On this episode of the ABM Done Right Podcast, Sloan Newman (NTT Data’s North American Strategic Account-Based Marketing Leader and Author of “The Relationship Revolution”) and Eric Gruber (CEO of Personal ABM) introduce a new concept. They discuss the ideal strategic customer profile, which goes beyond how GTM teams define their ICP. It’s for existing accounts and for uncovering the accounts that teams should prioritize to drive account expansion. This is especially important for those who are looking to monetize their ABM programs with existing accounts and get paid to deliver “white-glove service” that will also increase adoption and drive retention/expansion.
In addition to discussing the ideal strategic customer profile, Sloan and Eric also discuss some hot, little-talked-about ABM topics. Listen to this podcast episode here:
Here Are the Takeaways From This Podcast Episode with Sloan and Eric:
1) The ICP focuses on who should be investing in your solutions and growing with you, while the strategic ICP looks at and tells you who’s really worth building a relationship long-term and who’s worth the investment in time, money, and resources to increase your wallet share within the account portfolio.
2) When defining the strategic ICP, we need to go beyond deal sizes and ARR. We need to look at the profitability of the account, the cost to serve, and if they are a support drain. We need to look at the value that was received (how much of an impact did we make with these companies), where opportunities exist, where companies are going to be in the next 12-24 months, the long-term visions of the customer, and where teams have engagement, as many teams lose VP and C-suite engagement after the deal is signed. We need to look at where we are stepping into accounts with ABM, how the accounts perceive us, how healthy the relationships are between the account team and the client team, the number of internal champions the customer has, and if the client has the resources that are needed to take the next step.
3) You need the right processes and systems in place to document outcomes as the strategic ICP needs to focus on the accounts that are getting the greatest value from your solutions. The ones that are getting the most value are the companies that are the most aligned with you operationally, executionally, and culturally. It’s that alignment that will enable account expansion
4) The Strategic ICP should inform the ICP as the ICP should be predictive of accounts that will land and expand with you. In most cases, the ICP is nothing more than ideal customer segments or the total relevant market, as it does not define who your best customers are. If you are identifying the customers that you should spend time, money, and resources on trying to expand with 1:1 ABM — then I should be looking at why these customers got the most value, the shifts they made, the situations they face where we were relevant, and the competitors were irrelevant to uncover the accounts we should be targeting to land and expand.
5) How we compensate needs to change to support ABM, where marketing teams are compensated on a sales-based process and are getting bonuses based on the impact they’re actually making. This would bring the marketing team even closer to the accounts. At Personal ABM, we are experimenting with a lower base deal size, with bonuses and/or automatic deal increases when we fix a business revenue problem and achieve agreed-upon impacts on specific KPIs.
6) Only senior marketers should be doing ABM, as senior marketers should be going beyond pipeline sourcers and being a revenue driver. They should be understanding sales frameworks and the conversations that need to happen. Every day, every account is a changing terrain. The ground is always shifting, and we need to be able to shift and adjust to meet expectations, which you can only do by failing a lot in the past. We need to be able to say “no” which many lower-level marketers struggle with.
7) Challenger needs to play a strong role in ABM, especially with 1:1 in the post-pipeline, as we need to tailor for relevance, teach for differentiation and reframe buyers in the context of their situation. The Challenger Sale is about precision empathy, where you understand the account and the buyers in that account — and that you are on a journey with them.
“The Relationship Revolution“ is a practical, behind-the-scenes look at what it truly takes to build, scale, and sustain high-impact 1:1 Account-Based Marketing. The book will show you how you can have more meaningful, human-centered engagement with the accounts that matter most.
Grounded in nearly two decades of global marketing experience, this book blends proven frameworks, personal stories, award-winning programs, and modern innovations like AI. Sloan shows readers how to adopt the mindset of “CMO of your accounts,” build trust with stakeholders, co-create with clients, and elevate marketing from a service function to a strategic revenue driver.