Why Account-Based Marketing and Allbound Are a Perfect Match

Table of Contents

• Why Most ABM Programs Fall Flat
• What Allbound Actually Means
• What Changes When You Add Allbound to ABM
• How to Run ABM + Allbound (Step-by-Step)
• What Success Looks Like with ABM + Allbound

Go-to-market success doesn’t come from picking the right accounts.

It comes from what you do after.

Pairing Account Based Marketing (ABM) with Allbound gives you both: a clear focus on the right targets, and a system to reach them with the right message at the right time.

Watch: Here’s why GTM systems like Clay are getting billion-dollar valuations, and what it tells us about the evolution of ABM and outbound strategy 👇

If your team is serious about building a modern revenue engine, start here.

Why Most ABM Programs Fall Flat

Account-Based Marketing sounds like the perfect strategy….

You:

• Focus on high-fit accounts
• Personalize your outreach
• Align your teams
• Drive better pipeline

Easy.

But the problem is most ABM programs barely make it past step one.

Despite its potential (ABM can drive up to a 208% increase in revenue) most teams fail to operationalize it beyond a static list.

Problem #1:  ABM Starts With a List and Stops There

Building a target account list is just the beginning, but most teams treat it like the whole strategy.

Here’s what usually happens:

• They define their ICP once and never revisit it.
• The list gets pulled from a database and pushed into a sequence.
• There's no enrichment, no prioritization, no signal data.

Problem #2:  Marketing and Sales Don’t Talk

ABM requires tight coordination between marketing, sales, and success, but in most teams these three are siloed.

Yet companies that do align these teams, hallmarks of Allbound execution, see 24% faster revenue growth and 27% faster profit growth over three years.

Common signs of the disconnect:

• Marketing is optimizing for MQLs. Sales is optimizing for meetings. Success is chasing renewals.
• Nobody agrees on what a “qualified account” actually looks like.
• Reps don’t know when someone clicked an ad. Marketing doesn’t know what reps are saying on calls.

Problem #3:  There’s No System to Track It All

If your CRM doesn’t show the full picture, ABM is just a guessing game.

That’s a big problem when 73% of total revenue is now attributed to ABM efforts.

What’s missing:

• Shared funnel stages built around the account, not just individual leads
• Campaign-level attribution that shows what actually moved the needle
• A feedback loop between outbound, ads, and nurture

The Bottom Line

ABM itself isn’t the issue.

The real problem is that it’s being run with disconnected tools, disconnected teams, and outdated processes built around linear funnels.

You might be targeting the right accounts, but nothing’s put together to actually convert them.

That’s where Allbound changes everything.

What Allbound Actually Means

While ABM focuses on who to target, Allbound focuses on how, when, and where to reach them.

Funnels Don’t Reflect How Buyers Actually Buy

Wait, why not funnels?

Because funnels assume people move stage by stage, from awareness to interest to decision to action.

But real buyers don’t think like that.

They:

• Bounce between channels
• Ignore your sequences
• Show intent without ever filling out a form

Allbound replaces funnels with signal-based GTM motions. You act based on what buyers are doing, not where you think they are.

What Allbound Looks Like in Practice

It’s not just "do inbound and outbound."

Allbound is about building one cohesive GTM system centered on revenue, powered by signals, and coordinated across every team.

The mindset shift:

• Old way: Push gated content, hope someone converts, then maybe follow up.
• New way: Monitor for signals (site visits, job changes, re-engagement), and trigger plays instantly across outbound, ads, and nurture.
  
  Watch: Here's how SDRs are evolving into GTM engineers by building the systems themselves, straight from someone who's lived it 👇
  
  

The structural shift:

• Old way: Sales and Marketing each use their own tools.
• New way: Everyone operates from one CRM, one funnel, one shared outcome: revenue.

The Core Principles of Allbound

Stop selling. Start solving.

Speak to the real problems your buyers face, not your product features.

Signals > stages.

Trigger campaigns from behavior, not funnel logic.

Personalize at scale.

Use data and automation to make every touchpoint feel intentional.

Make your CRM the system of record.

If it’s not in your CRM, it’s invisible. Allbound turns your CRM into the command center.

Align every team around revenue.

Marketing, sales, and CS aren’t separate functions. They’re steps in one GTM system.

Allbound = The Execution Layer ABM Was Missing

ABM gives you a target , and Allbound gives you a way to reach that target consistently and measurably.

That’s why 97% of marketers say ABM delivers higher ROI, but only when paired with systems that make outreach timely, trackable, and contextual.

What Changes When You Add Allbound to ABM

ABM strategies don’t stall because the list was wrong. They stall because there’s no way to act on signals, coordinate channels, or prove what’s working.

Allbound fixes that….but not by replacing ABM.

But by amplifying it.

Before vs After: What ABM Looks Like Without and With Allbound

Before (ABM Alone):

• You identify your top 200 accounts… and treat them all the same
• Marketing builds a landing page, sales sends cold emails, and nobody shares notes
• Outreach happens too early, too late, or completely off-message
• Pipeline attribution is unclear or nonexistent

After (ABM + Allbound):

• Your top 200 accounts are enriched, scored, and prioritized by live signals
• For example, when someone visits the pricing page, downloads an ebook, or watches a demo video, the right outbound sequence triggers within minutes, ensuring your team responds while intent is still high.
• Sales and marketing are running coordinated plays from one CRM
• Attribution happens automatically as every touch is logged, scored, and visible

Key Wins from Combining ABM and Allbound

• Faster speed to engagement: You reach accounts when they’re active, not 3 weeks later
  • In fact, partner-influenced deals close 28 days faster than non-partner ones. Faster follow-up = faster pipeline.

• Better personalization: Messaging aligns with buyer behavior, not just personas
  • That’s why 91% of ABM users grow their average deal size, and 25% report deal increases over 50%.
• Smarter campaign decisions: You finally know what channels, content, and sequences lead to revenue
• Aligned teams: Everyone’s working from one funnel and one set of KPIs

How to Run ABM + Allbound (Step-by-Step)

Every team wants a system that turns their ABM targets into real pipeline with the right timing, message, and channels.

Here’s how RevPartners builds it, using the tech stack we know works

Step 1:  Build a Dynamic, Enriched Target Account List

What We Use:

• Tool: Clay – Pulls accounts using ICP filters, hiring signals, and technographics
• Tool: Clay + 100+ data sources – Enriches contacts with role, seniority, social, and intent info
• Tool: HubSpot – Accepts only cleaned, enriched, deduplicated records via HubSpot ID matching and blank-field protection
  
  Watch: Here’s how to evaluate if your current data enrichment setup is working, or if you actually need something like Clay 👇
  
  

Step 2:  Detect Buyer Signals and Trigger Plays

What We Use:

• Tool: RB2B – Detects anonymous website visits and de-anonymizes traffic
• Tool: HubSpot workflows – Routes contacts based on page views, lifecycle stage, or activity
• Tool: OutboundSync – Syncs contact activity from outbound tools directly into HubSpot

Trigger examples:

• A VP of Ops at a target account visits the pricing page
• An old MQL starts a free trial
• A decision-maker changes roles on LinkedIn

Step 3:  Personalize Outreach with Context, Not Just Tokens

What We Use:

• Tool: Clay agents – Auto-generate personalization based on scraped job descriptions, social posts, or podcast appearances
• Tool: Smartlead – Sends email sequences across unlimited mailboxes
• Tool: Octave – Creates warm nurtures, branded content, and multi-threaded outbound

Outreach examples:

• Sequence that opens with a relevant LinkedIn post they shared
• The CTA is linked to a campaign they’ve already interacted with, like referencing the same product line they clicked on in a previous ad or guiding them to a webinar follow-up page for a whitepaper they just downloaded, so the next step feels natural instead of random.
• Talking points tailored to recent hires or funding events

Step 4:  Run Inbound and Outbound in Sync

What We Use:

• Tool: HubSpot Ads – Creates retargeting audiences from contact lists, company lists, or website visitors, which can be used to run LinkedIn and Google Ads to the same people receiving outbound.
• Tool: Smartlead + Octave – Octave crafts multi-threaded outbound content, while Smartlead runs the email sequences across mailboxes. Both are connected and orchestrated inside Clay for streamlined execution.
• Tool: HubSpot Campaigns – Tracks full contact and account activity across both inbound and outbound

Coordination plays:

• A LinkedIn ad hits → the account hits an engagement threshold → Clay sources contacts from that account → Octave generates the outbound copy → Smartlead runs the sequence
• A user downloads an ebook → auto-triggers warm nurture and rep notification
• A dormant contact re-engages → HubSpot re-qualifies them → re-enters outbound sequence

Step 5:  Attribute Every Touch to Revenue

What We Use:

• Tool: HubSpot Campaign Attribution – Tracks multi-touch, first touch, and influenced revenue
• Tool: HubSpot Dashboards – Report by campaign, channel, lifecycle stage, and buyer persona
• Tool: OutboundSync – Pushes Smartlead email performance data into HubSpot to prove attribution from outbound efforts
• Bowtie Model – Maps the full revenue journey across pre- and post-sale motions

What you can measure:

• Which Smartlead sequence (via OutboundSync) led to SQLs
• Which Octave nurture (tracked through HubSpot + OutboundSync) converted to closed-won
• Which blog + outbound combo led to expansion revenue
• How many touches it actually takes to convert your ICP
  
  

What Success Looks Like with ABM + Allbound

When ABM and Allbound are working together, you see real shifts in how fast you engage, how well you convert, and how clearly you can prove ROI.

Here’s what to expect and what to track.

Leading Indicators That Show It’s Working

Faster Speed to Engagement

• Your reps reach out within minutes of a signal, not days after a form fill
• SDRs aren’t wasting time chasing cold leads, they’re following intent

Higher Conversion Rates

• Cold outbound gets warm responses because it’s timed and personalized
• Retargeting actually works because it’s coordinated with sales messaging
• MQL → SQL → Opportunity happens in less time, with fewer touches

More Engagement From the Right Accounts

• You’re seeing real activity from top-tier ICPs, not just random clicks
• More accounts move from “targeted” to “in play” to “pipeline” without manual handoffs

GTM Metrics You Can Actually Measure

Allbound connects every play to pipeline. 

What you can track:

• Meetings booked per enriched account
• SQL and Opp conversion by sequence or campaign
• Revenue by source list, channel, and touchpoint
  • For mature teams, 63% report at least 25% ROI from ABM, and 46% report over 50% ROI, but only when every touch is attributed.
• Time-in-stage across the full Bowtie funnel
• Expansion revenue influenced by marketing or outbound touch
• Content performance across both inbound and outbound journeys

The Alignment Everyone Talks About. But Can Now See

When ABM + Allbound are connected through HubSpot:

• Marketing knows which assets and campaigns actually influenced deals
• Sales knows which accounts are active and what content they’ve touched
  • That kind of visibility is why 80% of marketers say ABM improves customer lifecycle value and 75% use it to boost retention.

• Leadership sees exactly how GTM efforts are driving recurring revenue

Strategy Alone Doesn’t Drive Revenue

ABM gives you the focus. Allbound gives you the follow-through.

When you connect the two, you stop guessing and start building pipeline with shared data, coordinated plays, and clear attribution from first touch to closed-won.

If your GTM motion isn’t delivering, it’s not your accounts.

It’s your execution.

Let’s fix that 👇