Account based marketing (ABM) sounds good on paper: focus your energy on the right accounts, send them the right messages, and close bigger deals. But in reality, most ABM campaigns are messy. Lists are outdated, sales and marketing don't talk, and most tools promise the moon but deliver headaches. If you’re reading this, you probably want ABM that actually works—and you want to spend less time wrestling spreadsheets.
This guide is for marketers and sales teams who want to cut the fluff and make their ABM campaigns run smoother using Bellasales workflows. I’ll walk through what actually works, what’s a waste of time, and how to use Bellasales to run campaigns that don’t fall apart three weeks in.
Why Most ABM Campaigns Fall Flat
Let’s be honest: ABM is usually harder than it looks. The biggest reasons:
- Data is scattered. Your target account list is in one tool, contacts are in another, and sales notes are who-knows-where.
- No process. Everyone’s running their own playbook, so leads fall through the cracks.
- Too much manual work. Copy-pasting lists, updating statuses, and chasing teammates for updates is a recipe for burnout.
- No feedback loop. You don’t know what’s working until it’s too late.
ABM isn’t about fancy dashboards or the hottest new feature. It’s about picking the right accounts, reaching them consistently, and making sure sales and marketing are actually talking to each other. That’s where workflows—especially the kind Bellasales offers—can keep you honest and organized.
Step 1: Get Your Target Account List Right (No, Really)
Before you start fiddling with workflows, make sure your account list doesn’t suck. Here’s how to keep it clean and useful:
- Start small. Don’t go after 500 accounts “just in case.” Pick your top 20-50 that actually look like a fit.
- Work with sales. If sales doesn’t believe in the list, you’re wasting your time. Sit down with them and hash it out.
- Check your data. Double-check company names, job titles, and emails. Garbage in, garbage out.
Pro tip: Use Bellasales’ CSV import to bring in your account list. It cleans up duplicates and flags missing info, so you don't have to chase people for details.
Step 2: Build a Simple Bellasales Workflow (Keep It Basic at First)
Bellasales workflows let you automate the boring stuff: routing accounts, reminding people, updating statuses, and tracking touches. But the trick is not to over-engineer things. Here’s how to set up a workflow that won’t break:
- Define your stages. Typical ABM stages: Identified → Researching → Outreach → Engaged → Opportunity → Won/Lost.
- Map actions to each stage.
- Researching: Assign an owner, set a due date for research.
- Outreach: Trigger an email sequence or LinkedIn connect.
- Engaged: Flag for personalized follow-up.
- Set up task triggers. For example: When an account moves to Outreach, assign a task to send a custom email.
- Automate reminders. If nobody follows up within 3 days, ping the owner. Don’t let prospects go cold because someone got busy.
What to skip: Don’t try to automate every tiny detail. Start with simple triggers and actions. You can always add more later.
Step 3: Sync Sales and Marketing (No More “Who’s Doing What?”)
ABM falls apart when sales and marketing are out of sync. Bellasales helps by making ownership and next steps clear, but only if you actually use it for collaboration.
- Assign clear owners. Every account should have a name next to it—no “team” or “unassigned.”
- Notes in one place. Use Bellasales’ shared notes, not random Google Docs. This way, everyone sees the same data.
- Status updates are public. When an account moves stages, everyone gets notified. No more “I thought you were working on that.”
Pro tip: Set up a weekly review workflow. Bellasales can send a digest of accounts that haven’t moved stages, so nothing gets stuck.
Step 4: Personalize Outreach—But Don’t Overthink It
You don’t need a 10-page PPT for every account. What matters is that your outreach feels personal, not canned. Use Bellasales to keep it organized:
- Templates are fine—if you tweak them. Start with a template, but add one or two lines that show you did your homework.
- Track touches. Log every call, email, or LinkedIn message in Bellasales. You’ll know what’s been tried and what flopped.
- Share what works. If a message gets a response, save it as a template for the team.
What to ignore: Don’t get hung up on fancy personalization tech. Most prospects know when you’re using a mail merge. Real research (even 5 minutes) beats automation every time.
Step 5: Measure What Matters—Not Vanity Metrics
Bellasales gives you reports, but don’t drown in charts. Focus on:
- Accounts touched. How many target accounts got at least one real outreach?
- Stage movement. Are accounts actually moving, or stuck in “Researching” forever?
- Responses and meetings booked. The only metrics that matter are replies and meetings—not open rates or click rates.
- Feedback from sales. If sales says, “These leads are junk,” believe them and fix your process.
Pro tip: Set up a workflow to flag accounts that haven’t moved in 14 days. It’s a simple way to spot bottlenecks before the quarter’s over.
Step 6: Iterate and Improve (Don’t Wait for Perfection)
No ABM campaign is perfect out of the gate. The best teams make small tweaks every week:
- Drop accounts that go cold. Don’t waste cycles on companies that never respond.
- Swap out bad templates. If a sequence flops, retire it—don’t “A/B test” forever.
- Ask sales what’s working. The answer is rarely in a dashboard; it’s in a conversation.
With Bellasales, updating workflows is quick. Tweak your triggers, add new templates, or change your stages without breaking everything.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
What Works
- Simple, visible workflows. Everyone knows what’s happening and what’s next.
- Real collaboration. Shared notes and clear owners mean less finger-pointing.
- Automated reminders. No more “I forgot to follow up.”
What Doesn’t
- Overcomplicated automations. If you need a diagram to explain your workflow, it’s too much.
- Chasing vanity metrics. Open rates don’t pay the bills; meetings do.
- Ignoring sales feedback. If sales isn’t on board, nothing else matters.
What to Ignore
- Shiny new features you don’t need. Focus on the basics. Fancy AI and predictive scoring can wait.
- “Best practices” that don’t fit your team. Use what works for you, not what some webinar says.
Bottom Line: Keep It Simple, Keep It Moving
ABM isn’t magic. It’s about picking the right accounts, reaching them in a way that feels human, and making sure no one drops the ball. Bellasales workflows can keep you organized, but they won’t fix bad lists or broken processes. Start small, set up clear workflows, and tweak as you go—don’t build a Rube Goldberg machine.
Get your list right, automate the boring stuff, and talk to your team. That’s how you get ABM that actually works.