Get Started with Account-Based Selling
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
- Define account-based selling (ABS) and explain its core principles.
- Explain the importance of a strategic approach to ABS.
- Identify key steps to execute ABS with clarity and confidence.
Understand Account-Based Selling
Account-based selling (ABS) focuses on high-value accounts. It’s a strategic, high-touch sales approach that prioritizes relationship building to increase long-term customer lifetime value (CLTV). Instead of casting a wide net, you target a small, select group. Rather than reaching out to one person at a customer’s company, you work with a team to engage with multiple key decision makers, tailoring the strategy to each account. It treats every account as a unique market, catering to what matters most to that particular customer.
You walk through the complete process of establishing a strategy for this new approach, using Salesforce to realize your vision, and working toward landing high-value clients.
Develop a Strategic Approach to Account-Based Selling
As a sales manager at Ursa Major, a solar supplier, you want new sales strategies to continue your company’s growth.
You currently provide solar solutions to private homes and small businesses. Your company’s growth positions you to target large businesses that are turning to renewable energy. You consider shifting to an account-based selling approach where a small, dedicated team that includes sales, marketing, finance, and IT work together to target larger accounts.
This shift takes careful planning and coordination across the team to make sure everyone's in agreement. A well-defined ABS strategy ensures your effort pays off as you go after big accounts with confidence.
To figure out if ABS fits your business, ask yourself these key questions.
- Who’s your ideal customer?
- Are your deals large enough for ABS?
- Do your deals involve multiple customer stakeholders?
- How complex are your deals?
Your team asks these key questions about your new target customers. You focus on mid-to-large-sized corporations that need a personalized, high-touch sales approach. These deals often involve multiple stakeholders, such as decision makers from finance, sustainability, and operations. Contracts are typically worth over $200,000. The complexity of these deals, which often span several months of negotiations and require custom solutions, makes ABS a logical choice.
Now you’re ready to begin account-based selling.
Execute Your ABS Game Plan
Adopting an account-based selling strategy is only the beginning. This approach demands deep cross-functional collaboration, shared team alignment, and greater staffing than a traditional pipeline model. To execute it effectively, you need a smart, disciplined strategy. Account-based selling focuses on two critical questions: Which accounts should you target, and why?
Read on for recommended best practices.
Define Your Ideal Customer Profile
When you focus your time, energy, and resources on a limited number of accounts, choose the right ones. Targeting the wrong account can hurt your revenue and waste valuable time. A strong ideal customer profile (ICP) is essential.
Your ICP defines the types of accounts likely to buy and get value from your product. Building your ICP starts with data, such as account size, location, industry, and demographics. Then, go deeper:
- What problems does your product solve? Be clear on the value you offer.
- Who has these problems? Identify the companies and people you can help.
- Can they afford your product? Focus on accounts that can buy and ideally pay premium prices or invest long-term.
- What do your best customers have in common? Use that insight to shape your messaging.
- Why do they buy from you? Let real customer motivations guide your outreach.
Once your ideal customer profile is in place, it’s time to find target accounts that match. Start by mining your CRM, then expand your search. Compare each potential account against your ICP to ensure it’s a strong fit. This first filter keeps your focus sharp and your efforts productive.
Align Your Team on Messaging and Approach
ABS is a team sport. To make it work, your sales team needs to stay tightly aligned with marketing, service, finance, IT, and anyone who plays a role in supporting your target accounts.
For instance, marketing can lead the charge on early messaging, but sales should help shape the story. When everyone speaks the same language, your outreach feels smooth, consistent, and trustworthy.
Open communication is key. Every touchpoint— whether calls, emails, or social posts—should reflect shared goals and a unified approach. The more aligned your team is, the more confidence you inspire in high-value accounts. This makes you more likely to win them over.
Develop Personalized Outreach Strategies
To build a strong outreach plan, you need a deep understanding of your target accounts. Research is key. Not every business faces the same challenges. If you don’t understand the business’ needs, your pitch won’t land effectively. Use your research skills to dig into each account’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Map out the business’ customers, competitors, and the broader market in which it operates. This focused review helps you get to know the business inside and out.
From there, craft highly personalized outreach, tailoring messaging that shows how your solution solves the business’ problem. When your pitch feels relevant and specific, it’s a lot more likely to grab your customer’s attention and spark real interest.
Track, Learn, and Optimize Your Outreach
Your outreach plan is a dynamic strategy. Track what works and what does not work as you engage with target accounts.
Document your prospecting efforts. Do personalized emails get responses? Do webinars or workshops bring more engagement than reports or one-off pitches? A medium-effort prospecting can have a bigger payoff than expected.
Loop in your sellers. They're on the front lines and often have the clearest picture of what resonates. Use their feedback to refine and adjust your approach. As you learn and iterate, your account-based selling foundation becomes stronger. This makes scaling easier.
Measure Success and Scale with Confidence
You focus your team’s energy on landing high-value accounts through a strategic, account-based approach. How do you know it’s working? Success doesn’t have to be a guessing game. Set clear, measurable KPIs to get a real sense of your impact and your potential to grow.
Here are a few key metrics to track.
- How often does your team engage with target accounts, and through which channels?
- What percentage of those accounts convert into paying customers?
- What’s the average revenue per account over the lifetime of the relationship?
- How long does it typically take to convert a lead into a customer?
- How satisfied are your customers with your product or service?
By regularly tracking and analyzing these KPIs, you get a clear view of what’s working and where there’s room to improve. That insight is your launchpad. Use it to fine-tune your strategy, replicate your wins, and scale your account-based selling success with confidence.
Wrap It Up
You know how to choose the right accounts, rally your team, personalize your outreach, and measure what matters. The success you’re developing isn’t a lucky accident—it’s the result of deliberate, thoughtful work at every stage.
Account-based selling isn’t about volume; it’s about value. It’s about knowing your customer deeply, showing up with purpose, and crafting every interaction with great care. When you sell with intention, you don’t just create another deal; you create a relationship worth continuing.
Now put it all into practice and let Salesforce help offer you something extraordinary.