Created by: Sara McNamara

ABM isn’t just about targeting accounts anymore, it’s about getting in front of the exact people who can actually move a deal forward. Whether you’re running high‑touch 1:1 plays for your biggest accounts, segmenting into 1:Few clusters, going broad with 1:Many, or layering in CBM to reach the right contacts inside those accounts, the goal’s the same: connect with the right people at the right time with the right message.

This guide walks you through how to pick the right ABM model, the tools and workflows to make it run smoothly, the plays that actually work, and how to measure if it’s paying off. It’s meant to be practical…less theory, more “here’s how to do it and what it looks like in the real world.”

🧠 Strategic Foundation

Choosing the right ABM model starts with understanding your deal size, sales cycle length, total addressable market (TAM), and available resources. The more targeted the model, the more time, budget, and sales alignment it requires.

👩‍💼 1:1 ABM (Strategic ABM): High-touch, highly personalized plays for top-tier accounts, focused on engaging key executives, decision-makers, and influencers within those accounts. Messaging and outreach are customized for the specific people involved in the deal. Best when deals are high-value, buying processes are complex, and you can justify heavy personalization and dedicated resources per account.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 1:Few ABM (ABM Lite): Targeted campaigns for small clusters of accounts that share similar characteristics, with messaging tailored to the personas most likely to influence the buying decision. Ideal when your TAM is moderate in size, you sell into clearly defined segments, and you need a balance between personalization and scale.

📣 1:Many ABM (Programmatic ABM): Scalable personalization for a larger volume of ICP-fit accounts, using persona-based messaging to reach individuals at scale. Works best when your TAM is large, you need to generate broad market awareness, and you want to layer intent data for efficiency.

👤 CBM (Contact-Based Marketing): A precision targeting approach layered onto 1:Few and 1:Many ABM programs, putting relevant ads in front of specific people and personas within an account, based on intent activities like website visits, content engagement, or buying signals. CBM ensures the right groups inside the buying committee see the right messages without going as far as one-to-one creative personalization.

⭐ How to Decide: If your Annual Contract Value (ACV) is very high, your deals involve complex buying committees, and each win significantly impacts revenue, prioritize 1:1 ABM for a small number of accounts. If your ACV is moderate to high, but you have more accounts than your team can fully customize for individually, use 1:Few ABM to cluster and scale. If you’re entering a market where awareness is low or you have a very large TAM, start with 1:Many ABM to build recognition, then layer in CBM to ensure ads are reaching specific decision-makers. Use CBM in any 1:Few or 1:Many scenario to improve efficiency by narrowing your ad spend to only the personas who can move the deal forward.

🔍 Account & Contact Selection and Tiering

Build your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) by defining firmographics such as industry, size, and revenue; technographics such as stack fit; intent signals; and engagement data from CRM activity and past conversations.

In 1:1 ABM, limit your ICP to the absolute highest-value targets with proven fit and historical success patterns. In 1:Few, broaden slightly but still maintain segment-specific relevance. In 1:Many, focus on broader ICP attributes, but layer intent to avoid waste, and let CBM refine targeting inside those accounts to the right personas.

🥇 Tier 1: Strategic accounts — 1:1 plays to executives and decision-makers; heavy sales and marketing collaboration.

🥈 Tier 2: High-potential accounts — role-based messaging to clusters of contacts, plus CBM ads to personas showing engagement signals.