Start Q1 with a Plan, Not Just a Strategy

The start of a new quarter is where B2B brands have a choice: either act fast and secure key pipeline wins, or get stuck in planning mode while competitors pull ahead. If your organization spent Q4 identifying high-fit accounts through an ABM strategy, Q1 is the time to operationalize it. 

But planning isn’t the same as execution. Strategy alone doesn’t win deals. Alignment and action do. 

Bridge Strategy and Execution with Data-Driven Decisions 

Execution gaps often show up when ABM stays siloed within marketing or isn’t connected to shared metrics across teams. The best-performing Q1 campaigns are: 

• Fueled by shared revenue goals across sales, marketing, and customer success 

• Driven by real-time account engagement data, not static personas 

• Focused on delivering the next best step to each buyer, not just blanket messaging 

ABM is no longer about the what. It’s about the when and why. 

Activate Your ICP with Real Buyer Signals 

The strongest ABM strategies start with a clearly defined ICP and end with real-time insights that map your message to buyer intent. You already know who you want to target; now it’s about when and why to engage. Intent data platforms, CRM insights, and behavioral analytics help you detect readiness signals like product page views, job changes, or new funding rounds. 

When integrated into your ABM workflow, these data points actually become buying triggers that allow your sales and marketing teams to move beyond personas and start influencing real people at the exact moment they’re researching solutions like yours. 

Pro tip: Use tools like Bombora, ZoomInfo, or Demandbase to sync these signals directly into your marketing automation platform and CRM. Then customize your outreach based on where that account is in its buying journey. 

Why Should B2B Leaders Care About ABM? 

Because numbers don’t lie. According to Gartner, account-based marketing drives a 28% increase in overall account engagement and a 25% lift in conversion from marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) to sales-accepted leads (SALs) (Gartner, 2023). In a market where performance pressure is high and budgets are tight, ABM is one of the few proven methods to consistently align marketing and sales for real revenue impact. 

And the benefits don’t stop there. Forrester’s 2024 data reveals that companies using ABM report significantly larger average deal sizes than those using traditional demand generation approaches. In fact, nearly one-third of global respondents reported a deal size uplift between 11% and 20%, with some North American organizations experiencing increases as high as 50% or more. 

Together, these numbers show why B2B marketers serious about growth and ROI are making ABM a priority. 

Takeaway: Build your messaging around what your accounts are signaling they need right now. Not six months ago. 

The Role of Ops in ABM Execution 

Marketing ops teams are the unsung heroes of successful Q1 launches. If your GTM teams don’t have a strong infrastructure for: 

• CRM hygiene 

• Lead routing 

• Reporting dashboards 

• Campaign attribution 

…your ABM strategy will stall. Now is the time to ensure your internal processes can scale alongside your external campaigns. 

Don’t just build the strategy. Build the machine.

Before You Launch Anything, Audit What’s Working 

Want to improve your chances of hitting Q1 targets? Run an audit before launching: 

• Do you know your best-performing segments from last quarter? 

• Are your sales and marketing KPIs aligned for this cycle? 

• Have you identified where you lost velocity last quarter and why? 

The answers are in your data. Don’t guess when you can measure. 

Wrap Q1 Planning with Confidence, Not Chaos 

ABM should feel precise. Account prioritization, messaging, and timing should be coordinated, not reactive. 

Q1 is the best time to build momentum.

👉 Don’t let indecision cost you your best-fit leads. Let’s Talk.