abm-playbook

ABM Playbook (TIER Framework)

Build a complete Account-Based Marketing playbook - tiered account list, buying-group map per tier, coordinated multi-channel plays, and pipeline acceleration plays for accounts already in cycle. ABM is structurally different from PLG, sales-led, and channel motions; this skill captures that difference rather than bolting it onto a generic GTM template.

Core Principle

ABM is a coordination problem, not a targeting problem. Most failed ABM programs pick the right accounts and then run the same demand-gen plays they always did. The TIER framework forces explicit coordination across channels and across tiers, with different play patterns for different account intimacy levels.

The TIER Framework

Letter	Stage	The Question
T	Tier the Accounts	Which accounts get 1:1, which get 1:few, which get 1:many?
I	Identify the Buying Group	Who are the personas in each account, and what's each one's win condition?
E	Execute Coordinated Plays	What multi-channel plays run per account (not per persona)?
R	Re-route on Signal	When an account hits an in-cycle signal, which acceleration play activates?

Account Tiering

Tier	Account Count	Investment per Account	Personalization	Signal Cadence
1:1	5-25	High (custom content, exec engagement, dedicated SDR)	Per-account creative	Weekly
1:few	25-150	Medium (cluster-level personalization, named SDR pod)	Per-cluster (3-8 accounts share)	Bi-weekly
1:many	150-2000	Low (scaled programs with industry/persona personalization)	Per-segment creative	Monthly

Buying Group Mapping

Every targeted account has a buying group, not a single buyer. The skill enforces explicit mapping:

Role	Win Condition	Common Title Patterns
Champion	Personal outcome (career capital, problem solved)	Director / Sr. Manager in problem domain
Economic Buyer	Business outcome (revenue, cost, risk)	VP / SVP, CFO
Technical Evaluator	Risk reduction (architecture, security, fit)	Sr. Engineer / Architect / IT Director
End User	Day-to-day usability	Individual contributors
Procurement / Legal	Compliance, terms, pricing posture	Procurement, Legal, Security

A play that engages only the Champion fails because the deal stalls at Economic Buyer or Procurement. The skill enforces multi-role engagement design.

Output

Save to outputs/abm-playbook-[motion]-[YYYY-MM-DD].md

Artifact	Description
Tiered Account List	Account names + tier assignment + rationale
Buying Group Maps	Per-account (1:1) or per-cluster (1:few) with named roles + engagement state
Play Library	6-10 named plays, each tagged by tier + buying-group role + channel mix
Acceleration Plays	3-5 plays triggered by in-cycle signals
Coordination Calendar	Weekly view across all channels per tier - catches over- and under-engagement
Measurement Plan	Per-tier KPIs: account-level engagement, opportunity creation, pipeline velocity, win rate

The Play Library Pattern

Every play follows this structure:

Field	Example
Name	"Exec-to-Exec Insight Letter"
Trigger	New 1:1 account assigned, or champion change
Roles Engaged	Economic Buyer, Champion
Channels	LinkedIn (exec), Email (champion), Direct mail (exec)
Sequence	Day 0 LI connect → Day 3 letter delivered → Day 5 champion email → Day 14 ABR follow-up
Personalization Level	Per-account (researched insight specific to stated priorities)
Success Signal	Exec response or champion-confirmed read
Hand-off	Signal → SDR books exec briefing; no signal in 21 days → re-route

Acceleration Play Triggers

Signal	Acceleration Play
Intent surge (3rd-party)	Account-level ad burst + SDR re-engagement within 48h
Pricing-page or competitor-comparison hit	Inbound BDR call within 1 business day, deal-context-aware script
Security questionnaire received	Pre-built security artifact pack + named SE engagement
Deal stalled > 21 days in stage	Champion enablement kit + multi-thread to EB + Procurement
Champion changes role / leaves	"Land the new champion" play within 1 week of signal

Process

1. Tier the accounts with explicit rationale per tier; cut accounts that don't justify any tier
2. Map buying groups - full named mapping for 1:1, role patterns for 1:few, persona-level for 1:many
3. Build the play library - 6-10 plays covering cold start through expansion; every play names a role
4. Design acceleration plays for each in-cycle signal - trade scale for speed
5. Build the coordination calendar - weekly view to catch over- and under-engagement
6. Define per-tier measurement with ABM-friendly metrics (lead-level MQLs are not the right yardstick)

Per-Tier Measurement

Tier	Primary KPI	Secondary KPIs
1:1	Pipeline created per account	Account engagement score, EB meetings booked, deal velocity
1:few	Pipeline created per cluster	Cluster engagement rate, opportunity conversion
1:many	Pipeline created per program	Account engagement coverage, MQA rate

Tips

1. Tier with rationale, not gut feel - every 1:1 is an investment commitment
2. Plays are per-account, not per-channel - channel-led ABM almost always over-engages
3. Acceleration > acquisition - in-cycle accounts are 5-10× more efficient than cold ABM
4. Re-tier quarterly - accounts that don't engage in 1:1 for 2 quarters drop to 1:few
5. Pair with intent scoring + channel orchestration - ABM consumes those outputs

Pairs With

• journey-architect - Maps the buyer journey; ABM coordinates above it
• demand-engine - Channel-level orchestration the calendar consumes
• enablement-forge - Produces the assets each play needs
• competitive-battlecard - Per-deal cards that drop into in-cycle acceleration