/ Business Development

Referrals are Unpredictable. SEO is Over. Cold Email is Dead.

By: Christian Banach

The New Data-Driven Playbook for Agencies and Consultancies to Land Clients

Introduction: Why Traditional Lead Generation Methods Are Failing

Staying ahead in today’s competitive landscape has become more challenging for marketing agencies and consulting firms. New business development, once driven by methods like referrals, SEO, and cold email, is now under more pressure than ever. In fact, according to the RSW/US Agency New Business Report, 48% of agencies in 2024 report that obtaining new business has been either harder or a lot harder than the previous year. Many cite “harder to break through” and “fewer opportunities” as chief concerns.

As a result, leaders at agencies and consultancies are sounding the alarm. They’re noticing longer sales cycles—65% report extended timelines (Agency Hackers x Wix Studio Agency Forecast Report – Q3 2024)—and a general downturn in revenue. Close to 41% of agencies say their business is down (RSW/US Agency New Business Report), and 35% of consulting firms report stagnant or declining revenue (Benchmarks For Consulting Businesses 2024). With budgets tightening in a challenging economy, prospects are taking longer to make decisions and demanding more for their money.

Even more telling is how agency owners view their current approach to business development. According to SAGA’s Small Agency Business Review & Outlook, their average satisfaction level hovered at just 4.81 on a 10-point scale, with 61% rating it a 5 or lower. Over one in five rated their satisfaction as only a 1 or 2—meaning they’re deeply unhappy with their lead generation results. Whether you blame economic headwinds or fierce competition, one thing is clear: Traditional lead-gen tactics need a serious overhaul.

We’ll examine three of the most common approaches—referrals, SEO, and cold email—and why they’re failing agencies and consultancies that aim to land 6- and 7-figure clients. We’ll look at the trends and the data and why relying on these methods alone will leave your pipeline half-empty. Next, we’ll see how Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is becoming the go-to solution in this new era of professional services firm growth and outline a process for proactively building relationships that can drive success.

Referrals Are Unpredictable

For many agencies and consultancies, referrals and word-of-mouth have historically been the biggest drivers of new business. In fact, a recent survey from RSW/US Agency found that 71% of agencies still rely on referrals to generate new leads, making it the number one channel. Networking (37%) and business from existing clients (45%) also remain top mentions. Yet, while referrals can bring valuable opportunities, they’re also highly unpredictable and non-scalable. Here’s why:

1. They Arrive at Random

Referrals typically happen when a satisfied client or colleague recommends your services. But you can’t forecast these recommendations. They may come in clusters or not at all, leaving significant gaps in your pipeline. When leads show up randomly, planning hiring, managing resource allocation, or projecting monthly revenue is tough. This “feast or famine” cycle can disrupt everything from staffing decisions to cash flow.

2. Smaller, Limited Audience

Referrals often flow from your existing contacts and clients—most firms work with 10 to 20 clients at any time. This small circle limits the number of potential new leads. Also, you can easily run into conflicts. If you’re helping a major automotive brand, that client might talk you up to competitors in the same category—manufacturers you legally or ethically can’t serve. When your main clients all hail from the same industry, it leaves fewer valid opportunities to pursue.

3. They May Not Be a Good Fit

A referral is terrific if it’s the perfect fit. But it’s often not. When word spreads about your agency or consultancy, it might reach a business that’s too small or needs services you don’t provide. You’re at the mercy of whoever happens to hear about you. This misalignment between referred leads and your ideal client profile (ICP) means you spend time chasing deals that never truly belonged in your funnel.

4. Impossible to Replicate or Scale

Even if you land an outstanding piece of business through a referral, you can’t just “turn on the faucet” to produce more. Trying to replicate the exact moment a client or partner decided to talk you up is next to impossible. For enterprise-level engagements worth 6 or 7 figures, a word-of-mouth referral might pop up occasionally, but rarely at the volume needed to sustain consistent growth.

5. Takes Too Long to Generate Momentum

Clients often need months—or even years—before they feel comfortable referring you. By the time they’re willing to put their reputation on the line, your business may already be in need of a fresh pipeline. There’s no telling when or if these leads will come in, which leaves your forecasts, hiring, and expansion plans in limbo.

6. Hard to Measure

Word-of-mouth generally unfolds in private conversations, texts, or hallway chats. It’s tough to pinpoint exactly where each lead started. You can’t measure or scale this channel reliably without a robust way to track and optimize referral sources.

Bottom line on referrals: They’re wonderful icing on the cake, but they can’t be your entire growth strategy. The unpredictability, limited reach, and lack of control make them a risky bet for professional services companies looking for a steady stream of enterprise-level opportunities.

SEO Is Over

For years, ranking high on Google or other search engines was a cost-effective way to generate inbound leads. If your agency could out-blog and out-keyword the competition, you could draw in a steady flow of organic prospects. But the SEO game is changing—and not in a good way. Here’s why:

1. Content Saturation

Inbound marketing took off a decade ago, and more agencies are pumping out content than ever. A study by 10Fold Communications reveals that 92% of B2B tech marketers are creating more content in 2024 compared to the previous year, with nearly 40% increasing their production by three to five times. A massive oversupply of content exists, with everyone publishing blogs, whitepapers, and ebooks. Even if yours is top-notch, you’re fighting a sea of competition to get noticed.

2. Declining Organic Reach

Search engines continuously update their algorithms, often making it harder to rank for competitive keywords. Orbit Media found that over half of bloggers cite driving traffic as their top challenge, while 52% say it’s difficult to stand out in saturated search results. In addition, social media platforms like LinkedIn, X, and Facebook have tightened their algorithms, shrinking organic reach and pushing you to pay if you want your content widely seen.

3. The AI Takeover

One of the biggest disruptors is the rise of AI-based tools like ChatGPT. These tools answer user queries directly, often without sending people to a website. Gartner predicts search engine volume will drop 25% by 2026 due to AI chatbots and other virtual agents. Another study from Neil Patel Digital found that clicks were down 2.23% on Google after the AI rollout.

If potential clients never even see your blog or homepage because AI answers their questions first, your inbound pipeline shrinks dramatically. Many believe this is only the beginning.

4. The “Spaghetti Sticking” Problem

SEO is a long-term strategy that requires ongoing content creation, backlink building, and technical optimizations. Unfortunately, many companies take a “throw spaghetti at the wall” approach—publishing a large volume of content, hoping that something will stick. However, in a saturated market, it’s easy to squander countless hours (and dollars) on content that barely reaches its intended audience.

Summing up SEO’s struggle: Organic search used to be the Holy Grail for agencies and consultancies wanting inbound leads on autopilot. But with content overload, algorithm shifts, and AI-sourced answers, it’s not the golden ticket. While SEO can still play a helpful role, it typically isn’t sufficient on its own to generate the consistent, high-value accounts necessary for sustaining growth—especially if you don’t already have a strong content strategy in place that is effectively attracting traffic and generating leads.

Cold Email Is Dead

The third traditional pillar—cold outreach—has also lost its shine. Not too long ago, firing off a batch of emails to prospective clients could land a few calls if done well. Now, those returns are dropping. According to new data from Belkins:

Cold email ranked a dismal 1.8 in effectiveness on a 10-point scale.
Cold calls trailed even further at 1.5 out of 10.
C-level email open rates dropped from 34.7% in 2022–2023 to 28.1% in 2023–2024.
Reply rates among that same C-level audience fell from 6.2% to 4.2%.

1. Email Overload

One reason for these plunging numbers is sheer volume. Worldwide, the number of emails sent and received continues to skyrocket. By 2025, Statista predicts 376 billion emails will be exchanged daily, and that number keeps growing. For decision-makers already buried in messages, your cold outreach can easily be lost in the flood.

Meanwhile, tech platforms like Instantly and Apollo make it cheap and easy to ramp up “spray and pray” campaigns. New tools let you buy dozens or even hundreds of domains, rotate inboxes, and blast millions of messages monthly. So you’re not just competing with a few other firms—you’re trying to stand out against a wave of automated, often spammy, cold outreach.

2. Stricter Email Security

Spam filters are more sophisticated than ever. Gmail blocks nearly 15 billion unwanted emails daily, catching over 99.9% of spam, phishing, and malware attempts. In February 2024, Gmail began requiring bulk senders to authenticate their emails and provide easy unsubscribe mechanisms. Following the implementation of these measures, companies mass-blasting cold emails without thorough compliance saw deliverability decline, open and response rates plummet, and some saw their messages filtered out of existence.

3. Brand Awareness Is Key

Cold outreach without prior brand awareness is becoming nearly useless. Our work with clients shows that if the target audience had some awareness of your brand—through ads, content, or other demand-gen efforts—the meeting booking rate from cold emails jumped by 300%. That’s a huge difference. It implies that firms must warm up leads before even considering hitting “send” on a cold email campaign.

4. Costly and Time-Consuming

Even with automation, scaling up a cold outreach program that avoids spam filters and meets authentication rules isn’t cheap. You may need multiple domains, specialized tools, and skilled copywriters to craft messages that won’t immediately land in Trash. Add in the time to segment your audience properly, and you’re looking at a significant investment for increasingly lower returns.

5. AI Agents Are Making It Worse

At first glance, artificial intelligence might seem like the magic fix for cold email’s decline. AI-driven “sales agents” are popping up, promising to automate everything from lead identification to personalized messaging, all without needing a human to press “send.” According to Markets and Markets, the AI agents market is projected to balloon from USD 5.1 billion in 2024 to USD 47.1 billion by 2030, attracting scores of eager adopters.

But here’s the catch: AI may push it further toward the brink rather than saving cold emails.

AI that can personalize emails at scale also makes it easier for shady senders to launch automated blasts by the millions. More volume amplifies the “noise” in inboxes, driving open rates down even further. Once a prospect realizes they’re talking to a bot, trust can evaporate, especially at larger deal sizes where relationship-building is crucial.

Why it’s dead: Cold email now suffers from a double whammy of extreme inbox competition and advanced spam blocking. Without prior brand awareness or laser-focused personalization, your emails will struggle to get opened—let alone replied to.

Conclusion: A New Way Forward

Referrals are unpredictable, SEO is over, and cold email is dead. If you’ve been relying on any one of these channels (or even all three) as your primary source of new business, you’ve likely seen your pipeline shrink, your close rates stall, and your revenue projections falter. You’re not alone. Nearly half of agencies and 48% of consultancies call “winning new clients” one of their biggest challenges this year.

However, this doesn’t mean there’s no way to attract high-value clients. It simply means the “set it and forget it” lead-gen era is over. The typical approach of casting a wide net, hoping to catch fish that swims by, no longer works—especially if you’re aiming for enterprise-level deals. With clients taking longer to close and being more skeptical of marketing tactics, you need a more targeted, strategic way to break through.

In our next section, we’ll explore how ABM reframes your entire approach to revenue growth, from identifying specific high-value accounts to orchestrating targeted, personalized campaigns that truly resonate. We’ll look at recent research, case studies, and proven examples of ABM success—and how you can position your firm to win in this shifting marketplace. If you’re ready to move beyond the unpredictability of referrals, the diminishing returns of SEO, and the uphill battle of cold email, you’ll want to learn more about ABM and why it’s quickly becoming a top priority for senior leaders at agencies and consultancies.

The Rise of ABM

As growth becomes increasingly challenging, many agencies and consultancies are exploring a new approach: Account-Based Marketing (ABM). Rather than appealing to everyone, ABM zeroes in on specific companies—those with the highest revenue potential—and personalizes every interaction. In other words, you spend your time and resources only on prospects that truly matter. It’s a targeted, strategic method that starkly contrasts the old “spray and pray” approach.

ABM in the Spotlight

ABM’s popularity has surged in recent years, and for good reason. According to the ABM: The Best Is Yet to Come: The 2024 Global Account-Based Marketing Benchmark report, over 87% of marketers expect their ABM budgets to increase within the next 12 months. Meanwhile, 77% intend to add more ABM-focused staff—proof that businesses are doubling down on a more thoughtful, account-centered strategy. Despite this excitement, most ABM programs are still in their infancy. Only 17% are fully established in their organizations, while 56% are still exploring or experimenting.

The reason behind this growth spurt is clear: agencies and consultancies that use ABM often report stronger pipelines, higher close rates, and better relationships with their clients. According to that same report, firms embracing ABM see an average of 84% pipeline growth and a 77% boost in revenue. Even more impressive, 72% say it delivers a higher ROI than any other form of marketing. These numbers contrast the drop-offs with traditional cold outreach or organic search methods.

Meeting Modern Buyers Where They Are

Today’s buyers are more cautious and better informed than ever before. The ABM: The Best Is Yet to Come report finds that a whopping 49% of B2B buyers say it’s harder to make decisions now compared to just two years ago. They’re bombarded with marketing messages, skeptical of quick fixes, and face tighter budgets or internal red tape. Agencies report longer sales cycles—often by weeks or months—and 48% of consultancies say winning new clients is their toughest challenge.

ABM responds to these realities by allowing firms to deeply research each account—its industry, challenges, and goals—and then craft highly relevant campaigns. Since ABM leans heavily on data-driven personalization, prospects feel that you truly understand their problems. By the time they reach out, they’re much farther along in the decision-making process.

The Power of a Well-Known Name

Another ABM advantage is that it helps build awareness of the companies you want to work with. The Agency Edge Series: Getting Hired in 2024: New Insights to Help Agencies Get Found, Hired, and Retained finds one in three clients hires an agency that initially felt “unfamiliar,” but the truth is rarely that simple. Over 87% of people say they’ve at least heard of these agencies, and 58% usually recognize the name. That means reputation and brand familiarity still matter. If your firm’s name rings a bell—or your content shows up at the right time—buyers are more likely to open your emails or schedule a meeting.

ABM puts your brand front and center through targeted ads, tailored content, and direct outreach that feels like it was made just for them. So even if you start “unfamiliar,” your name isn’t a stranger when a prospect is ready to talk.

Personalized Content That Wins

Professional services companies often stumble by sending everyone the same case study or whitepaper. ABM corrects this by focusing on thoughtful, customized messaging. You don’t just craft an e-book for “anyone in healthcare”—you develop a piece that addresses, for instance, a specific hospital network’s pain points, leadership changes, or new initiatives. According to data from The Agency Edge Series on client behavior, the top reasons organizations talk to agencies are:

36% were intrigued because the agency had something unique to say,
35% said the shared information was relevant and helpful,
33% appreciated the agency doing its homework on their organization.

In other words, it’s far easier to land meetings when you show that you understand a prospect’s exact challenges and have tailored insights to solve them.

Standing Out in a Crowded Market

With economic worries continuing—62% of companies say the current climate is their top external threat—decision-makers are being more selective. They won’t settle for an agency or consultancy that sends boilerplate proposals. They’ll pay attention when you highlight specific business problems and can prove you have the resources and experience to fix them..

Here is where ABM truly shines. You can invest more time crafting the perfect pitch by narrowing your focus to a curated list of high-value accounts. You’re not scrambling to keep up with a giant email list or jostling for attention with countless blog posts. Instead, you align your team’s energy on the accounts that will move the needle for your agency.

ROI That Speaks for Itself

The proof is in the numbers. Marketers point to ABM’s unique benefits—personalization, deeper research, and closer sales alignment—as key drivers of increased conversions. Rather than measuring success by superficial metrics like clicks or impressions, ABM spotlights real business outcomes, such as booked meetings, pipeline growth, and contract wins. The outcome? A far better ROI and firmer hold on the market segments that truly matter to your firm’s future.

A Necessary Evolution

Agencies and consultancies can no longer rely on methods that are random, crowded, or quickly fading in effectiveness. ABM offers a structured, proven way to consistently earn the attention of high-potential accounts. It combines the best personalization, data-driven targeting, and precise orchestration—allowing you to stand out even in a noisy marketplace.

As more firms realize that traditional lead-gen is failing, they find that ABM is the logical next step. By aligning marketing and sales around carefully chosen prospects, you gain a competitive edge: every ad, piece of content, and touchpoint is purposeful, timely, and relevant. The results speak for themselves—in more significant deals, shorter sales cycles, and happier, longer-term clients.

In the chapters ahead, we’ll explore how you can successfully implement ABM, from identifying ideal accounts to orchestrating thought leadership that truly resonates. ABM isn’t a fad for agencies and consultancies serious about growth in a tough economy—it’s the future.

Shifting From Lead Gen To Relationship-Making™

In our look at why traditional lead-gen methods are failing—referrals, SEO, and cold email—we came to one overarching conclusion: The classic traditional approach is no longer enough for agencies and consultancies hoping to land larger, more complex, enterprise-level contracts. Buyer behavior has changed. Prospects are more informed, selective, and likely to choose a provider that truly understands their needs.

Enter Account-Based Marketing, which has emerged as a powerful framework for targeting and securing the specific accounts that matter to your firm’s bottom line. Yet, executing ABM effectively is easier said than done. You need a plan that moves beyond catchy buzzwords and focuses on building meaningful relationships over time—something we call Relationship-Making™. Relationship-Making™ revolves around your ability to know your ideal customers, educate them with valuable content, create relevant touchpoints, and engage them when they’re most likely to buy.

That’s where the FOCUS process comes in. FOCUS is a five-step ABM process that helps agencies and consultancies:

Find & Prioritize Accounts
Orchestrate Thought Leadership
Create Awareness & Demand
Uncover Intent Signals
Send Using Predictive Prospecting™

Developed specifically for B2B environments where deal sizes can reach six or seven figures, FOCUS zeroes in on the accounts with the greatest revenue potential—and systematically warms them up to your offerings. This approach starkly contrasts the random nature of referrals, the saturated world of SEO, and the mass-blast pitfalls of cold email.

We’ll explore each step in detail throughout the following five sections. By the end, you’ll see how these pieces interlock to form a scalable, repeatable system for building pipeline, creating authentic relationships, and driving sustainable growth. If your agency or consultancy is serious about winning in a crowded market, FOCUS offers a pragmatic roadmap to get you there.

Step 1: Find & Prioritize Accounts

Why “Finding & Prioritizing” Matters

Agencies and consultancies often struggle with identifying which prospects to pursue. Some chase every logo, while others wait passively for referrals to trickle in. Neither approach fosters predictable growth. The first step in FOCUS, Find & Prioritize Accounts, addresses this challenge head-on. It ensures you’re directing your time, energy, and resources toward the accounts most likely to offer profitable, long-term relationships.

In earlier chapters, we noted how random leads from referrals can leave your pipeline half-empty. Meanwhile, old-school lead generation, like cold email, yields diminishing returns. By contrast, ABM invests upfront in focusing on which companies fit your offerings best—often referred to as your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). You first look for the right fit and then deploy marketing and sales efforts. This shift in perspective sets the stage for the rest of the FOCUS process.

Defining Your Ideal Customer Profile

Your ICP is a clear definition of which types of accounts (companies) can benefit most from your services. It usually includes key factors such as:

Industry and Vertical: Which markets are you best equipped to serve?
Company Size: Often defined by annual revenue, employee count, or budget.
Geographic Location: Do you limit your services to the U.S. or specific regions?
Tech Stack or Methodologies: Some firms focus on firms using specific software or following particular processes.

But ICP isn’t just about size or industry. Qualities like corporate culture, openness to innovation, and internal champions who advocate for your solution also matter. According to TOPO research, organizations with a well-defined ICP enjoy a 68% higher win rate.

A great starting point is internal data. Review your CRM, interview internal teams, and analyze past clients to identify patterns. Focus on closed-won deals—especially those that led to long-term, profitable relationships. What made those deals successful? Why did certain opportunities close quickly? These insights are invaluable in refining your ICP and ensuring you target the right accounts.

Gathering the Right Data

Once you’ve defined your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), the next step is building a targeted account list. Tools like ZoomInfo and LinkedIn Sales Navigator can help by filtering companies based on firmographics, technographics, and demographics. However, these databases rely on how well companies are tagged, which can be inconsistent. To ensure accuracy, use multiple sources, validate lists with human review, and leverage AI tools like ChatGPT for refinement. A strong list isn’t just about volume—it’s about precision. Prioritize quality over quantity to ensure you’re reaching the right accounts, setting the foundation for an effective outbound strategy.

Harnessing Event Triggers

Even if an account matches your ICP perfectly, timing matters. That’s where event triggers come in. These are external or internal events indicating a prospect might be or will be in-market, such as:

Leadership Changes: A new CMO hired who’s likely to revisit agency partnerships.
Funding Rounds or Mergers: Fresh capital often leads to new marketing budgets or strategic initiatives.
Product Launches or Market Expansion: If a company is entering a new geography or vertical, it may need specialized help.

Monitoring these events—and ranking accounts higher when triggers occur—makes your outreach far more effective. You’re no longer just picking companies randomly; you’re focusing on the right companies at the right time.

Segmenting & Ranking

Once you’ve gathered your data, it’s time to segment and rank prospective accounts. You might create a tiered system:

Tier 1: These are the high-value accounts that align most closely with your ICP. They might number under 100, and you’ll invest in them using a very high-touch, 1-to-1 approach.
Tier 2: Accounts that still fit but may be slightly less strategic. You may have 100 to 1,000 of these. You’ll use a 1-to-Few strategy with personalized messaging to a cluster of companies.
Tier 3: A larger set of prospects (1,000+) where you’ll deploy a 1-to-Many approach. These accounts still fit your ICP but might not warrant heavy, customized campaign messaging.

This tiered approach ensures you invest the most time and resources where you stand to win the largest deals. For example, if your typical Tier 1 account is worth $500K in annual revenue, spending extra effort tailoring content to their exact challenges makes sense. Meanwhile, Tier 3 accounts might not get the same level of personalization, but you’ll still nurture them systematically.

The Value of Sales-Marketing Alignment

In many agencies and consultancies, sales and marketing teams operate in silos. Marketing might generate leads that sales deem “low-quality,” while sales might chase logos marketing never heard about. The FOCUS process demands alignment. When you define your ICP and finalize your account list, both teams should collaborate on every detail, from scoring criteria to messaging.

This alignment fosters a sense of joint ownership over the pipeline. Suddenly, marketing’s content is more relevant, and sales respect the leads that come through the system. According to ABM studies from 6sense, close to 80% of companies with strong sales-marketing alignment meet or exceed their revenue goals, compared to fewer than 50% of those with persistent friction.

Potential Pitfalls

Overly Broad ICP: If you try to serve everyone, you’ll serve no one well. Refine your criteria until you have a narrower, actionable list.
Data Overload: Tools can generate vast amounts of information. Don’t let it paralyze you. Focus on the data points most closely tied to your ICP.
Ignoring Qualitative Insights: Sometimes, a prospect might look good on paper but lacks the cultural fit or appetite for growth that your solutions demand. Listen to your gut and your team’s experience.
Misaligned Teams: If sales and marketing disagree on which accounts to target, you’ll burn resources and create confusion. Ensure both sides agree on how accounts are ranked and why.

A Mini-Case: Find & Prioritize Accounts

Imagine an agency that specializes in B2B tech marketing for mid-market companies. They note that their best historical clients average around 500–2,000 employees, are located in North America, and have a preference for marketing automation software. They discover (via ZoomInfo) that around 800 companies fit these criteria. Of those 800, they identify about 75 as Tier 1 based on factors like funding, recent leadership changes, and a known pain point around brand repositioning. Marketing and sales collaborate on a short list of these 75, detailing who will handle the outreach and what triggers they’ll watch for.

At the end of Step 1, they aren’t blindly prospecting 800 accounts. They’re focusing heavily on the top 75 with a plan for the rest. This structured approach quickly leads to more meaningful conversations and fewer wasted resources.

Key Takeaways for Step 1

A strong ICP is essential for zeroing in on accounts that fit your strengths.
Combine internal and external data to build a robust view of potential clients.
Use a tiered system to prioritize efforts.
Align sales and marketing from the start to avoid “junk leads” or missed opportunities.
Watch for event triggers that demonstrate readiness in your prospective accounts.

Completing Step 1 sets the stage for everything else in the FOCUS framework. You’ve identified which companies merit your attention, and you understand their context. Next, you’ll move on to Orchestrate Thought Leadership, ensuring you have the content and messaging that truly resonates with these priority targets.

Step 2: Orchestrate Thought Leadership

A New Era of Relationship Building

With your account list defined and prioritized, it’s time to engage these prospects in a way that stands out. In a crowded digital world, spammy marketing or generic content doesn’t cut it—especially if you’re chasing enterprise deals. Step 2 in the FOCUS framework, Orchestrate Thought Leadership, is where you shape your agency’s expertise into high-impact content and experiences that speak directly to the challenges of your top accounts.

Thought leadership goes beyond merely publishing a blog post or a whitepaper. It’s about demonstrating that your agency or consultancy has deep insights, unique perspectives, and the ability to solve pressing business problems. Studies show that one in three clients is willing to speak with a previously “unfamiliar” agency (provided that the agency offers something unique and relevant). By curating or creating thoughtful content, you position your firm as a true expert, not just a vendor.

The Power of “Tentpole” Content

When orchestrating thought leadership, consider creating “tentpole” assets—a major piece of content that anchors your broader content strategy. Common examples include:

Annual Industry Reports or Trend Forecasts
Original Research or Studies
In-Depth Webinars or Virtual Summits
Signature Whitepapers or E-Books

Such tentpole assets help you make a splash in your industry. They offer a comprehensive view of a pressing issue or a forward-looking trend supported by original research and third-party insight. Once you have this major asset, you can repurpose and repackage it into smaller pieces—blog posts, social media snippets, infographics—for further reach.

Tying Content to Your ICP’s Pain Points

Your newly defined ICP (from Step 1) should guide the creation of any thought leadership content. Rather than guessing what might interest prospects, dig into the specific challenges and triggers you discovered when prioritizing accounts. For example:

If your ICP includes companies battling slow sales cycles, produce a piece that explains how marketing alignment can shorten the buyer’s journey.
If you identified accounts that recently acquired new funding, craft content around “scaling brand awareness post-funding.”

The goal is to address the exact obstacles your Tier 1 or Tier 2 accounts face, proving your agency “did its homework.” Remember, 36% of organizations say they’re more willing to talk to an agency if it has something truly unique to say, and 35% if the information is specifically relevant and helpful. That’s the essence of orchestrating thought leadership: you show up with answers—real solutions, not generic talking points.

Uncovering Unique Insights for Thought Leadership

Creating compelling thought leadership content requires fresh, data-driven insights. But where do you find these insights? The best sources fall into five key areas:

1. Clients

Your clients are one of the richest sources of insight. You can gather feedback informally by reflecting on common challenges, concerns, and trends you’ve observed in client conversations. For deeper insights, conduct structured interviews to uncover pain points, success stories, and emerging needs. Understanding what keeps your clients up at night helps shape content that resonates with your target audience.

2. Internal Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)

Your team members—whether consultants, sales reps, or service providers—bring firsthand experience from working with clients. They understand your unique approach, what differentiates your firm, and how your solutions address industry challenges. By tapping into their expertise, you can produce content that reflects real-world insights and sets your firm apart.

3. External Thought Leaders

Influencers, consultants, and industry analysts provide valuable outside perspectives. They work across companies and industries, often spotting trends before they become mainstream. Engaging with external experts—whether through interviews, collaborations, or guest contributions—adds credibility and depth to your thought leadership.

4. Original Research

Nothing strengthens thought leadership like proprietary data. Conduct qualitative or quantitative research through surveys, interviews, or market studies to uncover insights directly from your target audience. Unique data points give you an edge, reinforcing your position as a knowledge leader in your industry.

5. Third-Party Research

Existing industry reports, whitepapers, and case studies can also provide valuable insights. Citing reputable research adds credibility to your content while giving you a foundation to build upon. By interpreting and applying these insights to your audience’s needs, you can provide fresh perspectives even when leveraging external data.

By drawing from these five sources, your thought leadership content will be grounded in real insights—making it more authoritative, relevant, and impactful for your target audience.

Personalization at Scale

One of the biggest advantages of focusing on a narrower set of target accounts is that you can personalize your thought leadership. For example, you might create a general annual report but then customize specific data points for each prospect’s sector or region. Or if you know a prospect is launching in Asia, you highlight the Asia-specific findings in your whitepaper and send them a personal note referencing that.

Imagine how much more powerful that is than blasting a “one-size-fits-all” blog to your entire database. Personalized content signals you respect their time and understand their unique issues—a key reason 33% of organizations agree to talk to an agency that does its homework, according to The Agency Edge Series.

Orchestrating a Content Calendar

Executing consistent thought leadership requires organization. Many firms stumble by cranking out a bunch of content in one quarter, only to go silent in the next. Instead, plan a content calendar that aligns with your prospect’s challenges, buying cycles, and upcoming industry events. For instance:

Q1: Launch your signature report or whitepaper.
Q2: Host a follow-up webinar where participants can ask questions about the Q1 report.
Q3: Attend or sponsor a major conference, leveraging the same insights as a talking point.
Q4: Produce case studies highlighting actual implementations of your solutions throughout the year.

Each of these pieces should connect so the conversation feels continuous. This “one-to-many” approach can be further tailored to “one-to-few” or even “one-to-one” for your highest-priority accounts. The orchestration element ensures everything is strategic, consistent, and relevant.

Measuring the Impact of ABM

You’ll want to track metrics beyond vanity stats like downloads or page views. Focus on how your thought leadership is:

Generating Engagement: Comments, shares, or deeper interactions with your Tier 1 accounts.
Driving Pipeline: Are you seeing an increase in scheduled calls or RFP requests after launching a content piece?
Influencing Deals: Are your prospects referencing your content in sales conversations?

By linking your thought leadership efforts to pipeline and revenue, you’ll get buy-in from leadership and ensure the budget stays in place for future content initiatives.

Potential Pitfalls

Generic Messaging: Content that tries to please everyone rarely resonates with the people who matter most.
Unrealistic Content Volume: Trying to produce a dozen whitepapers and webinars a quarter can burn out your team. Focus on quality over quantity.
Too Much Self-Promotion: Thought leadership should serve the reader’s interest first. Avoid making your content sound like a sales pitch.
Neglecting Follow-Up: If you don’t nurture prospects who show interest in your content, you’re missing out on opportunities.

A Quick Example: Orchestrate Thought Leadership

Say you’ve identified 50 high-priority targets in the healthcare sector. You decide to orchestrate a “State of Healthcare Digital Marketing” report featuring insights from a recent survey. You invite those 50 targets to an exclusive online roundtable to launch this. During the event, your SMEs share data relevant to hospital systems, insurance providers, and biotech startups. Attendees leave impressed by your agency’s grasp of their challenges—and you now have a natural opening to follow up for deeper discussions with each one.

That’s the power of orchestrating thought leadership. You aren’t just blasting content; you’re using it to spark conversations with the people you want to sign as clients.

Key Takeaways for Step 2

Orchestrate Thought Leadership is about taking what you do best—your unique market insights, research, and expertise—and packaging it in ways that resonate with your top accounts. Connecting the dots between your ICP’s pain points and high-value, educational content sets the stage for deeper relationships while building a stellar reputation in your target markets.

Next, we’ll move to Step 3: Create Awareness & Demand. It’s time to ensure that all this remarkable thought leadership reaches and warms up the accounts you want most.

Step 3: Create Awareness & Demand

The Missing Link

Even the best thought leadership falls flat if no one sees it. That’s where Step 3, Create Awareness & Demand, comes into play. Awareness ensures your target accounts know you exist and understand the problems you solve. Demand is about building enough interest that they actively seek more information, often priming them for a direct conversation with your sales team.

In the old world of inbound marketing, you might rely heavily on SEO or social media virality to spread your content. However, as we’ve already covered, those avenues are saturated and unreliable for B2B firms chasing large deals. So, you need a more strategic approach that systematically places your thought leadership in front of the right stakeholders at the right time.

Why Awareness Matters More Than Ever

Consider that 49% of buyers say it’s harder to make purchasing decisions than two years ago. When your prospects look for help, they often default to known vendors or the handful of names that come to mind. This is especially true among enterprise buyers, who risk career damage if they pick the wrong partner. The 2024 B2B Buyer Experience Report found that buyers already have a preferred vendor at the time of first contact more than 80% of the time.

Awareness ensures your name surfaces in key decision-makers’ minds—so you’re not coming in cold when they finally decide to move forward with the initiative. We’ve seen that a single cold email rarely works if a buyer has never heard of you. But if they’ve attended your webinar, read your e-book, or seen your LinkedIn posts, they’re primed to engage.

Ensuring Your Prospects See Your Content

Many firms fail here by overextending too many channels or sticking to just one channel that doesn’t reach enough of their audience. The solution is to pick the channels that best align with your ICP and resources. Let’s look at some channel examples:

LinkedIn Ads: Ideal for precise B2B targeting. You can sponsor your thought leadership to job titles, industries, or even specific company names.
Webinars & Virtual Events: Offer a live forum for Q&A and discussion. This is particularly effective if your content is highly specialized.
Email Newsletter: If you have a curated list of your Tier 1 and Tier 2 accounts, email newsletters can consistently nurture them with new insights.
Direct Mail: For top-tier prospects, physical mailers or gifts can break through digital noise—especially if your offering commands a high price tag.
Partner Events & Sponsorships: If your ICP congregates in specific industry associations or conferences, sponsoring or hosting sessions can rapidly build awareness.

Any or all of these can be viable—just ensure they’re hitting the prospects on your priority list. By focusing your resources on these narrower audiences, you spark awareness among those who truly matter to your pipeline.

The Art of Multi-Touch/Channel Campaigns

Research shows that a prospect often needs multiple touches before recognizing a brand or taking action. So, it’s wise to design a multi-touch and multi-channel campaign that delivers consistent, relevant messaging across channels. For instance:

A Tier 1 prospect sees your sponsored LinkedIn post in early Q1.
They click through to watch a snippet of your recent webinar—touch #2.
A week later, they receive a personalized email with a link to your full e-book—touch #3.
Two weeks later, you send them a direct mail piece highlighting a key point from the e-book—touch #4.
They finally sign up for an online roundtable event where they can ask your team questions—touch #5.

When you follow up with a targeted phone call or personal email, they’ve seen your expertise in multiple formats. They know your brand, understand your perspective, and are more open to a deeper conversation.

Building Demand Through Relevance

Awareness alone might get you recognized, but demand grows when prospects realize they have a problem you can solve. Thought leadership that touches on real, tangible pain points is vital. For instance, if your e-book reveals ways to shorten a complicated procurement process by 30%, that’s not just interesting—it’s a potential lifesaver for the prospects dealing with that exact issue.

This alignment with genuine needs is why your earlier work in Steps 1 and 2 is so crucial. You can’t effectively build demand if you don’t understand your audience’s most pressing problems. Once you do, your content, ads, and messaging speak directly to those pain points, transforming casual interest into serious inquiry.

Retargeting & Nurture Sequences to Stay Top of Mind

Research from the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute indicates that at any given time, only about 5% of your target market is actively seeking your product or service, leaving 95% not currently in the market. This underscores the importance of strategies that keep your brand top-of-mind for future buyers.

Retargeting Ads: When someone from a Tier 1 account engages with your content—such as visiting your website or downloading a whitepaper—retargeting ads can serve personalized content to maintain their interest. This continuous engagement ensures your brand remains memorable when they’re ready to make a purchasing decision.

Email Nurture Sequences: Implementing a structured email campaign can guide prospects from initial awareness to deeper engagement. Begin with broad insights about your approach, then progressively share case studies, ROI analyses, and success stories relevant to their challenges. This methodical nurturing builds trust and positions your solution as the preferred choice when the prospect enters the market.

Measuring Awareness & Demand

Metrics here go beyond just raw leads. You’ll want to track:

Total Relevant Market (TRM): Number of target accounts identified as the ideal audience for ABM efforts.
Market Reach: Number of target accounts engaged as a percent of the Total Relevant Market.
Account Engagement: Aggregate interactions from target accounts across various channels.
Engaged Accounts: Number of accounts showing consistent engagement from multiple decision-makers.

These data points let you see which accounts are warming up, a perfect segue into Step 4 (Uncover Intent Signals), where you’ll analyze these behaviors in greater depth.

Potential Pitfalls

Overdoing It on One Channel: Relying on only LinkedIn Ads or only email can limit your reach. Diversify without spreading yourself too thin.
Generic Demand Gen: If your messaging doesn’t reflect the pain points discovered in Steps 1 and 2, it’ll feel irrelevant.
Ignoring Account-Specific Engagement: If multiple people from your target account click your ads but never follow up, you’re missing an opportunity.
Failing to Build a Cohesive Campaign: Random marketing activities that aren’t coordinated can confuse prospects and weaken brand perception.

Example in Action: Create Awareness & Demand

Suppose your firm focuses on helping mid-sized manufacturing firms adopt digital marketing. You start by running LinkedIn Ads, which offers a free “Digital Maturity” self-assessment tool. The top 50 prospects from your Tier 1 list see these ads and 10 of them download and complete the assessment. You then retarget them with an invitation to a webinar discussing best practices for manufacturers shifting to e-commerce. Another six sign up for the webinar, where they learn about your unique process. Finally, you follow up personally with each attendee, referencing something they asked in the chat or a pain point they shared in the assessment. Several of them request a formal proposal.

In this scenario, your multi-touch approach converts initial awareness into genuine interest, eventually landing high-quality sales conversations. That’s the essence of Step 3.

Key Takeaways for Step 3

Create Awareness & Demand is the crucial link between your thought leadership and the accounts you want to serve. It’s about crafting targeted campaigns that keep your agency top-of-mind and highlight the unique solutions you offer. By strategically using channels like LinkedIn Ads, webinars, and email newsletters—and by focusing on real-world pain points—you move from being “just another firm” to a trusted resource your prospects want to learn more about.

Next, we’ll explore Step 4, Uncover Intent Signals, which shows you exactly which prospects are engaging and when they’re most ready for a deeper conversation.

Step 4: Uncover Intent Signals

From “Random Data” to “Actionable Insight”

By now, you’ve built awareness and started to generate demand among your high-priority accounts. That’s great—but how do you know which prospects are genuinely interested versus those just browsing? Step 4, Uncover Intent Signals, answers that question by turning behavioral data into real-world insights.

“Intent signals” are cues that indicate a prospect’s heightened interest in your offering or the problem you solve. They go beyond simple metrics like email opens; they include actions such as multiple website visits, content downloads, webinar attendance, or even third-party data showing the account is searching for solutions in your industry. These signals help your team distinguish warm leads from cold ones so you can direct your outreach where it’s most likely to pay off.

Why Intent Data Is Game-Changing

In a world where spam filters and infinite email volumes plague outreach, focusing on high-intent prospects can drastically improve your results. Traditional pipelines operate on guesswork: you might guess who’s a good fit or rely on chance interactions. Intent data flips that equation. You can now see in near-real-time which accounts are “lighting up” with relevant interest and align your follow-up accordingly.

Moreover, it helps you prioritize your Tier 1 accounts. If 15 engage heavily with your content while the other 35 do not, you know where to concentrate your resources this quarter. This approach can raise productivity and ROI. Studies show that companies effectively using intent data see a 2.5x increase in engagement and conversions compared to companies that ignore these signals.

Types of Intent Signals

First-Party Intent

These come directly from your properties—website visitor ID tracking, email marketing platforms, webinar logs, etc. For example, if a contact from Acme Corp visits your site twice a week, spends 10 minutes on your “Pricing” page, and downloads your e-book, that’s a strong first-party signal.

Second-Party Intent

This comes from partner organizations or platforms where you distribute content but don’t own the data. Co-hosted webinar engagement, G2 and Capterra reviews, and LinkedIn interactions all serve as intent signals. These insights help identify companies researching solutions or engaging with your brand, guiding outreach efforts.

Third-Party Intent

Provided by tools like Bombora or 6sense, third-party intent shows that specific companies are researching topics related to your services on external sites. For example, if an account is reading about “customer data platforms” or “enterprise rebranding” across multiple publications, that’s an important signal.

Defining Your Scoring Model

Not all intent signals are created equal. Someone clicking “Like” on your LinkedIn post is not as strong a signal as someone who visits your pricing page and registers for your webinar. To handle these nuances, many firms create an Intent Scoring Model. Each action or behavior is assigned a point value. For instance:

Website Visit: 5 points
Webinar Registration: 15 points
Case Study Download: 25 points
Viewing the “Contact Us” Page: 30 points
Repeated Website Visits Over Two Weeks: Additional 15 points

When an account accumulates points past a certain threshold—say 50 points—it becomes a Marketing Qualified Account (MQA). From there, you can alert sales to personalize outreach, or your marketing automation can trigger a more targeted email flow.

Tracking & Visualization Tools: A Crawl-Walk-Run Approach

You’ll need a way to track and visualize these signals as you gather data on prospect engagement—website visits, webinar attendance, or whitepaper downloads. However, you don’t have to dive into complex and expensive software. A crawl-walk-run strategy lets you start simple and then scale your tools.

Crawl

Begin by logging basic interactions manually using methods like spreadsheets and free or low-cost CRM exports. This approach works well if you’re testing ABM with fewer accounts. It will help you identify which signals matter most without significantly investing in software.
- Most essential tools:
  - Marketing automation platform for email newsletters and nurture sequences
  - Website visitor ID tracking
  - Data enrichment platform

Walk

Once your program gains traction, introduce more automation. At this stage, you will need a CRM and should explore lead scoring and attribution platforms and third-party intent tools like Bombora. This will reduce manual tasks and help you identify patterns more quickly.
- Most essential tools:
  - Intent data platform
  - Lead scoring and attribution
  - Web personalization

Run

When your program has demonstrated ROI, and you’re prepared to manage a larger pool of high-value accounts, enterprise-level ABM platforms such as Demandbase or 6sense can help streamline data across channels and alert your sales team in real-time. These tools offer robust analytics, predictive modeling, and deeper integration with your CRM.
- Most essential tools:
  - ABM platform
  - Customer data platform
  - AI-powered personalization and automation

Ultimately, the goal is to turn raw data into actionable insights. By starting small and adding more advanced tools as you scale, you’ll align your resources with your ABM maturity—ensuring your technology investments pay off at each stage.

Connecting the Dots

Stack Signals

One data point can be misleading, but three or four signals that align together (e.g., a webinar registration plus multiple page visits) paint a clear picture.

Check for Trends

Has the account’s engagement spiked recently? A single peak might be a fluke, but sustained interest signals a deeper problem they’re trying to solve.

Combine with Context

If you know an account’s budget cycle or you’ve identified a new C-Suite exec was hired, a sudden flurry of activity could mean they’re evaluating new partners.

Validate with Human Insight

Automated scoring is great, but a quick manual review can spot anomalies. For instance, if all engagement comes from one low-level intern, it may not be as strong as interest from a director or VP.

Pitfalls to Avoid

Overreliance on Automated Signals: AI and tools are powerful but can’t replace human judgment. Combine automation with real-world context.
Spamming Prospects Too Early: Seeing one or two signals doesn’t mean a prospect is ready for a direct sales pitch. Time your outreach thoughtfully.
Ignoring Negative Signals: If prospects seem to have lost interest—no opens, no clicks—consider taking them off your list or reducing outreach frequency. You can re-engage later.
Muddled Data Sources: If you’re gathering data from multiple tools, ensure they integrate well. Inconsistent or conflicting data can mislead your team.

Example of Intent Signals in Action

Let’s say you have 50 Tier 1 accounts in the FinTech space—companies like digital payment startups, online lending platforms, or crypto exchanges. Over the past week, 10 of them have visited your website multiple times, especially your “Solutions” and “Compliance & Security” pages. Among those 10, three have also registered for your upcoming webinar on “Cybersecurity for FinTech.” Meanwhile, your third-party intent tool shows those same three accounts have been searching for terms like “cloud security compliance,” “PCI DSS requirements,” and “financial data protection best practices.”

This cluster of signals strongly suggests they’re in the market for cybersecurity-managed services. You share this insight with your sales team, who promptly prepares personalized outreach referencing:

Their FinTech compliance needs (e.g., PCI DSS, AML/KYC).
Your track record in safeguarding sensitive payment and customer data.
The upcoming webinar they’ve already signed up for demonstrates your firm’s industry expertise.

As a result, two discovery calls are booked within a week—one of which progresses to a formal RFP process the following month. By acting on these intent signals at the right time, you’ve efficiently moved high-potential accounts from awareness to active evaluation of your cybersecurity services.

Key Takeaways for Step 4

Uncover Intent Signals transforms your ABM strategy from guesswork into a data-driven process. By monitoring prospects’ actions—both on your channels and externally—you gain clarity on who’s warming up and why. In an era flooded with random messages and short attention spans, prioritizing high-intent accounts ensures you don’t waste resources. Instead, you amplify the likelihood of meaningful conversations and deals.

Our fifth and final step, Send Using Predictive Prospecting™, will show you how to act on these signals with precision—reaching out at exactly the right moment, with precisely the right message.

Step 5: Send Using Predictive Prospecting™

Turning Insights into Conversations

Having identified and prioritized accounts (Step 1), orchestrated thought leadership (Step 2), created awareness and demand (Step 3), and uncovered who’s most interested (Step 4), you’re ready for the final leap: direct outreach. Step 5, Send Using Predictive Prospecting™, is where all your preparation pays off. Here, you connect the dots by engaging prospects who have shown real intent, doing so in a hyper-personalized, efficient manner.

In many firms, this is where the process historically breaks down. Traditional sales prospecting can be clumsy: endless cold calls, non-targeted emails, or following leads who are nowhere near ready to buy. Predictive Prospecting™ flips that script by focusing on warm signals and customizing outreach so that each contact feels like a natural extension of your earlier marketing efforts.

What Is Predictive Prospecting?

“Predictive Prospecting™” leverages your event triggers, ICP insights, and intent signals to decide which prospects to contact, when to contact them, and how to tailor your messaging. Rather than a shotgun approach, it’s a sniper shot: you reach out only when the data suggests a real opportunity. This method drastically increases response rates and reduces wasted time chasing lukewarm or unqualified leads.

Elements of Predictive Prospecting

Score and Prioritize: By now, you have intent scores for your Tier 1, 2, or 3 accounts. A high score leads to immediate action.
Hyper-Personalized Messaging: Reference the thought leadership pieces or events they engaged with. Use any known challenges or triggers (like a recent leadership change) to show you understand their world.
Multi-Channel Touches: Don’t rely on just one channel. Combine email, phone calls, LinkedIn messages, and possibly direct mail.
Timely Follow-Up: When you see a spike in engagement, act quickly. A few days’ delay can mean losing momentum.

Think of Predictive Prospecting™ as the difference between casting a net into random waters and casting it exactly where fish are known to be biting.

Crafting the Perfect Outreach Message

Prospects differ, but this flexible framework adapts to their engagement level:

Hook & Context: Reference a specific action: (“I noticed you attended our FinTech security webinar.”) Show you’re paying attention to their interests.
Value Proposition: Offer a clear benefit: (“We helped a FinTech reduce compliance review time by 40%, freeing them to innovate faster.”) Tie it to their known challenges.
Proof & Credibility: Name-drop relevant success stories: (“We partnered with Arcadia Payments and CryptoShield—both in your space—to cut fraud incidents by 30%.”)
Offer or Invitation: Align with their intent signals:
- Invite them to a webinar or podcast guest spot.
- Provide a lead magnet (e.g., checklist or benchmark report).
- If signals are strong, suggest a quick consultation.
Clear Next Step: If they show high interest, propose a brief call (“Would you be open to a chat next week to discuss?”). Tailor your ask to their demonstrated engagement.

Keep it concise. Most senior executives won’t read lengthy emails. Aim for genuine curiosity, not a hard sell. Remember, your brand awareness work in Steps 2 and 3 means they may already know your name or have consumed your content. A short, personalized nudge can be exactly what they need to engage.

Multi-Touch Cadence

A strong Predictive Prospecting™ approach typically involves a cadence of touches:

Day 1: LinkedIn connection request.
Day 3: Personal email referencing the specific trigger or content they viewed.
Day 5: Phone call with a voicemail referencing your email/LinkedIn message.
Day 7: A follow-up email that includes additional value (like a relevant case study).
Day 10: Optional direct mail piece (for Tier 1 accounts) or a “breakup” email.

This cadence can vary, but the principle remains short, with strategic intervals, each touch adding more context or value. If they respond earlier, great—you adapt to their timetable. If they don’t respond after several touches, you pause and revisit them later if new signals arise while continuing to nurture them through your demand gen program.

Role of AI and Automation

While we warned about the pitfalls of AI-driven cold email, that doesn’t mean you should ignore automation. Used wisely, automation can handle the repetitive parts of scheduling messages or calls. Ensure each touch is personal and meaningful, especially for Tier 1 accounts. You can also set up triggers so that when an account’s intent score hits a threshold, it automatically alerts your sales rep or prompts an email sequence.

Still, the human element matters. For high-value accounts, you might draft each email manually, referencing unique details about the company or individual. This maintains the authenticity that mass automation usually lacks.

Measuring Success

Predictive Prospecting™ metrics include:

Response Rate: The percentage of people who reply to your outreach.
Conversion to Meeting: The number of accounts targeted that turn into scheduled calls or demos.
Pipeline Velocity: How quickly do these accounts move through your pipeline once engaged?
Close Rate: The percentage of engaged accounts that convert into paying clients.
Average Deal Size: The typical revenue generated per closed deal.

Tracking these metrics over time helps refine your approach. If your response rate is low, you may need to re-check your personalization or the timing of your outreach. If you get replies but a few meetings, your ask may be too big or too early in the conversation.

Potential Obstacles

Poorly Aligned Messaging: If your outreach doesn’t tie back to the earlier steps—like referencing the same pain points or content your prospect consumed—your prospect can feel confused or suspicious.
Delaying Outreach: Don’t wait a month to follow up when you see a strong intent signal. Acting in real-time is key.
One-Channel Syndrome: Some reps stick to email alone. A multi-channel approach can dramatically boost your chance of engagement.
Trying to Automate Everything: While automation can help, over-automation can lead to impersonal messages that fall flat with enterprise-level buyers.

Mini-Scenario: Predictive Prospecting™ in Action

Imagine a Tier 1 account that:

Attended your Q2 webinar on “Global Brand Expansion.”
Visited your blog multiple times over the past week.
Downloaded your advanced whitepaper on brand governance.
Your intent scoring system flags them as “high-interest.”

Within 24 hours, your new business director sends a short, conversational 1:1 email:

Subject: Glad You Enjoyed Our Brand Expansion Webinar

Hi [Name],

I saw you checked out our webinar and the global brand whitepaper. Thank you! We’ve worked with a few enterprise teams on brand expansion strategies—especially for [prospect’s industry]. I’d love to hear what stood out to you and share a quick example of how we helped a similar company increase brand consistency by 40% across three continents.

Are you open to a chat next week?

Best,

[Signature]

The rep also sends a LinkedIn message referencing a specific stat from the webinar.

With these combined touches, the prospect sees your firm paying attention. They’re more likely to agree to a call, and that call can quickly move from pleasantries into real solutions for their brand expansion plans.

Key Takeaway Step 5

Send Using Predictive Prospecting™ is where all your ABM groundwork comes together in direct communication. Focusing on the highest-intent accounts and reaching out with tailored messages via multiple channels drastically improves the odds of meaningful engagement. This step transforms your marketing insights into actual sales conversations.

With that, we’ve covered each phase of the FOCUS process in depth—showing how to consistently find, nurture, and close enterprise-level deals. Let’s conclude by pulling it together and outlining the next steps for implementing FOCUS.

Conclusion: Putting Focus Into Action

The FOCUS process—Find & Prioritize Accounts, Orchestrate Thought Leadership, Create Awareness & Demand, Uncover Intent Signals, and Send Using Predictive Prospecting™—provides a structured roadmap to ABM success. Unlike traditional lead-gen methods that rely on randomness or volume, FOCUS aims for precision, relevance, and genuine relationship-building.

Here’s a quick recap:

Find & Prioritize Accounts: Identify the companies that align with your strengths and revenue goals. Develop a thorough ICP, use data to hone in on those who fit best, and create tiered strategies for each group.
Orchestrate Thought Leadership: Package your expertise into compelling content that tackles real problems. Show your target accounts you’re not just another agency or consultancy—you’re an authority in solving their challenges.
Create Awareness & Demand: Amplify your content across the right channels. Strategically reach your accounts with multi-touch campaigns, fueling brand recognition and genuine interest.
Uncover Intent Signals: Track behaviors that show which accounts are warming up. Use tools to gather data, assign scores, and focus your resources on those truly in buying mode.
Send Using Predictive Prospecting™: Finally, act on your insights. Reach out with hyper-personalized, timely messages referencing specific content or triggers that interested your prospects.

Agencies and consultancies that adopt FOCUS move away from luck-driven pipelines and into a methodical approach that leads to bigger deals, stronger client relationships, and consistent growth. This transformation won’t happen overnight. However, by following these five steps, you’ll lay a foundation that keeps your pipeline full and your brand respected—no matter how crowded or competitive your market becomes.

Remember, ABM is an ongoing journey of learning and refinement. Start with small pilot efforts for your Tier 1 accounts, measure results, and gradually expand. Over time, you’ll see why many say ABM (done right) is the future of B2B marketing—and why the FOCUS framework can help you master that future.

Taking ABM from Theory To Action

Playbook: Re-Engaging Past Clients and Lost Opportunities

Now that you’ve learned the fundamentals of Account-Based Marketing and walked through the FOCUS framework—it’s time to see how those principles translate into real-world results. This section will explore a specific “playbook” you can run immediately: re-engaging past clients and lost opportunities. It’s a straightforward yet powerful use case for agencies and consultancies eager to put ABM into action and uncover hidden revenue potential.

Why Re-Engagement Matters

It’s easy to assume that once a client leaves or a prospect says “no,” the opportunity has vanished. Yet, many exits happen due to timing rather than a permanent mismatch. Perhaps budgets got cut, leadership changed, or a different initiative took priority. Meanwhile, your agency or consultancy has continued to evolve—offering new services, deepening expertise, or developing fresh thought leadership.

That’s why re-engagement can be so effective. These organizations already know who you are, which shortens the trust-building process. You don’t have to educate them from scratch—they’ve seen your work and likely appreciate your expertise. As their needs shift or old providers fall short, you can leverage ABM’s targeted, personalized approach to reintroduce yourself as the right partner at the right time.

Applying the FOCUS Framework to Re-Engagement

Even though re-engagement targets familiar names, your success hinges on the same Relationship-Making™ mindset that drives ABM. Here’s how to adapt each step of FOCUS:

Find & Prioritize Accounts

Dig Into Your CRM: Identify past clients who left on good terms or with neutral partings. The work may have ended due to budget freezes or project completion rather than dissatisfaction.
Review Lost Opportunities: Look at deals where you were a top contender but ultimately fell short. Did they pick a competitor or pause their search entirely?
Match Current ICP: Not all old clients or near-wins fit your focus now. Confirm they align with your Ideal Customer Profile and can benefit from your updated offerings.

Orchestrate Thought Leadership

Solve Old Pain Points with Fresh Insights: Past clients or prospects may still wrestle with the same challenges. Share new research, updated strategies, or success stories that show how your solutions have advanced.
Emphasize Growth and Evolution: If your consultancy or agency has expanded capabilities, highlight what’s new. Demonstrating progress is a strong incentive for them to take another look.
Use Familiar Success Angles: Did you recently deliver significant ROI for a similar client? Package the information into a relevant case study, addressing issues you know matter to your dormant accounts.

Create Awareness & Demand

Tailored Email Sequences: Develop specialized messages referencing the past relationship. For example, “It’s been a while since we partnered with you on [Project X]. We’ve recently uncovered new ways to drive that initiative even further.”
LinkedIn Touchpoints: If key stakeholders still follow your page or personal profiles, share short, insight-packed posts that remind them of your expertise. Even better, sponsor content they’re likely to find compelling based on your history together.
Exclusive Invitations: Invite them to a private webinar or roundtable where you’ll discuss industry updates. Their prior familiarity with your firm can make them more receptive to attending, especially if you frame it as a collaborative event.

Uncover Intent Signals

Monitor Engagement: Keep an eye on who’s opening these re-engagement emails, clicking on links, or requesting more details. A spike in activity can signal that their needs or priorities have shifted back in your favor.
Leverage Website Visitor IDs or Analytics: If someone from a past client’s domain starts visiting your pricing page or reading multiple blog posts, that’s a strong sign of renewed interest.
Check Social Interactions: Simple actions like profile views, likes, or comments on your LinkedIn content can be early markers of heightened curiosity.

Send Using Predictive Prospecting™

Reference Shared History: When you reach out, mention the previous project or near-win scenario. Reminding them you already speak their language eases the conversation forward.
Offer a Clear, Relevant Next Step: Maybe it’s a brief call to explore how they’ve evolved since your last engagement or a short consultative session about a new service that might address their current challenges.
Lean on Timing: Stay attuned to triggers such as leadership transitions, new funding, or budget cycles. Connecting when a new CMO arrives or a fresh budget is approved can significantly boost response rates.

Why This Approach Works

1. Faster Trust-Building:

You skip the heavy lifting of establishing credibility from scratch. They’re already aware of your brand, meaning your efforts can focus on showing them why now is the right moment to reconnect.

2. Lower Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC):

Re-engagement doesn’t require the broad prospecting or brand awareness campaigns you run for brand-new leads. You can often achieve higher ROI by focusing on these known entities.

3. Timely Alignments:

Business challenges and budgets change constantly. Reaching out with a timely, personalized message can catch them in a moment of genuine need—leading to quicker conversions.

4. Tailored Problem-Solving:

Using your experience with them, you can personalize your pitch at a deeper level than generic “We’d love to work with you again!” messages. Show them you’ve evolved to tackle their current pain points more effectively.

Practical Tips for Implementing This Play

Segment Past Clients by Deal Size or Industry: Focus first on those who match your current ICP and represent significant revenue upside.
Update Your Understanding of Their Situation: A quick LinkedIn or news search can reveal organizational changes that might re-open the door (like new leadership, funding rounds, or product launches).
Develop Mini-Campaigns: Build an email sequence or ad targeting list specifically for these accounts. This can be as simple as 2–3 targeted emails referencing prior wins or showcasing new research.
Set Up Automation for Intent Signals: If your tools show a sudden surge in visits from a past client, immediately alert your sales lead or account manager for personalized outreach.
Document Feedback and Outcomes: Track which re-engagement strategies work best—whether it’s email, phone, or LinkedIn. Fine-tune your approach as you gather more data.

Summary: A Practical ABM Playbook in Action

Re-engaging past clients and lost opportunities is one of the most direct ways to see ABM and the FOCUS framework at work. By systematically applying each step—prioritizing the right dormant accounts, sharing relevant thought leadership, building renewed awareness, watching for intent signals, and sending hyper-personalized outreach—you transform a once-static list of “no” or “not now” into a pipeline brimming with possibilities.

Agencies and consultancies often find that even a small batch of re-engagement successes can justify the effort in both revenue and strengthened relationships. So don’t let those doors stay closed. With a methodical, high-touch approach and an eye on evolving needs, you can turn past connections into tomorrow’s wins—proving once again that ABM is as much about nurturing existing relationships as it is about creating new ones.

Conclusion

After examining why traditional lead-gen methods—like referrals, SEO, and cold email—are falling short, it’s clear that agencies and consultancies need a more strategic, dependable way to drive growth. Throughout this e-book, we’ve highlighted how Account-Based Marketing offers a transformative alternative—enabling you to focus your resources, align marketing and sales, and engage enterprise-level prospects in a more personalized and impactful way.

Yet, even ABM can feel like a buzzword unless it’s grounded in a clear system. That’s precisely what the FOCUS framework provides:

F—Find & Prioritize Accounts: Define your Ideal Customer Profile and pinpoint the companies most likely to see value from your offerings. Rather than trying to be everywhere, you zero in on where you can make the biggest difference.

O—Orchestrate Thought Leadership: Create high-impact content that addresses the challenges of your target accounts. Position your agency or consultancy as a true expert in its field.

C—Create Awareness & Demand: Amplify that thought leadership through purposeful, multi-channel campaigns, ensuring your name is recognized and your insights resonate with prime accounts.

U—Uncover Intent Signals: Track behavioral data—such as content downloads, site visits, or webinar attendance—to see who’s warming up and genuinely exploring solutions like yours.

S—Send Using Predictive Prospecting™: Convert data insights into timely, hyper-personalized outreach. You drastically improve engagement and sales outcomes by reaching out exactly when your prospects show heightened interest.

Together, these five steps move your business development from “spray and pray” to a precise, relationship-focused model. It’s not just about booking more meetings—it’s about forging deeper connections that lead to bigger, longer-term engagements.

A Final Invitation: Let’s Talk About Your Growth

If you’re ready to move from theory to action, we’d love to help you implement these ideas. Whether you’re an agency owner or a consulting firm leader, our team offers a free consultation to discuss your current new business approach and explore how the FOCUS framework might apply to your unique situation. During this session, we can:

Assess gaps and opportunities in your current lead-generation strategy.
Review your thought leadership assets and see how they might be elevated.
Identify top-priority accounts that could benefit from a fresh approach.

From there, we’ll walk you through our Growth Strategy Assessment and Roadmap, a deeper dive into optimizing your processes, deploying ABM more effectively, and measuring success along the way. It’s a collaborative process designed to uncover quick wins and strategic shifts that position your firm for sustainable growth.

What’s Next

Consider this your ABM starter’s toolkit: a roadmap to navigate the shifts needed in modern business development. You can implement these steps gradually—starting with a pilot campaign targeting a handful of high-value accounts—or roll out a full-scale program if you’re already confident in the model.

Whether you take baby steps or a bigger leap, remember that FOCUS is iterative. Each new insight about your target market or each new data point from your marketing automation can refine how you find accounts, tailor your thought leadership, and time your outreach. Over time, those refinements create a powerful feedback loop—continually increasing your success rate and ROI.

Want More?

Schedule your free consultation if you’d like to learn more about ABM or are ready to jump in. We’ll help you pinpoint key focus areas, address your immediate concerns, and lay out a practical action plan. You might be surprised how quickly your pipeline can transform once you swap random lead-gen for a strategic, account-based approach.

Christian Banach

Christian Banach is a business development expert who helps agencies and consultancies land 6- and 7-figure opportunities predictably. With 20+ years of experience—including growing his firm and working with brands like Disney, Toyota, Kohl’s, and Constellation Brands—Christian now empowers clients to attract and close more deals through proven strategies and Relationship-Making™. Connect on LinkedIn

Stay Informed

Sign up now! Every Monday, get breaking news of recent CMO appointments, motivation to start your week positively, and innovative business development insights.