But three years in, his team began implementing laser-focused marketing programs to support their sales force. “We didn’t know it was account-based marketing,” he explains. “It was just tactics to help them be better at their accounts. Lo and behold, as the industry became more defined, we totally realized that the things that we were doing were elements of account-based marketing.”
Now, Joe is NI’s Section Manager of Account-Based Marketing for the Americas — and he’s helping expand ABM across the company’s other regions, as well.
When he spoke at the #FlipMyFunnel Austin Conference in June, I was so inspired by his story that I wanted to learn more. Recently, we sat down to chat more about his experience with building a global ABM strategy, his tips for hiring the right people, and even his love of gardening. Read on to learn a few fun facts about Joe, and then watch our entire interview below.
Favorite movie?
“Forrest Gump . . . The thing that I like about it is that there’s every possibility. There’s nothing you can’t do, and all you have to do is take the first step and be committed to doing it. I view my job that way too. Boy, there’s a lot of things at our company that we can do. We help our customers solve some of the largest engineering challenges in the world. But we as marketers and as sales folks, helping these clients and customers, we just have to keep driving forward and find where we keep adding value, so that they can do the magical work that they do.”
Someone you really want to give a shout-out to?
“Matt Senatore from SiriusDecisions. He has been a great collaborator.”
What would you be doing if you weren’t an ABM trailblazer?
“I would be a pumpkin farmer in Half Moon Bay, California . . . I like growing, I like nurturing and gardening. It’s relaxing, it’s outside. California Half Moon Bay is beautiful. Nice weather. It probably wouldn’t pay too much, but I think I would probably enjoy just taking it day by day.”
Check out the full interview with Joe Quinn below.
How did you develop your account-based marketing strategy?
“Our first set of metrics were totally based on what sales cares about, which was new revenue,” says Joe. “That got us a seat at the table, and our first year, we tracked $8.8 million in new opportunities that were created through our one-to-one account-based marketing efforts.”
But Joe and his team didn’t stop there. As their strategy got more sophisticated, each of his team members began to focus on one particular facet of account-based marketing.
“I have one person who’s . . . building up the skill set on measurement systems for ABM. She now, over the past three years, has just consumed all of the aspects of, ‘What could be measured? What should be measured?’
“One that was kind of new to me, which was exciting, is that we often overlook our readiness measurements. What have we done to prepare, to actually deliver a metric that people traditionally look at—which could be engagement, it could be penetration, it could be number of new opportunities for the sales force or new introductions.”
How do you build a happy, successful ABM team?
About eight years ago, Joe asked himself, “How do I become a better people manager?”
“I was doing one-on-one mentoring, I was supporting my team, doing performance reviews, pretty typical development stuff,” he explains. “But I wasn’t connecting it to a journey that was more longterm. Part of my development was to figure out people management. How do I do people development? How do I really invest in them, so that they can go on to bigger and better things at the company?
“Ever since then, I’ve realized that every hour you spend developing your team, you get tenfold in return. The personal satisfaction, to see them grow, have more impact, be recognized. Honestly, it fuels me.”
One challenge he faced in the process was helping his fellow B2B marketers adapt to an account-focused mindset.
“I tried to figure out, ‘What can I do to take traditional media talent and look at competencies that they would need to be successful on the account-based marketing side?’ That, to me, it was a puzzle to figure out. That’s where I spent a lot of my time. Then, as I learned more and more about account-based marketing, especially from the SiriusDecisions model, we adapted our job skills matrix and competencies.”
One of the tools Joe uses to train his team is ABM University by #FlipMyFunnel.
“When y’all announced the university, I was like, ‘Yes, this is another tool in our toolbox.’ That’s really been a fun journey to figure out. Now, I’m really excited, because now I get to develop the talent that’s in Europe and Asia, from the foundational perspective. Because they’re just starting as well.”
Are you inspired by Joe Quinn’s people-centric approach to ABM? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. To learn even more about account-based marketing, grab your guide to ABM by clicking the banner below.
