We’re back with another look at our alumni’s answers to one of our favourite questions: if you could give aspiring ABM-ers one piece of advice, what would it be? This fourth edition brings together five more voices from the ABM Academy community, practitioners from Henkel, Autodesk, KPMG UK, HPE, and FICO, sharing wisdom that’s practical, hard-won, and worth taking into your next ABM plan. Whether you’re new to ABM or well into the work, there’s something here for you.
Our alumni’s advice:
If something feels right and it’s backed by facts, then it’s probably right, so do it! Challenge the status quo and do something different.
– Ross Jennings, ABX Lead Industrial & Electronic Verticals, Henkel Adhesive Technologies, Henkel.
Continuous learning is key, but most importantly, experiment. ABM isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, and it’s through testing, learning, and iterating that you truly refine what works and drive impact.
– Caroline Jussa, EMEA Senior Account-Based Marketing Manager, Autodesk.
Practise active listening relentlessly. The most effective ABM programmes are built on what you learn from sales, customer-facing teams, and the accounts themselves, what success looks like for them, what’s blocking progress, and what they care about right now. Turn those insights into messaging, content, and experiences that feel genuinely relevant, and you’ll earn attention faster, build stronger stakeholder relationships, and create momentum through the buying journey.
– Rocío Arrarte Rivière, Demand Generation & Digital Experience Lead, KPMG UK.
Network with other ABM-ers and understand what they do, why they do it and how they do it. Then take that learning, alongside recognised ABM training, and build a strategy that aligns to the needs of your business. Continue to engage your network and to learn and adapt to new ways of doing ABM. I recommend you utilise the expertise and training that Inflexion Group has to help you do this.
– James Houselander, Director, Global ABM, HPE.
Get as close to your sales team as possible. The unlogged opportunities, service issues, and cultural dynamics only come through in conversation. Unless you truly understand the individuals in your ABM accounts, you can’t propel pipeline, no matter how sophisticated your programme is.
– Martin Lloyd, Global ABM Director, FICO.
Five different companies, five different vantage points, but the advice keeps landing in the same place: get close to the people, test what you think you know, and keep learning. If you’re looking to build or deepen your own ABM practice, the ABM Academy is designed to do exactly that.
Find the right course for you at our ABM Academy.
Read the full interviews with our ABM alumni:
- Alumni Spotlight: meet Ross Jennings
- Alumni Spotlight: meet Caroline Jussa
- Alumni Spotlight: meet Rocío Arrarte Rivière
- Alumni Spotlight: meet James Houselander
- Alumni Spotlight: meet Martin Lloyd
Want more ABM advice? Look at our previous advice article, where we hear from Samuel Sánchez Fernández at Universal Robots – Teradyne Robotics, Anna Pfeifhofer at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Katrin Marquardt at Kyndryl, Ulrike Wanner at NTT DATA, and Tara Pritchett at SAIC.
