The Crawl, Walk,

Run Multi-Channel
ABM Playbook
We tested and ran these plays
so you didn’t have to
Many teams who choose Terminus to help them create, accelerate, and
close more pipeline often ask the same question: how do I get started with
account-based marketing (ABM)? Frankly, most companies are already
doing some level of ABM, even if they don’t realize it. We’re here to help
you execute more strategically with the first and third-party data needed to
understand both your customers and prospects, with the most robust suite of
engagement channels—including ads, chat, email, and web—all in
one single platform.

Account-based marketing is a focused approach to marketing in which

marketing and sales work together to target best-fit accounts to convert
them into customers.. When done well, ABM = more revenue and happier
customers. With multi-channel ABM you can:

• Boost demo completion rates

• Improve close and renewal rates

• Accelerate the sales cycle

• Increase deal size

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 2
So, if you’re In need of some account-based marketing inspiration...you’re in
the right place. We brainstormed, tested, and ran 10 different multi-channel
ABM campaigns so you didn’t have to. From beginner level to enterprise level
strategic plays, we’re sharing a step-by-step formula for each proven to make
you successful.

We’ve divided this into three different sections so you don’t have to read this
front to back (but, don’t let us stop you). Pick from the below and navigate to
the appropriate section for specific campaign ideas.

• Crawl - Simple SDR-run tactics + tactics for a small team of

ABM practitioners

• Walk - Long-term plays for intermediate ABM teams

• Run - Complex ABM plays for highly established ABM teams

with strategic goals

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 3
 Crawl

Simple SDR-run tactics or a

small team of ABM practitioners

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 4
 INCREASE YOUR DEMO ATTENDANCE
AND COMPLETION RATES

PREP TIME: TEAM

• Digital Gift Setup: 1 Week • SDR

• Account Research: 1-2 Hours • Marketing ops

1
#
• Direct Mail Send: 5 min

TOOLS ASSETS & DATA

• Sendoso • 1 Direct Mail Campaign

• 1 Email Campaign

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 5
 Phase 1: Pre-Meeting Research (1 -2 Hours)

Step 1:

During the research phase of your account based marketing strategy, write
down any simple beverage interests your contact might display on social
media or on LinkedIn.

Do they like Pumpkin Spice Lattes? Do they prefer pour-over?

Is there a Starbucks within walking distance of their office?

You’ve set the meeting and now it’s time to seal the deal. But what if your If they seem like they might have an affinity for coffee (as one example) you
contact doesn’t show? It’s not uncommon for prospects to bail on a demo can capitalize on this information by sending them a digital egift for
or sales call. Starbucks before your scheduled meeting.

We’ve found success increasing sales call attendance by sending digital gifts
an hour before a call. For example, Procore experienced a 16% increase in
demo show rate which contributed over $1.2 million into their pipeline after
sending digital gifts via Sendoso before a demo call.

Note: This requires that you have integrated Sendoso or another 3rd party
direct mail vendor into your workflow.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 6
Phase 2: Send Digital Gift (<1 Hour)

Step 2:

A few hours before a scheduled meeting, have your SDR, Sales Enablement
Manager, or ABM coordinator send a digital $5 egift for a Starbucks coffee.
Depending on your vendor, requests like this can typically be done via a
Salesforce integration, but some smaller teams can set up individual logins
for each SDR or AE.

With Sendoso, marketing also has the option to set up a menu of options
and a “virtual budget” that SDRs and AEs can use to send approved items
independently. Write a personalized note to be included with your digital gift Phase 3: Measure and Repeat (ongoing)
which says something similar to: “Looking forward to talking with you today at
11:30am. If you need a pick me up, here’s a free gift card which you can use Final Step:
to get a Pumpkin Spice Latte to enjoy before our meeting.”
Remember to create a Salesforce campaign to keep track of every account
Repeat this step for every contact meant to attend your meeting and voila! that receives a pre-meeting gift so that you’re able to report on your success.
Ideally, you should attempt to do this with every contact showing Once you find the perfect cadence, you’ll be able to sit back and watch your
engagement from your target accounts. demo completion rates rise.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 7
 ENGAGE CONTACTS AT TARGET ACCOUNTS
WITH PERSONALIZED MESSAGING
AT THE RIGHT TIME.

PREP TIME: TEAM

• Activation: Immediate • Sales Development

2
• Research: > 1 Week Representative

# • Outreach: 1-3 Weeks • ABM Coordinator (optional)

• Measurement: Ongoing

ASSETS & DATA TOOLS

• Personalized messages • Social Media

across channels • Salesforce

• Terminus
• Marketing Automation Platform
• LinkedIn

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 8
Personalization in ABM requires you to consider the real person at your
Phase 1: Research (>1 Weeks)
account, finding them, researching their background, understanding what
their company does, what their role is, what their struggles and goals are,
Step 1:
and what it would take to get them promoted.

The SDR sees an Engagement Spike in their account.

When done at the right time, personalized messages and custom experiences
simultaneously build personal rapport and brand affinity, ultimately leading
Step 2:
to better sales and more renewals. When done at the wrong time, the same
messaging and custom experiences can lead to opt-outs, closed-lost
The SDR sees an Engagement Spike in their account.
opportunities, and an org that doesn’t look like it has its stuff together.

Once activated, the SDR should begin researching the account in-depth
Here is a simple idea for personalized messaging after a target account is
immediately.
demonstrating intent with your brand. Your SDR should start this tactic once
they notice a target account is engaging with your brand, either through
First, assess known contacts vs anonymous contacts to determine what
a Terminus Engagement Spike or another trigger-based mechanism.
information is available on the account as well as the size of the
buying committee.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 9
Second, begin to identify who the right people are at the account to contact,
both known and unknown. These might be people who’ve already given you
their contact information, or they may still be ‘anonymous.’

An ABM engagement tracking tool will show you how many people from the
account are on your site, which will give you a sense of whether you already
know who’s out there or still need to complete the buying center contacts.
Since the total of known vs. anonymous contacts might indicate the size of
the buying committee, the SDR should research additional contacts beyond
Step 3:
the known.

Once the SDR knows who is part of the buying committee at their target
Each piece of information brings you closer to the perfect email. Here are
account and has done a sufficient amount of research on each contact, the
some things to consider: What do they post about regularly? What is featured
SDR should examine the historical outreach done to each of the contacts as
in their profile pictures? What are their listed interests or groups they are a
well as any marketing campaigns running which might have caused the
part of? Where do they live? When is their birthday? What sign are they?
engagement spike.
If they are married, when is their anniversary? Do they have a pet?
What emails have been sent already? What ebooks have been downloaded?
What webinars have been attended?

Additionally, the SDR should begin assessing the URLs that the contacts were
trafficking (pricing or product line pages) and which pieces of content (blogs
or press releases) they were engaging with.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 10
Step 4:

The SDR should sync with marketing to understand any planned campaigns
not covered in any regular update meeting.

Phase 2: Outreach (1-3 Weeks)

Step 5:

The SDR should create personalized messaging for their emails, InMails,
and DMs with information gathered from their research. The goal here is to
establish yourself as a valuable resource to navigate the problems they may
be experiencing in their org, and start setting the table in your favor.

Do: Include information that is both interesting to your contact

and offers value.

Do not: Assume basic personalization like “first name” counts. Including

information pulled from the internet is not valuable unless it has context.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 11
If a contact does not open your email:

1. Try different channels – Chat (see example on the right), LinkedIn, etc.
2. Try a different subject line with different information.
3. If the account remains super engaged anonymously but won’t
respond to your outreach, try direct mail!

If the contact opens the email but does not reply:

1. Send a revised follow up email with both additional personal and

product information to determine what might resonate with the contact.
2. Use direct mail and specifically refer to the email you know they opened.
E.g. “Hey Jim, I’m sorry you missed my first email. I wanted to tell
you about X.”

Phase 3: Measurement (ongoing)

Final Step:

Determine a method to measure your efforts to determine what types of

personalized efforts are most successful.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 12
 ENGAGE HIGH-VALUE ACCOUNTS WITH
VIP-LEVEL TREATMENT WHEN HEATING UP.
PREP TIME: TEAM

• Activation: Immediate • Sales Development

• Research and Outreach: 1-2 Weeks Representative

• Display Campaign: 1-2 Weeks • Graphic Designer

3
#
• Measurement: Ongoing • Digital Marketing Manager

(or ABM coordinator)

ASSETS & DATA

• Personalized messages across TOOLS

1-1 channels
• Social Media
• Including email, LinkedIn InMail,
• Salesforce
Twitter messages, etc.
• Terminus
• Custom gift tailored to your
• Sendoso
contact or account
• LinkedIn
• Custom display campaign

targeting your account

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 13
High value accounts with large annual contract values (ACVs) often warrant a The SDR should share this in-depth research with the graphic designer and
higher touch activation. digital marketing manager to develop display assets for additional air cover.

Here is a simple idea for engaging a high-value account which combines Encourage your AEs and CSMs to participate–personalization doesn’t end
personalization with additional tactics for a more VIP experience. Your graphic with SDRs!
designer and digital marketing manager should also be looped in early with
this account for future display campaigns.

Your SDR should start this tactic once they notice a high-value account is
engaging with their brand.

Phase 1: Research and Outreach (1-2 Weeks)

Step 1:

The SDR sees an Engagement Spike in their account.

Step 2:

The SDR should begin researching the account in-depth immediately.

This includes assessing known contacts vs anonymous contacts, determining
buying committee members and size, previous outreach and campaign
influence, etc.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 14
Step 3: Run this campaign in tandem with the SDR’s outreach, so that the contacts
within the buying committee are seeing similar benefits and messaging
Once you have determined the theme or messaging strategy of your outreach across multiple channels.
efforts, you should also send a gift to your account, either customized or not
depending on your workflow. Phase 3: Measure and Repeat (ongoing)
This might include something as simple as a bag of popcorn (which you
Final Steps:
may include an example of in your video email) or something larger like a
branded blanket from their favorite sports team. Note: Some ABM teams
Assess your accounts monthly to quarterly to determine which will warrant a
establish workflows which enable sales to automatically send pre-approved
budget for personalized campaigns and activations. Rule of Thumb: The
direct mail pieces on an ad hoc basis.
higher value the account, the more channels and research you should
commit to each touch.
Phase 2: Display Campaign (1-2 Weeks)

Step 4:

When assets are ready, have your digital marketing team launch targeted
display campaigns which can feature any combination of the following: the
target company’s name, your logo, messaging specific to the account’s needs
and interests, messaging specific to the buying committee’s function (i.e. HR,
Finance, Marketing, etc.), specific KPI targets, ways to beat their competition,
or any other campaign you can think of.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 15
 HELP SDRS PRIORITIZE AND PERSONALIZE
EFFORTS DIRECTLY FROM A CRM
PREP TIME: TEAM

• CRM Setup: 1-2 Weeks • Sales Development

• Training: Ongoing Representative

• Outreach Activities: 1-2 Weeks • Sales Enablement

#
4
• Marketing Ops

ASSETS & DATA TOOLS

• Account Insights from Terminus • Salesforce

• Engagement Data • Terminus
• Intent Data • Social Media

• LinkedIN

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 16
 Phase 1: CRM Setup (1-2 Weeks)

Step 1:

Set up the right reports. Most CRMs let you set up a report to filter by
accounts owned by the person viewing, so you can easily create reports
for your entire SDR or AE team.

With Terminus, these come out of the box. For SDRs, make a report that
filters by:

• Accounts with an engagement spike in the last week

• Intent recency

Optional: you might filter out any accounts that have an SDR touch within the
last week so they don’t see accounts they’re already working in this view.

Every sales organization has their own process for prioritizing account based When both signals are present – you need to go after them now.
marketing activities. Your SDRs (and AEs, too) should begin this play right
when they come into the office every Monday.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 17
Step 2:

In this view you also want to make sure other columns are visible so reps can
strategize:

• Number of visitors from the account on your site (known or anonymous)

o This tells you how wide the consideration is in the account,

and gives you a sense for how big your buying center is.

• Recent ad impressions

o This tells your reps if marketing is actively warming the account.

• Most active URLs

Other things for your SDRs to consider:
o This tells you what topics the account is researching heavily,
• Most active person
so your outreach can be focused on that subject matter
o This gives you your best bet of who will respond to outreach
in particular.
• Intent and engagement trends over time

o This shows you whether the account is generally leaning in or out,

which might impact outreach.

This helps take the guesswork out of follow up and helps marketing and sales

stay tight on when accounts should be followed up with.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 18
The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 19
Phase 2: Training (Ongoing)

Step 3:

Train your teams. Intent and engagement data are two data points that can
help your reps get to a deal before the competition – but simply setting up
these reports isn’t enough. Your team has to know how to use them if they
are going to be first to the table.

78% of deals go to the rep who gets there first.

Hold a regular training session with your marketing and sales teams so that
every single member of the team understands how the reports work, how to
sort them, and what the criteria for “hot” accounts is – a combination of
engagement and intent data.

Speaking of intent data, here’s a fun and consumable field guide showing Step 4:
best practices and pitfall warnings for the different types of intent data
available today. Hold this training session once a month. This will help reinforce both the
attributes of a “hot” account and the behavior of account-based prioritization
versus lead-based. A lead-based focus might result in prioritizing the wrong
lead at the right time and missing opportunities with key accounts.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 20
Phase 3: Account-Based Prioritization &
Outreach (1-2 Weeks)

Step 5:

Every Monday morning, all reps should begin their day by leveraging a report
in SFDC (or their preferred CRM) to organize their target account list. Once a
rep has dug into this report and conducted the research phase, begin
tailoring their message and reach out via the appropriate channel(s).

For example, if they visited a pricing page, you might send a personalized
email that offers an ROI-calculator or requests a meeting to speak to any
specific questions they may have on your pricing tiers or packages.

Final Step:

Establish KPIs to encourage your SDRs to jump on accounts immediately after

an engagement spike or an intent surge.The faster your sales team can act on
data, the faster your sales cycle will be.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 21
 Walk

Long-term plays for intermediate

ABM teams

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 22
 USE DIRECT MAIL TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF
TOPICAL EVENTS FOR A LIGHT
SALES TOUCH
PREP TIME: TEAM

• Research: Ongoing • Sales Development

• Pick Vendor: 1-2 Weeks Representative

5
• Prep Team: 1-2 Weeks • ABM Coordinator

# • Send Mail: 1-2 Weeks

• Follow Up: 1-2 Weeks

TOOLS
• Measurement: Ongoing
• Salesloft or Outreach
ASSETS & DATA
• Terminus

• Direct mail automation platform

• Direct mail piece related to the

topical event

• Email template for follow-up

• Display ads that match

the direct mail

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 23
 Phase 1: Research (Ongoing)

Step 1:

Start compiling a list of holidays, swag items, organizations, TV shows, etc.,

that your contacts at your target accounts might follow or enjoy.

Phase 2: Order Supplies (1-2 Weeks)

Step 2:

Decide which holidays or cultural moments you want to lean into. Sending
a box of donuts for National Donut Day? How about a board game related
to their interests? Or maybe a quick handwritten card with a joke about last
night’s series premiere of your prospect’s favorite show?

You know those pop culture events that take the internet by storm–a series
finale, the latest meme, or the newest fashion trend (fanny packs or Cards
Against Marketing, anyone?). These moments are wonderful opportunities to
connect with a prospect and stay top of mind without being pushy.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 24
Step 3:

Find a vendor. Once you decide what you want to send, keep in mind:

• Which vendors ship what you’re looking for?

• What’s the average shipping time?
• If you’re shipping food, make sure you’re confirming that you’re
doing it in a temperature-controlled environment.

Phase 3: Prep the Team (1-2 Weeks)

Step 4:

Get your team involved.

• Distribute to your team

• Give your team time to choose recipients and write notes
(Never underestimate the power of a hand-written note card!)
• Mail notes to recipients

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 25
Phase 4: Send Your Direct Mail or Phase 5: The Follow Up (1-2 Weeks)
Hand-Written Note (>1 Day)
Step 6:
Step 5:
Following up on topical direct mail touches is variable. For instance, if all
you did was send a postcard, it probably doesn’t warrant a full-scale digital
Do the thing! Depending on the scale of your project, it’s totally possible that
ad campaign.
you can manage the shipping internally (i.e. if you’re just sending postcards).

But if you’ve invested a lot of time and resources into the project, do a proper
But if you’re doing a big send
follow-up. At the very least, you should have the following prepared:
(case of ice cream) on a large scale
(to 100 top accounts), it might make
• Follow-up email template
sense to operationalize it through
• A phone/email cadence for your SDR reps
a platform like Sendoso. Regard-
less, make sure you’re confirming
And, you can go bigger:
shipping times so you can nail your
landing – i.e., a postcard arriving
• Digital ad campaign
on Monday morning after
• Custom landing page
a Sunday night premiere!
• Custom chatbot for landing page

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 26
Step 7:

Incorporate social media into your follow-up with LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. Some
prospects might take to social media to share a photo of the direct mail –
make sure your team monitors your networks so you don’t miss the chance
to engage. Multichannel works.

Phase 6: Measure and Repeat (Ongoing)

Final Step:

Create a mechanism to monitor the results of your efforts. Whether it be as

simple as a Salesforce campaign or as complex as a spreadsheet with email
open rates and delivery metrics, use the results to influence your
future sends.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 27
 NURTURE PROSPECTS WITH ALWAYS-ON
DIGITAL ADVERTISING
PREP TIME: TEAM

• Setup and Strategy: 1-2 Weeks • Digital Marketing Manager

• Launch Campaigns: 4-16 weeks (or ABM Manager)

6
• Measurement: Ongoing • Graphic Designer

# ASSETS & DATA • Marketing Ops

TOOLS
• Multiple display ad sets (enough

to rotate out every 30 days for as • Terminus

long as you want to run the • LinkedIn

campaign) • Salesforce (or other CRM

• Custom landing pages for

each display ad

• Chatbot playbook for

landing page(s)

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 28
 Phase 1: Setup and Strategy (1-2 Weeks)

Step 1:

Work with your Marketing Ops and Design team to create multiple display ad
sets (enough to rotate out every 30 days for as long as you want to run the
campaign) along with the landing Some examples:

• New product announcements

• Customer case studies
Display advertising. It’s tricky. Many marketers can’t serve ads to specific • Downloadable content
audiences unless they’ve converted in some way (AKA collected an email • Blogs
address), so they rely on either list uploads or user data on various ad • Product integration overviews
platforms to target. But with Terminus, you can get your ads in front of a • Competitive comparisons
specific list of accounts anywhere online – even if they’ve never submitted a
form on your website. That means you can nurture your list of target accounts
across the web and introduce them to your brand’s resources with always-on
display advertising.

Refer to the resource above for inspiration on use case ideas and design best
practices. Here’s how to set up a full-coverage display campaign that will
nurture prospects over time.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 29
Step 2: Phase 2: Launch Display Campaign
Decide how you will move your audience through your campaign. Ideally,
(4-16 Weeks)
you’ll want to move them through your campaign based on a combination of
time and impressions. You should organize your content so that it takes them Step 4:
on a journey. A sample structure is:
Launch the ads! With ABM, your audience should be restricted to the
• 0-30 Days: Latest eBook accounts within your total addressable market (TAM) or target account
• 30-60 Days: Customer Case Study lists (TAL).
• 60-90 Days: New Product Announcement
• 90-120 Days: Product Integration Overview
• 120-150 Days: Latest eBook
• 150-180: Book a Demo CTA

Step 3:

Set up your ad campaign in your display advertising platform of choice. A

platform with native multi-channels drives better results! Ads + chat, web
personalization, and/or email signature marketing creates a connected
account experience that will increase intent, engagement, and
drive pipeline.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 30
Step 5:

Keep an eye on your campaigns to monitor metrics like:

• Impressions
• CTR
• CPC
• Etc.

If you notice engagement dropping, you may want to restructure your

campaign organization or refresh your ad creative. If you want to get more
sophisticated, you could progress your audience through various ad
creatives with criteria such as:
Phase 3: Measure and Repeat (Ongoing)
• # of Impressions / Days since Last Spike (Bucketed by low, medium,
and high impressions)
Final Step:
• # of Impressions / Showing Intent
• Showing Engagement on Product Page
Continue to measure and make smart adjustments to your program. As you
continue to monitor the results, be sure to track the velocity through which
accounts are progressing through your program. If they are progressing
slowly, your messaging needs additional urgency.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 31
 PROTECT YOUR KEY ACCOUNTS
FROM CHURNING
PREP TIME: TEAM

• Setup + Prep: 1-2 Weeks • Sales Development

• Execution: Ongoing Representative

7
• Measurement: Ongoing • ABM Manager

# ASSETS & DATA • Marketing Ops (optional)

• Product Marketing (optional)

• Intent data
TOOLS
• Engagement data

• Customized retention deck • Social Media

• Competitive battlecard • Salesforce
• Email nurtures • Terminus

• LinkedIn

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 32
 Phase 1: Setup and Battlecard Prep (1-2 Weeks)

Step 1:

Bring marketing, sales, and customer marketing together to create a list of

competitors and competing products that you can use to build a list of
competitive intent keywords.

Step 2:

Create a slide deck of competitive battlecards which positions your brand

against that of a competitor.
Intent data is critical data for customer marketing, who otherwise might not
know if an account is at risk for churning. By bringing this team into the sales Step 3:
and marketing conversations, you can set up protective measures to be
notified when a customer is considering competitors. Create a view in SFDC that filters by CSM accounts with intent groups by
intent data. Filter for just your competitive intent keywords like the brand
By monitoring competitor search queries per your key accounts, you can also names of your competitors.
prioritize outreach based on companies who are researching competitors.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 33
Phase 2: Execution and Retention (Ongoing) “To drive adoption and retention, we targeted 199 at-risk
accounts up for renewal and saw 84% engagement with ads
and 21% engagement with product-specific landing pages.”
Step 4:
— Inbound Marketing Manager

Setup a regular meeting for CSMs and marketing to identify accounts at risk
of churning.
“ABM goes beyond new business. We use it as a retention
marketing strategy to remind existing customers about all of
Step 5: the tools they already have access to in order to move their
organizations forward.”
If an account is demonstrating intent for churn by showing signs of — Customer Marketing Manager

researching a competitor, set a meeting with your champion at your account.

If your champion has left the company, determine who might be the next best
contact and demonstrate the ways your brand is superior to the competition.
Phase 3: Measure and Repeat

If necessary, have marketing spin up a display campaign referencing pieces Final Steps:
of your battlecard. Depending on the size of the account, you may notify ex-
ecutive leadership so that they can begin reaching out or planning a As you measure the results of your efforts, be sure to focus on your overall
VIP event to save the account. renewal rate, segment by intent for competitors and, if possible, deals lost to
that competitor. Measure the impact of each retention activity and determine
how you can prevent losing more deals in the future.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 34
 ACQUIRE NET-NEW AND HELP RENEW
TARGET ACCOUNTS BASED ON LOCATION.
PREP TIME: TEAM

• Research and Planning: 3-6 Months • ABM Coordinator (or Digital Marketer)

• Digital Campaign: 2-4 Weeks (pre-show) • Field / Events Marketing Manager

• Measurement: Ongoing • Sales

8
• Graphic Designer

#
ASSETS & DATA
• Executive Leader

• Partner Organizations / Sponsors

• Two sets of display ad sets promoting
(optional)
the event (one for the initial
announcement and one urgency-driven • Marketing Analyst (optional)

a week before the event)

TOOLS
• Personalized event invitations

• Booth or direct-mail swag • Event Registration Platform

• Post-event dinner party with • Email Marketing System

executive leader • Salesforce

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 35
 Phase 1: Research and Planning (3-6 Months)

Step 1:

Work with your sales, and marketing ops create a Salesforce report that
pulls together fit, engagement, and intent data to isolate cohorts of your ICP
by location. Identify the area(s) with the highest percentage of target accounts
– both opportunities and current customers who are close to renewal.

Bonus points if you isolate accounts close to renewal also at risk for churn.

When done correctly, events (virtual or in-person) bring together a huge Step 2:
collection of industry experts, peers, colleagues, partners, and thought
leaders which leaves attendees feeling enriched and positive about the Activate your field or event marketing manager to begin ideating for event
experience.These positive feelings often translate to more meetings set, platforms or venues, invite process, swag or direct mail needs.
contacts signed, and ambassadors made.
Step 3:
Here’s how we believe you can do field marketing (even virtually) in an
ABM framework. Use a combination of engagement and intent data to determine the focus
and theme of your event so that it will be relevant to your target accounts.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 36
Step 4: Phase 2: Digital Campaigns
Create the marketing content for your event. Provide your theme or focus
(2-4 Weeks – Pre-Show)
area and assist them in developing content attractive to your target accounts.
Depending on the subject and the size of the event, you may also consider Step 6:
flying in customers outside of that geographic area to speak.
Begin promoting these events through a series of multi-channel efforts.This
Step 5: can include personalized emails from your sales team, marketing emails,
LinkedIn campaigns, account-based display campaigns, chatbot branded for
Activate customer ambassadors. Offering these thought-leadership the event, etc.
opportunities to top tier customers is another proven ABM tactic to keep
decision-makers at target accounts engaged and happy. Begin promoting the event at least six weeks before the event (if in person) to
ensure that your attendees have enough time to plan ahead and can commit
If your cohort in a particular area is small, you might consider hosting a to attending. You should need about four weeks for virtual.
simple exec or VIP dinner (if able to do so in person) with a smaller audience.
If virtual, we suggest creating a custom experience like a coffee or
wine tasting.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 37
Phase 3: Measure and Repeat (Ongoing)

Final Steps:

Using previous event registration and attendance records as a benchmark,

determine if your ABM-infused event strategy worked. Survey your
customers and prospects on their experience at your event and determine.

Finally, create a Salesforce campaign to track the deals closed or influenced

by the event.
 Run
Complex multi-channel plays for
highly established ABM teams with
strategic goals

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 39
 EXPAND INTO AN EXISTING KEY ACCOUNT
WITH A NEW PRODUCT
PREP TIME: TEAM

• Research Prep: 1-2 Weeks • ABM Manager

• Content Development: 1-2 Weeks • Digital Marketer

9
• Digital Display Campaign: 2-4 Weeks • CSM

# • Sales Engagement: 1-2 Weeks • Content Marketer

• Signing: 1 Week • Graphic Designer

ASSETS & DATA • Webinar Program Manager

• Personalized Messaging TOOLS

• 1-to-1 Content
• Terminus
• Intent data
• Sendoso
• Engagement data
• Marketing Automation Platform
• Info/product sheets
• LinkedIn

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 40
 Phase 1: Research and Setup (1-2 Weeks)

Step 1:

Determine the topic area that is most closely aligned with the biggest pain
point (or points) your customer is having that your product can solve.
There are a few things we recommend doing immediately:

• Meet with your CSM team to discuss the account trajectory and to

get insights on the primary user(s), the original buying committee,

new decision makers, and the industry.

• Engage multiple contacts beyond the primary user to ensure that

churn does not occur as a result of employee turnover.

• Research the company’s website, specifically their career, news,

To upsell and expand within an account, you need to understand your
and customer pages. This will help you see who they are hiring for
customers’ pain points and how your additional product can solve said
problems. Create a comprehensive strategy to engage the entire buying (giving you insight into problems they are trying to solve)
committee of your account. Begin this tactic 3 months before the renewal • Have finance, sales, CX, and marketing work together on a draft of
date or immediately when an engagement spike or intent surge occurs. the agreement to have on hand just in case the deal velocity requires

it earlier in the process

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 41
Step 2: Phase 2: Content Development (1-2 Weeks)
Set up automated ads leveraging behavioral data. Using the Terminus
Step 4:
Bombora and G2 integration, you can set up an Intent surge alert to let you
know when and which of your target accounts are researching specific topics
Activate your content marketing team to begin building out a custom piece
(i.e. the pain point) or other competing products (that also address the
of content (a blog, case study, customer webinar, or content experience) on
aforementioned pain point).
how other companies (specifically ones using your offering) are addressing
the original pain point.
Terminus allows you to launch ads automatically based on intent and
engagement data from multiple vendors and coordinate with other
Step 5:
channels (chat, web, email) to increase more intent and engagement.

Activate your graphic design

Step 3:
team to build out display
creative with messaging
Set up an Engagement Spike and Account Insights within your CRM to let
relating to the topic you
your CSM team know when and who from your target account is researching
discovered in your research or
the product page of the offering you plan on upselling.
for simple brand awareness for
the product.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 42
Phase 3: Digital Campaigns (2-4 weeks)

Step 6:

Launch a digital display campaign promoting the product line you’re trying
to upsell and the pain point it solves.In tandem, you can also launch email
nurtures and chat playbooks that are stage-based and on theme with
your display campaigns.

Step 7:

When your piece of content is complete, fold it into your display and email
nurture and chat campaigns. You can also launch a LinkedIn Sponsored
Content Campaign to your account to ensure you’re hitting them from
every angle

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 43
Phase 3: CSM and Executive Outreach
(1-2 Weeks) “Terminus and ABM not only gave us more insight
into our customer engagement and areas of
Step 8: opportunity, it also served as a tool to help ensure
our internal teams were aligned on our priorities.”
After 2-3 weeks of running digital display campaigns, have sales or a CSM — Customer Marketing Manager

send an email and call to schedule a demo with your target account. If they
visit your website, schedule a demo with Terminus Chat. Because you’ve been
actively warming up the entire buying committee, and not just your point of
contact, you should also reach out to additional contacts at the account. Try
to engage as many people in the buying committee as possible. If possible,
loop in executive leadership to push the deal forward with a personalized Step 9:
email or offer for a phone call.
If they do not respond to your email within 2-3 days, but are still active on
Note: If they have already engaged with your ad campaign or content pieces, your site, try sending a handwritten note.
try to schedule a call immediately following their engagement.

• Tip: If you have a customer newsletter, marketing can also suppress

this account from the regular newsletter send and develop a

well-designed email custom for this account with targeted language

about the benefits of the new offering.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 44
Phase 4: Personalized Gift

Step 10:

If you’re still struggling to connect with your point of contact at your target
account, try sending a custom swag or experience kit based on what you
understand about the organization.

Phase 5 – Final Week

Step 11:

Once you have engaged in active communications with your target account
and have reasonable certainty your offering is a viable solution for their pain
points, send the new agreement to your internal champion.Note: You should
maintain your display campaigns until the deal has been finalized.

At this point, your entire buying committee should have seen your display
campaign, custom content experience, and piece of direct mail solidifying
your authority on the pain point.

Efforts from here should center on closing the upsell.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 45
 CREATE AN OPPORTUNITY WITHIN
A TARGET ACCOUNT
PREP TIME: TEAM

• Research + Setup: < 1 Week • ABM / Digital Marketer

• SDR
ASSETS & DATA

10
• Content Marketer

# • Direct Mail
• Graphic Designer

• Personalized Messaging: TOOLS

1 SDR Email Drip Sequence

• Sendoso
• Content Development: 2 Weeks
• Salesloft
• Display Campaign: 4 Weeks
• Terminus

• Salesforce

• LinkedIn

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 46
 ​​Phase 1: Research and Outreach (1-2 Weeks)

Step 1:

Set up an engagement spike within Terminus to alert when a target account is

spending time on your website.

Work with your Marketing Ops team to create a Salesforce report that pulls in
Terminus Spike Data and includes columns that list:

• Account Name

• Account Owner

• Website Visits (30-days)

• Last Spike Date

If you notice a target account spiking on your website, bypass their inbox
altogether and get in front of them with direct mail or a personalized chatbot.

Once the direct mail lands or they land on your website, your SDR can spring
into action.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 47
Step 2:

Activate your graphic design team to build display creative with related
imagery and a fun tagline. This imagery will be used for display ads, email
banners, chat pop ups, and more.

Step 3:

Building out a custom landing page you’ll direct ads to that features the same
imagery and outlines the problems you can solve.

Phase 2: Laying in Wait (1 Week)

Day 1, Step 4:

Export the list of the previous week’s spike accounts and send it to
your sales team.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 48
Day 3 (or whenever your request
deadline passes):

Option One:

Send the selected accounts a virtual or mailed item with a custom note on
Day 3. On the same day, enroll those accounts in a display ad campaign that’s
personalized with relevant imagery, a tagline, and their account name or logo.
Make sure your sales team is set up to receive delivery updates so they can
begin email/phone outreach shortly after the item is delivered.

Option Two:

On Day 3, launch the display ad campaign but don’t send those accounts a
gift yet. Instead, let the ads run for two weeks. While you’re intentionally
delaying the send, you’ll build brand awareness so that when the item arrives,
your prospects are more likely to quickly recognize your brand.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 49
Phase 3: Post-Delivery Engagement (1 Week)

Step 5:

Once the gift or item has been delivered, instruct sales to send an email to
schedule a call with the target account. Include a few pieces of information
from your previous research.

If you use Email Experiences, create a Salesforce campaign with all of the
accounts that received a gift or item. Set up a rule so that anytime an SDR
emails someone within that account, the recipient will see a custom
email signature.

If your SDRs don’t receive a response within a few days, encourage them to
follow up with more content, a phone call, or a handwritten note.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 50
Phew! Are you still with us?
We know that was...a lot of information.

But, Terminus is your trusted partner to help with all of these

plays. We’re the only account-based engagement platform built
to deliver more pipeline and revenue through multi-channel
ABM. We ran each of these plays ourselves so you didn’t have
to...and, they work. If you want more ABM inspiration, how-tos,
case studies, you name it... browse the Terminus Resource Hub
for anything and everything ABM.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Multi-Channel ABM Playbookk / © Terminus Software Inc. / pg. 51