In this episode of Sunny Side Up, Jordan Saucedo interviews Renny Fidlon on navigating challenges in ABM like a seasoned pro. Renny highlights the shift from lead-based models to strategic account approaches and emphasises aligning marketing with sales in B2B sales. He discusses common ABM pitfalls and the importance of showcasing ROI to leadership. Renny shares advice for B2B SaaS marketers, emphasising predicting client intent and providing value-added tools. He also stresses sales adoption as crucial when launching ABM platforms and suggests businesses pivot from sales enablement to buying enablement in the current unpredictable economy. Renny encapsulates the mantra “Do Less, Better” and consistently champions the need to showcase value to customers.
As VP of Marketing at SproutLoud, Renny Fidlon is responsible for building a predictable, repeatable revenue engine. He oversees SproutLoud’s branding, marketing programs, product marketing, revenue operations, and sales development. With over 25 years in strategy and marketing, Fidlon has spent the last decade scaling high-growth Enterprise B2B SaaS and technology companies. Prior to SproutLoud, Fidlon led global marketing teams at Aria Systems, Optymyze, Softmart (acquired by Connection), and Audience Partners (acquired by Altice USA). Renny holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Pennsylvania. When not immersed in data, Fidlon spends most of his free time travelling, watching movies, and playing games with his wife and three children.
“One of the biggest things that I see all the time is people trying to align their campaigns to a buyer’s journey at the account level. The problem is that not all the members of a buying group or the influences of that buying group are in the same place in their buyer’s journey.”
– Renny Fidlon
Renny, a seasoned marketer with over 25 years of experience excelling in account-based marketing (ABM), has witnessed and contributed to the evolution of ABM, shifting from traditional lead-based models to a more strategic account-focused approach. Renny emphasised the importance of aligning marketing strategies with sales operations, especially in B2B enterprise sales, where decision-making involves multiple stakeholders. He highlighted the advancements in ABM tools, ranging from identifying anonymous website visitors to employing sophisticated digital advertising and dynamic audience building. Through his journey, Renny has consistently advocated for the marketing’s role in supporting and prioritising sales motions, ensuring that the strategies employed genuinely resonate with the sellers’ needs and operational style.
Marketers often need help aligning campaigns to a collective buyer’s journey, failing to recognise that each buying group member might be at varied stages. Furthermore, the challenge of conclusively demonstrating ABM program success persists, with current tools needing more precision to map specific activities directly to ROI.
Identifying marketing-qualified accounts can significantly boost conversion rates, as demonstrated by one example where they converted at double the rate of their non-identified counterparts. However, while these numbers are compelling, it’s essential to consider potential biases. As digital marketing evolves, more than relying on outdated methods like website form fill-outs may be needed, and the role of ABM tools becomes indispensable.
Understanding and predicting a client’s intent is paramount for SaaS marketers looking to refine their ABM strategy. Regularly optimising prediction models, leveraging tools that reveal first-party plans, and providing value-added content like website ROI calculators can enhance engagement and increase conversion. Furthermore, giving potential clients tools to assess a product’s ROI independently can empower their decision-making and ease the sales process.
Sales adoption is crucial when implementing ABM platforms. Ensuring the buy-in from sales teams, who significantly influence budget decisions, is vital. Initial impressions matter; if the tool resonates with sales teams after some time, chances of later adoption decrease. Falling back on past sales methods, such as targeting an entire industry due to one successful deal, is only sometimes effective. Pairing past sales successes with tangible insights from ABM platforms can provide more targeted and scalable results, eliminating the ‘spray and pray’ approach.
In an unpredictable market landscape, businesses must shift their focus from sales enablement to buying enablement. It’s crucial to simplify the buying process, showcase immediate value, and guide customers in illustrating the long-term benefits of their investments.
Dan Pink – Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
Sunny Side Up
B2B podcast for, Smarter GTM™