Is account-based marketing right for your business?
Account-based marketing (ABM) means picking a short list of specific companies you want as customers, then having sales and marketing work together to win them, instead of casting a wide net. Answer the questions below to see whether ABM is likely to work for you and what a realistic first year looks like.
Your first 12 months
A realistic year if you follow through every month. These are estimates, so “2 new customers” means “about 2.”
Month-by-month progress
What you put in vs. what you win
See the numbers by month
What the research says
Why a focused, account-by-account approach pays off, and why it takes commitment.
of ABM practitioners say ABM delivers higher return than their other marketing, and 66% say it significantly improves how sales and marketing work together.
Yet only 17% say ABM is fully built into how they go to market. Most programs stall because the commitment isn’t there.
Momentum ITSMA & ABM Leadership Alliance, ABM Benchmark Study (2023), 279 respondents ↗larger deals: about two-thirds of companies Forrester surveyed reported that deals with ABM accounts were 11% to 50% bigger than deals with other accounts.
Bigger deals are what make the extra effort per company worth it, which is why deal size is the first check above.
Forrester, “Account-Based Marketing Results In Larger Average Deal Sizes Across Regions” (Dec 2024) ↗people sit on a typical B2B buying team, drawn from up to four departments, and 74% of those teams show unhealthy conflict while deciding.
Reaching one contact per company isn’t enough. ABM works because it reaches the whole team and gives them reasons to agree.
Gartner sales survey of 632 B2B buyers (press release, May 2025) ↗How this works: setup months come first. After that, a share of the companies on your list start showing interest each month. Warm companies respond faster, and more team time and budget per company speeds things up. Interested companies turn into sales conversations over the next few months, and those close at your win rate after your usual sales cycle. Team time counts as a cost because it is one. This is a planning estimate, not a guarantee.
Want a second opinion on your numbers?
Wildcard CMO helps small B2B teams decide whether ABM fits and how to set it up without overspending.
Why ABM needs to be part of B2B marketing
Account based marketing, when it makes financial sense, is a fundamental part of B2B revenue generation and customer engagement. ABM is not just about counting touch-points but building trust across a buying committee. Sales conversations are clearer. There’s more account transparency. And you can measure lift of ad spend and other marketing programs.
While it’s impossible to measure a hallway conversation between a champion and a sponsor or an CIO and finance manager, addressing each party’s unique perspectives makes orchestrating sales conversations much easier—or at least more consistent.
When customers can self-identify their concerns and self-evaluate their benefits (and tie it to your brand and messaging), you’re removing friction and building momentum.
Uncle Marketing
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