The journey from a startup to a market leader is filled with strategic choices, and CINC Systems has shown a clear path to success. In a recent webinar, Taylor Young, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Terminus, sat down with Kim Pitsko, Head of Performance and Enablement at CINC Systems, to discuss CINC’s ABM journey and how they scaled their ABM efforts to drive overall revenue growth for the company.
From Ground Zero to a Strategy Powerhouse
When Kim Pitsko started at CINC Systems, her mandate was simple yet challenging: build the marketing from scratch and amplify the brand voice. As a team of one, Pitsko quickly recognized that while traditional demand generation tactics were effective, they weren’t sustainable for long-term growth. The answer? A shift towards ABM—a strategy that required meticulous personalization and strategic content creation.
Key Challenges and Overcoming Them
The road to ABM wasn’t smooth, with obstacles such as limited bandwidth and resources. Pitsko emphasized that crafting an ABM campaign was time-intensive and required an investment in strategy and resources, which aren’t always readily available in a growing company. However, through “scrappy” and focused efforts, CINC Systems began to see results that proved the value of ABM, which led to further investment and buy-in from the leadership.
Collaboration: The Secret Sauce for ABM Success
According to Pitsko, the two main ingredients for ABM success were content relevancy and sales alignment. The marketing team at CINC Systems didn’t just select accounts randomly; they focused on prospects that were already engaged and had potential high value. The deep involvement of the sales team was critical in identifying these accounts and tailoring personalized content to meet their unique needs.
The Results Speak for Themselves
Through consistent and personalized ABM campaigns, powered via a collaboration with Terminus, CINC Systems witnessed a staggering 111% increase in deal value and a 32% reduction in sales cycle length. These figures underscore the efficacy of their tailored approach. By maintaining regular communication with the sales team and reviewing performance metrics, marketing efforts were continuously optimized, resulting in impressive growth.
Incentivizing the Sales Team
An innovative strategy CINC Systems employed was incorporating ABM targets into the criteria for their President’s Club—an incentive trip for top-performing sales teams. This not only motivated the sales team to prioritize ABM accounts but also created a fun, competitive environment that encouraged collective effort towards closing high-value deals.
Advice for Others on the ABM Journey
Pitsko offers a couple of key pieces of advice for other companies considering ABM:
- Think Personal: Reflect on how you engage with content. Chances are, personalized content is what grabs your attention.
- Operational Know-How: Ensure you have someone on your team passionate about operations and data. They are essential for scaling ABM effectively.
Looking to the Future
For CINC Systems, the future is all about scaling. They aim to delve deeper into intent data and further align marketing and sales efforts to drive even more targeted campaigns. They also plan to increase their focus on one-to-few campaigns and leverage more one-to-one strategies if they continue to see success.
Kim Pitsko’s parting wisdom: “Spray and pray ads are lame.” Instead, she advocates for focusing your energy and resources on crafting campaigns that resonate with the individuals that matter most to your business. It’s this thoughtfulness and precision that will differentiate your marketing efforts and drive true business results.
