ABM at scale

Watch this play as a webinar, with Tim Hughes, Demand Generation Lead and Liam Collins, VP of Paid Acquisition. They walk you through exactly how we built and scaled Cognism’s ABM engine—without relying on a six-figure platform. If you’d prefer to watch it, enter your details below. 👇

First, let’s debunk a common myth—ABM doesn’t need to start with a $100k software platform. We don’t use one at Cognism and have no plans to implement one. We found that using Cognism's data and existing tech stack was enough.

Here is what you do need, though:

• Clarity on your ICP.

• Agreement on what “ABM” means to your team.

• Alignment between marketing, SDRs and sales on account prioritisation and measurement.

At Cognism, we wanted to do ABM at scale to support a company-wide goal: move upmarket and close higher-value deals. Our existing demand generation programmes worked well for SMB and mid-market, but enterprise deals required a more focused, account-based approach.

“ABM is just good marketing. It’s targeted demand gen.” — Tim Hughs, Demand Generation Lead

At Cognism, we built our ABM programme around four core pillars:

1. Collaboration – Cross-functional alignment between demand gen, SDRs, AEs and ops.
2. Intelligence – Using intent, technographics, and internal data to make smarter decisions.
3. Activation – Channel planning based on where our buyers are.
4. Engagement – Delivering consistent, relevant touchpoints across the buying committee.

Before launching any campaigns, we built an ABM forum: a cross-functional working group with marketing, SDRs, AEs, leadership, and ops. This forum governs:

• ICP alignment.

• Account scoring and selection.

• Activation planning.

• Ongoing feedback on performance.

We also agreed on common definitions across the business:

• What counts as 1:Many, 1:Few, and 1:1.

• What an ABM-influenced opportunity looks like.

• What KPIs matter (hint: it’s not MQLs).

We don’t rely solely on intent data. Why? Because intent alone isn’t enough to decide which accounts are ready to buy. You’ll waste your budget and time.

Instead, we use a technique called signal stacking, which combines multiple data points:

Account fit signals (Is this an ideal account?)

• In the ICP segment and industry (3 points).

• Based in our key region (e.g. US with EMEA ops) (2 points).

• Has SDR or RevOps headcount > 20 (3 points).

• Uses a CRM & sales engagement tool (2 points).

Trigger signals (Is this account showing buying behaviour?)

• High Bombora or 1st-party intent (3 points).

• Hiring for SDRs or RevOps (3 points).

• Recent leadership change in revenue roles (3 points).

• Closed-lost opportunity in the last 12 months (1 point).

These signals are weighted to create a priority score. We use this to build our 1:Many and 1:Few campaign cohorts. 

To do this, we use Sales Companion. It's got all the signal data and filters we need to find these accounts, from hiring changes, to revenue, to technology and the level of use.

We run three core ABM plays, each with different goals and activation methods:

1:Many – Demand gen at scale

• Goal: Awareness & top-of-funnel pipeline.

• Audience: Broad ICP-based segment.

• Tactics: Paid media (LinkedIn, Google), content hubs, always-on nurture.

• Example: SDR leaders at SaaS companies with EMEA presence.

1:Few – Mid-funnel acceleration

• Goal: Move engaged accounts to opportunity.

• Audience: Accounts showing hiring/intent signals.

• Tactics: Custom landing pages, content tailored to use case, SDR outbound.

• Example: SaaS companies actively hiring SDRs or those who have recently lost a deal.

1:1 - Influence and close

• Goal: Win high-ACV opportunities.

• Audience: Open opportunities or strategic accounts.

• Tactics: Account-specific ads, personalised gifts, webinars, sales air cover.

• Example: A $100K+ pipeline deal with a complex buying committee.

Each layer uses a different intensity and investment. We don’t treat these as silos—accounts move through them as they show more signals and engagement.

Too many marketers over-index on LinkedIn or events. Real ABM is omnichannel. We diversify across digital and physical touchpoints to increase reach and resonance:

• Paid Ads: LinkedIn, Google, programmatic.
• Email: Smart outbound from SDRs based on account signals.
• Gifting: Personalised packages tied to personas or topics.
• Personalised landing pages: Tied to campaigns or account clusters.
• Events: Private webinars or executive roundtables.
• Sales Companion: AI-recommended contacts and triggers for reps.

Here’s an example of where we’ve gifted, as part of our Diary of a CMO campaign. 👇

Traditional marketing metrics don’t tell the whole story. To scale your ABM, you need to track the right metrics. Instead of just looking at MQLs, we track:

• Account penetration: Are we reaching multiple personas in the buying group?
• Account engagement: Who’s interacting with ads, landing pages, and content?
• Meeting conversion vs. engagement score: Is engagement leading to pipeline?
• Pipeline progression by stage: Where are deals getting stuck?
• Open opportunity influence: Are we helping sales move deals forward?

We review performance by ABM layer monthly in our forum and adjust tactics accordingly.

FAQs

Here are some often asked questions about ABM at scale.

I’m just getting started with ABM, what should I focus on?

If you’re starting, here’s what we recommend:

• Run ABM on open opportunities to prove influence quickly.

• Use signal-stacked scoring to narrow your list.

• Build account plans with sales and review together regularly.

• Layer in intent data & engagement for SDRs to follow up on.

• Start small (pilot a segment), iterate, then scale.

Do I need a big budget or ABM software to get started?

No, you don’t need a big budget or specific ABM software to start doing ABM. We built our programme using existing tools—Cognism, Salesforce, HubSpot, and our ad platforms. And our budget remained flat, meaning we didn't have an influx of budget to start; we just used what existed in the spending.

How many accounts should I target?

How many accounts you target for ABM depends on your capacity. For 1:1, 5–10 per rep. For 1: Few, around 50. For 1: Many, several hundred.

What’s your target account list process?

To build our ABM target account lists, we use Cognism's contact data, intent and enrichment to score and prioritise. Sales has the final say and approval before launch. 

How do you align SDRs to ABM campaigns?

SDRs get marketing account lists, trigger events, messaging, and campaign assets to align sales and marketing on our ABM campaigns. They’re also in the ABM forum.

Find more GTM Plays for ABM in the hub. 👇