For too long, there’s been a debate about where ABM belongs—Marketing or Sales? As Nancy Carlyle Harlan recently posted on LinkedIn — “The reality is,Strategic Account Marketing isn’t traditional marketing—it’s revenue-driven, customer-obsessed, and deeply embedded in the sales motion. It’s Not About Campaigns—It’s About Making the Big Deals Happen, and Making Them as BIG as They Can Be!!! ABM should be laser-focused on pipeline acceleration, deal expansion, and customer retention. These are core revenue functions, making alignment with the CRO’s team a natural fit.”
Now, placing 1:1 ABM under Sales doesn’t mean disconnecting from Marketing—it means embedding marketing expertise directly into the sales strategy, driving hyper-personalized engagement that converts.
The ultimate goal is revenue impact. So while ABM should be part of the sales organization with a direct line to the CRO, it should be driven by the revenue marketing organization. In the podcast below, Jodie Lail (Revenue Marketing Leader at GE Healthcare) sits down with Eric Gruber to discuss the close connection between revenue marketing and ABM. You’ll hear how it’s Jodie’s goal to build pipeline, guide accounts down the buyer’s journey into conversations with sales and progress them forward alongside sales. It’s about partnering with buyers and sales across the entire marketing and sales journey to drive revenue growth.
In addition to discussing why organizations need revenue marketing if they are to do ABM, Eric also digs into GE Healthcare’s ABM program and uncovers what’s working and where there are growth opportunities for ABM to have an even greater impact on revenue.
Listen to the podcast below: