Q1: Where should we focus our efforts?

Many teams struggle with this one because it feels like leaving opportunity on the table, so they end up chasing everyone instead.

Not every account deserves the same time, budget or energy. Not every sector offers the same opportunity. And not every opportunity is worth chasing.

This series explores the seven questions behind effective ABM, one at a time, starting with Question 1 of 7: Where should we focus our efforts? because everything else builds from it. Before insight, strategy or engagement, you need to make a conscious decision about where to invest.

Our top tips

Start with the big picture

Many businesses focus only on what's already in their CRM. A useful first step is understanding the wider market opportunity available to you, and where you're genuinely best placed to compete and win.

Learn from your best customers

Some of the best clues are hidden in your existing customer base.

Which customers would you like more of? Which less of? What do your best customers have in common?

Find the sweet spot

The strongest opportunities often sit at the intersection of:

• A genuine customer need
• A clear market driver for change
• Your ability to solve the challenge
• Credible proof you've done it before

Look for common challenges

Not every account needs a 1:1 approach. Many businesses achieve greater impact by grouping similar accounts facing similar challenges and engaging them together, improving relevance while spreading cost and risk.

Consider where the account is in their journey

A net-new prospect, a former customer, a customer with growth potential and a customer approaching renewal all need different approaches.

Treat them the same, and you risk losing credibility.

Use a scorecard

ABM opportunities may arrive one at a time. A simple scorecard helps sales and marketing teams evaluate them consistently and make better prioritisation decisions together.

Define your capacity

One exercise we highly recommend: decide upfront how many ABM programmes your teams can realistically support.

Once that capacity is agreed, every new opportunity must justify why it deserves one of those places. It sharpens focus remarkably quickly.

Final thought

Focus is one of the hardest decisions in driving B2B growth because it feels like you're leaving opportunities on the table.

The businesses that get the most from ABM are usually the ones that make deliberate choices about where to focus first. Everything else builds from there.

Are you making the hard choices about where to focus in your business?