CEO @GTM Partners | WSJ best selling Author of MOVE | Co-founder @Terminus @Peak Community

10 years ago, found my true passion: Teaching.

1️⃣ Teaching business – How to build and scale companies.
2️⃣ Teaching leadership – How to align teams for success.
3️⃣ Teaching life – Because business without purpose is empty.

That’s why I combine them all to teach the business of Go-To-Market, leadership, and life.

Built and exited two well known companies (Pardot → Salesforce $2.7B, Terminus → acquired twice).
Written 3 books, including WSJ bestseller MOVE: The 4-Question Go-To-Market Framework.
Created the GTM Operating System, now used by thousands.
Hosted 1,000+ podcast episodes on GTM Made Simple.
Taught 70,000+ students through my LinkedIn courses.

I write daily on LinkedIn around the five core truths about Go-To-Market:

🚀 Trust in NRR.
🚀 CEO owns GTM.
🚀 Systems > Goals.
🚀 GTM is a transformation process.
🚀 Business transformation happens in teams.

175K+ people read my weekly research note on GTM: https://gtmonday.substack.com/
11K+ subscribers follow my personal insights: https://becomingintentional.substack.com/
To Book me for speaking, keynotes: https://sangramhere.com/

I’m on a mission to make Go-To-Market simple—for CEOs, founders, and teams. If you want to bring clarity, alignment, and trust to grow your business, let's talk.

Join my MOVE book companion course for CEOs, founders and GTM leaders 
and GTM Operating System Course (Used in two $100M+ exits, rated 4.5/5 stars

DM me. Let’s build something great—intentionally. Join the MOVEment!

Sangram Vajre

10 years. 3 companies. 1 designer behind all of it.

meet Shannel Wheeler, PMP.

she has designed every brand element of three of my most successful businesses:

→ Terminus (by DemandScience) and thru 5 acquisitions — from zero to $100M+ business
→ FlipMyFunnel — 100K+ community that created the ABM category (as stated by Forrester when Terminus was named as a leader back in the day)
→ GTM Partners — helping 100 GTM execs become financially independent by building $300K+ businesses

every deck. every website. every visual that brought these ideas to life.

that work helped create 1000s of jobs and new markets.

as i came across this photo today, it made me smile and appreciate lifelong friendships that make life epic.

she didn't tell me to do this.

but if you need a branding genius or fractional designer — reach out to her. you'll thank me later.

love,
sangram

Built two $100M+ companies | WSJ Best Selling Author of MOVE on go-to-market | GTMonday Editor with 175K+ subscribers teaching the GTM Operating System

*** Fractional CMOs and aspiring Fractional GTM Leaders:

as a 2 time CMO turned Fractional GTM Leader building a $7M advisory business in last 4 years, i finally have something put together.

my step-by-step process of how Bryan Brown and I - 2 people team built a profitable fractional business and how we are scaling it in 2026.

plus as of this morning, 70+ GTM OS Certified Partners who joined in 2025 are already averaging $250K+ based on the recent survey.

after 4 long years and helping 70+ GTM OS certified partners achieve their personal and financial dreams, i am finally sharing my learnings in a keynote to PE firms and Marketing Summit:

Title: How to Build Your Fractional GTM Business in 2026

i also went ahead and did a recording of this so i can run thru key ideas in a bit more depth than the keynote.

as of this morning, i packaged it up in a nice little course with slides, videos, and examples of real fractional success stories from people like Tim Hillison Sarah Allen-Short Sue Foley and a few other leaders on how they went from "should i" to "i make more than a traditional CMO and get my life back"

so... who is it for? 

NOT for everyone. it's for serious GTM leaders who want to build a fractional  business of $250K+/year and know that the old playbooks are not working anymore and are looking to find better ways to build your business and transform your life, not just career.

how to get it:
like and comment "Access" and my EA will dm you the link 

timing: 
after my keynote tomorrow at 11 am EST.

love,
sangram
p.s. follow Sangram Vajre on all things go-to-market and if you are in ATL come say hi!

#CMO #fractional #GTM

$13M CEO: "our ICP is broken."

me: "who built it?"

CEO: "marketing."

me: "that's the problem."

CEO: "what do you mean? ICP is a marketing thing."

me: "no. ICP is a business thing. when marketing builds ICP alone, sales ignores it. product doesn't know it exists. CS is left cleaning up bad-fit customers."

CEO: "but... our marketing team should know our customers."

me: "do they sit on sales calls? do they see the CS tickets? do they know which deals close fast and which ones drag for 6 months?"

CEO: "that's not their job."

me: "exactly. that's why ICP can't be their job either."

CEO: "so what are you saying?"

me: "i'm saying you need to be in the room. you, your CRO, your CMO, your CS leader. ICP is a GTM decision. not a marketing exercise."

CEO: "i don't have time for that."

me: "you don't have time to define who you're building the entire company around?"

CEO: "we're already selling. we just need marketing to fix the targeting."

me: "you're not going to like this… but i don't think we're a good fit."

CEO: "what?"

me: "you want us to fix your GTM. but you're not willing to be part of the fix. that never works."

we walked away from that deal.

and i'd do it again.

because here's the truth:

ICP is not a marketing job.

CEO has to part of this process and it's the foundation of all your GTM.

and when the CEO won't sit in that room, nothing we do will matter anyway.

did i make a mistake by declining to do advisory for this company?

love,
sangram
p.s. if you are CEO and wants a GTM OS Certified Partner to do planning that is expert in your industry, just dm me and i will connect you!

$11M CEO: "i need to hire a CMO, right now."

me: "why?"

CEO: "we need to scale."

me: "you can't afford it."

CEO: "what do you mean?"

me: "hire a seasoned fractional who's been there, done that. 10-20 hours a week. pair them with an implementer to get things moving. scale to $20M+, then think about full-time."

CEO: "i don't believe in fractional."

6 months later, the same CEO calls me back.

they'd fired two full-time CMOs.

now they wanted a referral for a fractional (since we have a GTMarketplace for match making for founder to fractional)

look — i get it. hiring full-time works when you have everything in place.

but sometimes you don't need a full-time exec.

you need a smart, experienced person who's been there and done that.

someone who can move fast, set the foundation, and not burn through your runway while you figure it out.

fractional isn't a backup plan.

for a lot of companies, it's the smarter first move.

your take?

love,
sangram

my 15-year-old son just made 100 sales calls.

got cursed at. hung up on. told to never call again.

then he asked me the question every founder eventually asks: "papa, why is nobody buying?"

here's what broke my heart — and taught us both everything:

he built this beautiful AI website builder. automated booking. slick interface. the simply works.

his pitch was perfect: "i'll build you an AI-assisted website that handles everything automatically!"

business owners' response? 

click.

not because he's 15. not because the product was bad.

because he was in problem-market fit, not product-market fit.

huge difference.

𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺-𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝘁 = selling painkillers to people with migraines
𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁-𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝘁 = selling vitamins to people who feel fine

my son was selling vitamins.

"AI-assisted website" sounds cool to us tech folks.

to a plumber who gets clients from word-of-mouth? 

it's like offering to upgrade the engine on a car that runs perfectly fine.

the brutal truth i had to tell him:

most business owners don't wake up thinking "i need an AI website."

they wake up thinking "i need more customers" or "i'm losing jobs to competitors."

if your first 100 calls feel like pulling teeth...

you're not bad at sales.

you're solving the wrong problem.

find the migraine first.

then build the painkiller.

my son pivoted his pitch last week. instead of "AI website," he now leads with "what if you never missed another customer call?"

3 actually calls in 5 days.

same product. different problem.

that's the entire game.

love,
sangram

p.s. watching your kid learn GTM lessons at 15 that most founders don't get until series B? priceless. he's now teaching me snapchat... we are even.

undefined undefined

about to keynote at my fist RKO at Ignitium: ABX Orchestration 

amazing energy and excitement for the future.

sharing our research why and how  some teams succeed and others don’t, based on:

1,000+ B2B companies…
1,000+ CEO and leader interviews…

it’s magical when a group of people come together and what they can do.

wish me all the best! 

love,
sangram

for 4 years straight, this is my travel hack.

of course when you travel, a lot falls on your spouse and kids.

it seems infinitely challenging since it’s not normal and everything seems a bit off at home.

so i have been doing this for about 4 years… and it simply works! 

i leave handwritten cards for my wife, son and my daughter.

for my wife: a scripture verse and that she got this!

for my son: i am counting on you and you can rise up to the responsibilities at home and proud of him. 

for my daughter: i am proud of her and she needs to take care of mom while i am gone and hug her a little tighter. 

they typically read it th night i am out at dinner table.

my prayer is that they have fun and my words might replace some of my presence and being normalcy to their day…

what’s your family hack when you travel?

love,
sangram

*** big news for fractional GTM leaders. 

we just unlocked two tools — free for 1 year as our certified partners are making $250K+/year on average. 

if you want to run a real fractional business — not a chaotic side hustle — you need two things from day one:

1️⃣ a simple purpose-built CRM for fractionals to manage deals and delivery

2️⃣ a prospecting tool to start real conversations

GTM OS Certified Partners now get both at no cost for one full year:

Insightly CRM by Unbounce  — manage deals, clients, and landing pages without the enterprise bloat.

SalesIntel.io — verified contacts, clean lists by ICP, and a repeatable way to fill your pipeline.

why these matter together:

prospecting without a CRM = chaos.
CRM without prospecting = empty pipeline.

75+ GTM OS certified partners are already building their businesses on this foundation.

no duct-taped systems. no "i'll set this up later."

fractional freedom doesn't come from hustle.

it comes from leverage.

who: if you're serious about building a $250K+ fractional business in 2026 or have an existing fractional business that you want to scale. 

how to get it: like and comment "freedom" 

timing: my EA will DM you the details in 24 hrs.

love,
sangram
p.s. i wish i had these tools as we built our little $7M advisory business with just Bryan Brown and i doing it. now 75+ other amazing fractional GTM leaders are building their little business and you can too.

most GTM plans fail by Q2.

ours don't. here's the 6-step process we use every quarter.

step 1: identify your GTM valley of death

every company is stuck in one of three valleys — awareness, conversion, or retention. you can't fix all three at once. pick the one that's bleeding.

step 2: know your stage

are you in problem stage, product stage, or platform stage? each requires a completely different GTM motion. most companies run a platform playbook when they're still in problem stage which is killing the momentum.

step 3: name your top 3 GTM problems

we've identified 15 common GTM problems. pick your top 3. not 7. not 10. three for next 90 days and fix it. focus wins.

step 4: run the MOVE framework with your exec team

this exposes the gaps in how your leadership team thinks about GTM. marketing sees one thing. sales sees another. this gets everyone on the same page.

step 5: answer the 8 GTM OS questions

this puts your entire go-to-market on a single slide. who you serve. how you win. what you measure. one page. total clarity.

step 6: build your 90-day project list

not a 12-month roadmap nobody follows. a focused list of projects that move the needle this quarter.

that's it. 6 steps. every quarter.

give it a shot!

love,
sangram

p.s. we have 70+ GTM OS Certified Partners who can run this process for you who have collectively experience of running this a 1000 times. if you're a CEO or GTM exec who wants a facilitator to help — at least once, if not every quarter — comment below.

i'll match you with a GTM OS Certified Partner who specializes in your industry and segment.

love,
sangram

fractional CMO: "i work with B2B SaaS companies."

me: "which ones?"

CMO: "all of them."

me: "that's the problem."

CMO: "what do you mean? i have broad experience."

me: "broad experience doesn't win deals. specificity does. when you say 'all of them,' buyers hear 'none of them deeply.'"

CMO: "but if i niche down, i'll lose opportunities."

me: "you'll lose the wrong ones. and win the right ones faster."

CMO: "how do you know this works?"

me: "because i've watched it work. 5 times. 5 different niches. 5 fractionals building $250K+ businesses."

here's the proof:

→ Alan Gonsenhauser — PE-Backed Companies Over $100M + CMO Coaching

Alan focuses on "PE companies."
he picked $100M+ companies with CMO turnover, board pressure, and scale challenges.
he's a CMO coach specifically for portfolio companies that need strategic maturity, not more tactics. that's a niche inside a niche.

→ Shelli Ryan, APR, Fellow PRSA — Cross-Border GTM + BPO Services

while others stay broad, Shelli went ultra-specific:
helping implement BPO with cross-border companies.
that niche is exploding.
and she owns it.

→ Tim Hillison — Engineering-Led Founders

Tim isn't "GTM for all founders."
he's the go-to partner for engineering-led CEOs who need clarity, confidence, and commercial muscle.
his niche? technical founders who don't speak GTM.
his value? he translates complexity into revenue.

→ Lydia Flocchini — The Queen of Legal Tech (20 Years Deep)

Lydia isn't trying to be a horizontal fractional.
she leaned into who she already is: the most experienced GTM leader in legal tech.
founders listen. buyers trust her instantly.
she doesn't chase business — business comes to her.

→ Sarah Allen-Short — The "Work Doula" for Visionary CEOs

Sarah isn't chasing founders.
she chose to serve a completely different niche:
helping CEOs through growth, change, and chaos — with the frameworks and experience to back it up.
the more she helps, the more people show up.
she created her own category — and it works.

5 people. 5 completely different niches. all winning.

the lesson?

you don't need to serve everyone.

you need to serve someone so well that they can't imagine working with anyone else.

if you are a fractional CMO, CRO or GTM leader, comment your niche below and i will amplify it.

so... what's your niche?

love,
sangram
p.s. give these amazing GTM fractionals a follow!

1st time when we launched ABM at a $35M company, we thought we had it all figured out.

we didn't.

here's what actually happened:

we picked 100 "dream accounts."
we built personalized ads.
we sent direct mail.
we tracked engagement.

6 months later?

→ 3 meetings booked
→ 0 closed deals
→ $50K+ spent

the board asked: "what went wrong?"

the honest answer? we fell in love with the tactic, not the strategy.

here's what we missed:

1. we picked accounts we wanted, not accounts that wanted us.
no intent signals. no timing data. just logos we thought would look good on our website.

2. we personalized everything except the message.
custom ads with their logo. personalized landing pages. but the value prop? generic. they didn't care.

3. sales wasn't bought in.
marketing ran the show. sales saw it as "marketing's project." when leads came in, follow-up was slow. alignment was broken from day one.

4. we measured activity, not outcomes.
engagement scores looked great. but engagement doesn't pay the bills. pipeline does.

the fix?

we rebuilt ABM from scratch:

→ started with sales and CS input on account selection
→ used intent and signal data to find accounts already in-market
→ aligned on a shared revenue segment, not just MQLs
→ measured ICP-fit pipeline and closed revenue, nothing else

that's when ABM started working.

my lesson: 

ABM isn't broken.
GTM isn't broken.
Marketing or sales isn't broken.

but the way most teams run it? absolutely is.

your take?

love,
sangram

2026 prediction: small, focused events will outperform big conferences.

here's proof it's already happening.

3 GTM OS Certified Partners — Maria Scheifler, Caitlin Clark-Zigmond, and Newell Falkinburg — are hosting a 90-minute workshop in Denver.

no keynotes. no expo halls. no swag bags.

just 20 GTM leaders working through the 15 most common GTM problems together.

you'll walk away with:
→ your top 3 GTM problems prioritized
→ peer perspectives from leaders in different industries
→ frameworks you can use immediately

small. focused. in-person. high signal.

the pendulum is swinging back from massive virtual events to intimate rooms where real work gets done.

if you're a CEO, CRO, or CMO in Denver — check it out.

link in comments for event and if you think it's a trend, share other events like this.

love,
sangram

i bring work home every. single. day.

but not the way you think.

i don't bring emails, slack, or stress.

i bring the skills.

the same frameworks that helped my two companies scale to over $100M, i've found they work at home too.

so my wife and i built a family operating system.

here's what the Vajre household runs on:

→ "Vajre's always make it thru with God's love, grace and truth" — our family mission statement (every company has mission and core values, why don't my family?)

→ no pay for chores — you live here, you contribute (ownership without entitlement)

→ want to earn real money to buy something?  Read books, serve the community, sell or build something (leaders are readers, does, dreamers and drivers)

→ eat only when mom sits and takes the first bite (mom does a lot, the least we can do is wait for her and honor her)

→ dinner table is tech-free and sacred — memories are made with eye contact (focused convo, no phones)

→ yearly goals + monthly 1:1s date with each kid, weekly 1:1 with spouse — 5 years straight (performance reviews works when done regularly, not once a year)

→ on vacation, only mom has the phone (connection needs disconnection)

we've been doing this for years.

not because we're perfect. we're far from it.

but because the same principles that made my companies great, i wanted to see if that will make my family better and stronger.

we all need an operating system and in absence of it, i have found myself just surviving BUT one day we decided to live like that no more.

mission. ownership. respect. focus. growth. boundaries.

it works in the boardroom.

it works at the dinner table.

so... what's one "work skill" you've brought home?

love,
sangram

i got rid of all my crazy expensive tech for videos and here’s what i use now:

- iphone for crisper quality video (no lag or worries about quality)
- yeti mic 
- direct light from the sun by facing the window

that’s it!!

what’s your setup? 

love,
sangram

No alternative text description for this image

i want to help 100 solopreneurs make $300k+ in 2026.

one catch - you have to have 10+ years of GTM leadership experience.

not a typo. not a flex. a mission.

here's my why.

i became financially free at 41.

and it broke my brain in the best way.

for 15 years, i chased revenue. exits. titles.

built two companies past $100M. got the outcomes everyone says they want.

but when the money stopped being the goal... everything shifted.

work became projects, not obligations.
family became legacy, not "balance."
money became leverage, not the scoreboard.
partnerships became lifelong relationships, not transactions.

i stopped asking "how do i make more?"

started asking "how do i help more?"

that question led me here.

sangram here...

if you're new — i came to America 25 years ago with less than $500.

no network. no playbook. just hunger.

built Terminus to a $100M+ exit. 
wrote a WSJ bestselling book on go-to-market. 
editor of FractionalFreedomFriday with 7K+ subscribers.
editor of GTMonday with 175K+ subscribers teaching the GTM O.S.

but my next chapter isn't about building another company for myself.

it's about helping 100 new solopreneurs build $300K+ businesses.

we're building GTMarketplace — the largest network of certified fractional GTM leaders.

not a job board. not an agency.

a place where PE and recruiting firms  as well as CEOs and founders find proven fractional and interim CMOs, CROs, and GTM operators who've already solved their exact problem.

bcos the smartest execs aren't climbing corporate ladders anymore.

they're building freedom on their own terms.

if you're a fractional leader ready to stop explaining your value...

or a founder who needs GTM expertise without the full-time overhead...

this is what i'm building for you.

welcome to the fractional GTM movement.

love,
sangram

CEO of $13M business: "i don't believe in fractional and agencies."

me: "78% of fast growing business CEOs disagree with you."

we just ran this survey at GTM Partners. 

78% plan to increase fractional and agencies GTM investment in 2026. 
only 7% plan to reduce it.

71% said their experience was positive—56% called it a major impact, another 15% said fractionals and agencies fill an important gap.

this isn't a fringe experiment anymore. 
it's an operating model shift.

why it's accelerating:

→ GTM complexity is rising faster than headcount tolerance. companies need alignment across marketing, sales, CS, rev ops, and product—but not all of it full time.

→ experience gaps are widening. many CEOs are scaling in markets they've never been in before. hiring a full-time CRO or CMO is expensive, slow, and risky when the GTM motion isn't clear yet.

→ speed matters more than stability. fractional leaders are hired to diagnose, design, and execute—not to play politics or optimize for tenure.

but here's what CEOs still get wrong:

→ hiring a fractional to "help" without giving them real authority
→ treating the role as advisory when the problem is operational
→ expecting full-time outcomes from part-time access
→ using fractionals to avoid hard decisions about strategy, people, or focus

when fractional fails, it's usually because the CEO wanted optionality instead of accountability.

what good fractional leadership looks like:

→ they diagnose fast. ICP quality, pipeline velocity, messaging clarity, ownership gaps—they know where to look first.

→ they design systems, not heroics. the goal is repeatable motions the team can run.

→ they create leverage. a good fractional leaves the org stronger than they found it.

if you're a CEO exploring this model, start by finding someone who's done the work you're trying to do next.

your take?

love,
sangram
p.s. look out for the full research coming out on GTMonday next week

#fractional #GTM #CEO

it’s windy.
it’s cold.
it isn’t fair.

that’s what my son told me this morning at his national tennis tournament in Rome, Georgia. 

so i told him what i know best from experience:

there is no perfect day… 
u have to make your day, perfect. 

in life, sports and business… we don’t practice for perfect conditions. 

you just do your best… 

no regrets!

what would you have said?

love,
sangram

"who owns GTM?"

on every podcast. every stage. every exec session — i get asked this one question over and over again.

so i'm here to settle this debate.

this is based on all the research we've done on GTM — the WSJ best-selling book MOVE, and over 1,000 live GTM assessments with exec teams from startups to publicly traded companies.

hint: it's not who you think.

answer in the video 👇

your take...

love,
sangram

why would you turn down $25K newsletter sponsorship, again?

we did. last week. here's why.

a CEO reached out wanting to sponsor GTMonday. good company. real budget. easy yes for most publishers.

we said no. again.

we don't even call GTMonday a newsletter. 
we call it GTMonday, a research note, on purpose.

because the moment you take sponsorship money, you owe someone something. your research gets filtered. your recommendations get influenced. your voice gets quieter.

we wanted none of that.

3 years into writing this weekly research note, every framework we share is original. every insight comes from working with real companies. no sponsor approved it. no brand paid for ad placement.

that decision cost us short-term revenue.

but it built something bigger.

so what's the ROI of the research we publish freely for 3 years straight on a weekly basis? 

it led to a $7M+ advisory business.

175,000 people read is each Monday and share it all over the world.

70+ GTM OS certified fractionals have built their own businesses around our frameworks and the GTM OS.

every week we learn about companies that are now running the GTM Operating System, literally!

turns out, giving away your best thinking attracts the people who actually want to work with you.

not clicks. not impressions. no banner ad. real relationships that turn into real business.

so no — we're not looking for sponsors. 

now.. if you have a unique pov, then let's hear it and may be we will feature you for free.

that's the trade-off we made. and we'd make it again.

what do you think? 

love,
sangram
p.s. if you have haven't checked out GTMonday on Substack - just look it up!

Declan Mulkeen

Growth Marketing Director Spain

Need help with ABM? DM me | Host of Let's talk ABM podcast🎙 | CMO at strategicabm

Struggling to align Sales and Marketing? Or trying to turn Account-based marketing into your growth engine? 

These are the challenges I help solve every day as the CMO of strategicabm, a pure-play ABM Agency. 

At strategicabm, we specialize in creating full-funnel ABM strategies for B2B tech companies. 

Whether it’s refining ICPs, selecting high-value accounts, or executing personalized campaigns, we help businesses grow by winning, growing, and retaining the accounts that matter most.

With over 20 years of experience as a CMO in Professional Services and EdTech, I’ve led ventures from start-up to industry leader, delivering measurable results along the way. 

Now, I work to share insights on ABM and build meaningful relationships with clients who want to take their marketing to the next level.

We create some great ABM content to help you learn what good ABM looks like.

Let's talk ABM podcast: https://hubs.la/Q02_2T3d0
DashDot magazine: https://hubs.la/Q02_2T8w0
ABM under the hood podcast: https://hubs.la/Q02_2T9f0

Want to connect? Let’s make ABM work for your business.

📧 Email: declan@strategicabm.com
🌐 Website: strategicabm.com

There is such a proliferation of brands competing for the same customers making it much more difficult to cut through the noise. Sales teams get bigger and bigger but are yet less and less effective as buyer behaviour has changed beyond all recognition. 

Marketing budgets and technology innovation continue to grow apace but real ROI is hard to measure as the buyer journey now resembles a maze rather than a linear path to conversion.

Our mission at strategicabm is to enable B2B technology brands to accelerate their growth and maximise their investment resources by identifying and engaging with enterprise accounts actively in-market for their products and services.

We're Google, HubSpot, Drift, Vidyard and Cyance partners so have all the right tools and know-how to support you on your growth journey. Let's talk ABM!

Declan Mulkeen 🎯🎯🎯

Don't bet your house on ABM.

Here's what many marketers get wrong about ABM.

They treat it like it's the entire strategy. 

Like it's going to save their whole GTM motion. 

But if you're putting all your marketing eggs in the ABM basket... 

You're setting yourself up to fail. 

I'm Irish descent. 

My Dad loved Guinness and from an early age I learned what a good pint of Guinness looked like (and later tasted like).

I started working in my aunty's pub in Ireland from a young age...the local police were customers so no questions asked! 

I was taught by the demanding locals to serve a good pint with a "proper head". 

So...here's my visual metaphor...ABM isn't the whole pint. 

It's the cream on top. 

Think of it like a perfectly poured Guinness.

The cream (ABM): 

↳Precision-targeted
↳Personalized outreach
↳Strategic, focused effort
↳High-value accounts only
↳Organization-wide approach

The Black Stuff (Foundation Marketing):

↳Events 
↳Demand Gen
↳SEO, AEO, etc. 
↳Paid campaigns
↳Brand awareness
↳Content marketing 
↳Lead generation & nurturing
↳etc. 

ABM on its own is just foam. 

The "black stuff" without ABM doesn't taste right. 

But together? 

That's where the magic happens. 

ABM works because of everything around it: 

↳SEO captures intent
↳Brand builds credibility 
↳Events drive relationships 
↳Content creates awareness 
↳Demand Gen warms the market 
↳Product marketing sharpens the narrative 

ABM brings it all together for your most valuable accounts. 

It's the specialized layer that turns good marketing into revenue. 

But it only works if the foundation is solid. 

ABM doesn't replace your other marketing. 

It amplifies what's already working. 

If your core marketing engine isn't humming, ABM won't fix it. 

But if it is - the combination is unstoppable. 

So before you scale ABM, ask yourself: 

↳Is our demand Gen motion working? 
↳Is our brand recognized in our market?
↳Can we generate pipeline without ABM? 
↳Do we have consistent content production?

If you answered "no" to any of these... Fix the black stuff first. 

Then add the cream. 

What's your take? 

Hi! I'm Declan.

1️⃣ I help leaders build visibility, trust & impact through strategic storytelling
2️⃣ I share what great ABM looks like
3️⃣ I host the Let's talk ABM Podcast

I turn your expertise into visibility. CMO @ strategicabm. Host of Let’s talk ABM podcast 🎙️

The life of an ABMer.

Uncomfortable reading for many.

Often misunderstood.

Frequently mislabeled.

Regularly oversimplified.

Hence this little timeline. 

If you work in ABM, you’ll recognise the greatest hits:

↳“No, it’s not about leads”
↳“No, it’s not fancy tools”
↳“No, it’s not demand gen”
↳“No, it’s not targeted ads”
↳“No, it’s not AI automation”
↳“No, it’s not mass personalisation”
↳“No, it doesn’t replace all marketing”

And definitely…

“No, it’s not a silver bullet.”

ABM keeps getting misdefined because people try to make it something it is not.

If you label it:

↳A channel
↳A campaign
↳A toolset
↳A targeting tactic

…you can box it, label it, launch it, and move on.

But...real ABM doesn’t let you do that.

It forces you to:

↳Pick accounts that actually matter
↳Name real people, not personas
↳Align to real business problems
↳Commit to outcomes, not activity
↳Work "uncomfortably" close to Aales

That’s why it’s so often diluted.

ABM isn’t complicated.

But it certainly is demanding.

And that’s why it gets misunderstood.

What’s the most wrong description of ABM you’ve heard recently?

Want hear from all my ABM friends this weekend! 


1️⃣ I help leaders build visibility, trust & impact through strategic storytelling
2️⃣ I share what great ABM looks like
3️⃣ I host the Let's talk ABM Podcast

ABM doesn't replace Demand Gen.

It complements it.

Let’s clear this up.

When people talk about:

↳One-to-many ABM
↳Programmatic ABM
↳ABX at scale

What they’re usually describing is very good Demand Gen.

And that’s not a bad thing.

↳Using great tech
↳Casting a wide net
↳Driving awareness and interest.
↳Targeting 100s or 1000s of accounts

That’s Demand (Creation or Capture - up to you what you call it)

ABM is different.

True ABM is about:

↳Precision and not reach
↳Custom value propositions
↳Fewer, higher-value accounts
↳Unique messaging and content
↳Named people - not abstract personas
↳Executive briefings and tailored experiences

ABM doesn’t work without Demand Gen.

And Demand Gen becomes far more powerful with ABM layered on top.

One creates demand.

The other concentrates it.

I’ve never seen a successful ABM program without a strong Demand Gen engine underneath it.

So no...

ABM isn’t here to “kill” Demand Gen.

It complements it.

Sharpens it.

Pipeline, revenue, growth.

Agree?

Head to the comments to check out this fantastic Let's talk ABM Podcast chat with Nancy Carlyle Harlan where she digs into the subject of ABM + Demand Gen and much more. 

Hi! I'm Declan.

1️⃣ I help leaders build visibility, trust & impact through strategic storytelling
2️⃣ I share what great ABM looks like
3️⃣ I host the Let's talk ABM Podcast

"Daddy, what do you do?" 

So, I took a deep breath and started to tell a story.

And that's how I explained ABM to my 5-year old son.

When something is clearly explained it gains power.

When it's not explained simply it's often:

↳Misunderstood
↳Undervalued
↳Ignored

And that struggle means that ABM sometimes gets a bad name. 

↳It's like personalized landing pages.
↳It's like coffee vouchers! 
↳It's like Demand Gen
↳It's like LinkedIn lists
↳It's like targeted ads
↳It's like Direct Mail

↳It's like...[fill in the blank...]

No. no. no. 

It's not. 

So I thought - what if I had to explain ABM to a 5-year old.

To my son. 

How would I explain it?

And so I did.

Then I posted my answer here on LinkedIn. 

And the post got a ton of traction and some great additions. 

I have cherry picked some great answers here that expand on my original explanation:

Thank you to: 

Simeon Ezra 
Kelly Maloney Schermerhorn 
Troy Vera
Eloise Todd
Asma Shaikh
Anissa de la Torre
Sophia Agustina
Akriti Gupta
Alex Belov
Paul Viviers

Does my explanation and the additions of my ABM friends help you to understand what ABM is?

Let me know below! 👇 Share your definition for my 5-year old son! 

I'm Declan 

1️⃣ I help leaders build visibility, trust & impact through strategic storytelling
2️⃣ I share what great ABM looks like
3️⃣ I host the Let's talk ABM Podcast

How to explain ABM to a 5-year old

Nvidia's CEO just explained why your AI experiments aren't working.

"We will be more productive and yet still be busier."

That's Jensen Huang on AI's impact.

And he's right.

I'm seeing it everywhere in B2B marketing.

↳Generic insights (that don't sell)
↳Teams using AI for ABM are getting:
↳Faster content (but zero conversions)
↳More outputs (but less commercial impact)

Here's why:

AI doesn't reduce work. 

It raises the bar for what "good" looks like.

As one Forbes Technology Council member put it:

"AI collapses the cost of execution, which raises expectations. You're not busier with grunt work. You're busier thinking."

But most teams aren't ready for that shift.

They're still treating AI as a task-replacer. 

Not a strategy-accelerator.

That's AI chaos - more activity, less clarity.

The shift to AI confidence requires:

↳Strategy before speed
↳Frameworks before tools. 
↳Foundations before automation

AI fast. Human first.

This infographic maps the 7 stages from chaos → confidence:

1. Foundations: Human-first ABM model
2. Prompting: ABM-specific precision
3. ICP Development: Validated buying groups
4. Account Selection: Intent-led targeting
5. Research: Deep insights at speed
6. Value Props: Outcome-driven narratives
7. Personalization: Authentic 1:1 at scale

That's how you AI-enable your ABM journey.

Not by chasing productivity.

But by building the foundations that let AI actually work.

From AI chaos to AI confidence.

AI fast. Human first.

That's what we teach inside our ABM Mastery training programs. 

Comment "AI" and I'll send you info on these ABM+AI courses. 

Are you busier with AI but not seeing "real" results?

Hi! I'm Declan.

1️⃣ I help leaders build visibility, trust & impact through strategic storytelling
2️⃣ I share what great ABM looks like
3️⃣ I host the Let's talk ABM Podcast

ABM pilots don’t fail because the strategy is wrong.

They fail because teams aren’t built to scale it.

Scaling ABM is a whole different game.

If you’re asking:

↳Is our ABM model scalable?
↳How do we fix what's not working?
↳Are we measuring the right things?
↳How do we AI-enable our ABM journey?
↳What does “mature ABM” really look like?
↳How do we take our learnings and roll out to company?

You’re not alone.

And the good news is that you’re not stuck.

We've created a brand new workshop program to tackle these questions and many more.

ABM Masterclass.

For enterprise marketers ready to scale:

↳Align Sales and Marketing around growth-driving metrics
↳Reframe your ABM to span the full customer lifecycle
↳Learn what an ABM Center of Excellence looks like
↳Audit your ABM with our Maturity Framework
↳Apply AI to your ABM journey 

This isn’t a webinar.

It’s a free in-company strategy workshop for you and your team.

Built for:

↳Solo ABMers trying to scale
↳Enterprise GTM leaders
↳Post-pilot ABM teams
↳ABM CoE leads

Comment MASTERCLASS in the comments and I’ll send over the details.

Let's scale great ABM together! 

Hi! I'm Declan.

1️⃣ I'm CMO at strategicabm | Account-based Marketing Agency
2️⃣ I share what great ABM looks like
3️⃣ I host the Let's talk ABM Podcast

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