Terminus recently hosted the first-ever #ABMChat on Twitter, and it was a big success. Within one hour, we generated nearly 500 tweets reaching more than 100,000 people! Tons of smart folks tuned in to chat and learn more about account-based marketing and flipping the traditional sales funnel on its head.
Our VIP guests for the first #ABMChat were:
Matt Benati, CEO & Co-Founder at LeadGnome
Pam Hege, a Lead-to-Revenue Expert
Jeff Perkins, CMO at QASymphony
The biggest theme of the #ABMChat was making the switch from lead generation to account-based marketing. The discussion started off with a question about the obstacles B2B marketers face with the traditional sales funnel.
A1: Volume of leads don’t really matter. It’s all about converting those leads into meaningful sales conversations. #ABMCHAT
— Jeff Perkins (@jeffperkins8) October 8, 2015
@SZinsmeister Welcome to #ABMChat! Glad to see you.
— Terminus (@Terminus) October 8, 2015
A1: there’s a lot of waste from a lead-based marketing approach – you’re nowhere converting close to 100% at each stage #ABMchat @Terminus
— Tony Yang (@tones810) October 8, 2015
A1: Having lots of TOFU content might attract net new leads, but doesn’t drive conversions at the account level. #ABMCHAT
— Candyce Edelen (@CandyceEdelen) October 8, 2015
It’s important to note that TOFU stands for “top of funnel” in the traditional B2B sales funnel. It all comes down to the fact that having lots of activity at the TOFU doesn’t matter if those leads don’t generate revenue for your organization.
This was a great way to launch into our second #ABMChat question from our VIP Guest Pam Hege: How does a B2B marketing team successfully switch over to account-based marketing?
A2: You need tools that can reliably map individuals to accounts, or you’re going nowhere. #ABMCHAT
— Melissa Lincoln (@LincolnMelissa) October 8, 2015
A2: Also, strategic selection of accounts. Selecting a big account for the sake of being a big won’t be a success #ABMCHAT @revenuemarketer
— Majda Anwar (@MajdaTPG) October 8, 2015
The strategic selection of accounts is the first step of the account-based marketing funnel, which is to identify your ideal customers. This is why it’s absolutely essential for B2B marketing and sales teams to be in alignment, as we discussed in our next question from Jeff Perkins.
@jeffperkins8 Agree completely, but have had trouble moving past some of the old school measurements like open rates, etc.
— Einstein Industries (@EinsteinInd) October 8, 2015
@mattbenati @jeffperkins8 Content quota? Hadn’t thought about that. Perhaps a new way to look at #EmployeeAdvocacy? #ABMCHAT
— Gary McIntire (@garymcintire) October 8, 2015
Growing accounts should be a shared responsibility for B2B marketing and sales teams. One challenge with this alignment is setting metrics to accurately measure how accounts are progressing through the inverted funnel, which brings us to our next question.
A4: Lead-based metrics miss the point if that’s all you rely on. Massive score for a single engaged lead meaningless. #ABMCHAT
— Candyce Edelen (@CandyceEdelen) October 8, 2015
A4: Dashboards need to show movement, not static numbers. ABM should move folks through the sale cycle more quickly. #ABMChat
— Pam Hege (@PamHege) October 8, 2015
A:4. Short-term results look like golf scores–you’re counting people leaving. #Retention Production scores expand with trust. #ABMCHAT
— Gary McIntire (@garymcintire) October 8, 2015
To wrap up our #ABMChat, one final question from Matt Benati focused on how those metrics measure success in account-based marketing.
A5 – Down with MQLs. Means nothing. Completely subjective, we can change the volume in any given second. All that matters is pipe. #ABMChat
— Adam New-Waterson (@RevTechCMO) October 8, 2015
@mattbenati @RevTechCMO Depends how you define the MQL. It can be useful. #ABMChat
— Jeff Perkins (@jeffperkins8) October 8, 2015
@MajdaTPG > Exactly. That’s why we understand at a campaign by campaign level, how much Generate vs Influence. What was the %Focus. #ABMChat
— Adam New-Waterson (@RevTechCMO) October 8, 2015
Huge thanks to everyone who participated in our #ABMChat! And thanks to Melissa Lincoln at Leadspace for sharing her awesome #ABMChat recap. What questions and answers were the most useful for you? What would you add to the conversation?
We’d love to know your thoughts as we gear up for our next #ABMChat on Twitter. Until then, be sure to follow @Terminus for the latest news and trends from the world of account-based marketing.
