Christopher Engman discusses ABM, Megadeals and the evolution of IP targeting

Christopher Engman truly is the father of Account-Based Marketing (ABM). He created the concept in 2007 and has taken it leaps and bounds further down the road since then. His book, Megadeals, released in 2020, served to further enhance his reputation with marketing leaders around the globe. With several hundred B2B deals behind him, including many multi-billion pound ones, Engman is more than equipped to share advice to help others close their own mega deals.

He sat down to discuss some of the key tips he’s learned during this journey in this podcast. Let’s take a look at some of those insights:

The creation of ABM

After years of innovation in marketing, Engman came to the conclusion that most companies had five top-tier clients paying 50% of the salaries. On the other side, the long-tail side, there were usually around 50 clients making up the other 50% in revenue. In order to better use resources, Engman realised that more effort should be made to gain more top-tier clients, and businesses should stop spending so much on the long-tail end. He began to look for ways to do this and that’s when ABM was born.

ABM and Megadeals

Initially, Engman found trouble in trying to relay this information to others. To overcome this, he contextualised ABM in what he termed Megadeals presentations. Very swiftly he attracted large groups of business people interested in how to close their own mega deals, and this interest kept growing and growing.

These groups also gave more insight into how the idea of ABM could improve, further focusing efforts on those closest to making sales. The best way to do this was to shift away from normal selling to a singular individual and instead focus more on pitching to full organisations.

Engman believes that companies cannot pull off a mega deal with only a single salesperson – a business needs to sell as a team. Sales and marketing are often viewed as two different teams but the best way to ensure talents and skills are complemented is to get them to work together, in one combined team.

The future of B2B marketing

Engman is someone who is always looking to the future of marketing, and this is where he sees B2B heading:

• Having a smaller group of salespeople with massive airsupport will serve a business better than having a large sales team. The money saved here should go straight into marketing. 
• CMOs should be prioritised for the megadeals way of thinking.
• Technology will become more sales focused to better cater to enterprise pitches.
• Video is an amazing carrier with visual and sound cues. It’s a format that businesses need to spend money on.

Enter the world of ABM

The final takeaway tip we got from Engman is that if he had to give his younger self advice, it would be that there is complexity regarding internal politics in large companies and learning how to manage it early on is crucial. This area is absolutely worth refining. It’s clear that ABM doesn’t need to be unknown or scary. Let us help you set up a solution for your clients today. Get in touch or book a demo with us to learn more.

Listen to our other Account Based Marketing Podcasts for more useful industry insights:

• Natalia Chaban – Digital Performance & Technology Director at MediaCom
• Philip Gosney – Head of Global Marketing at Maersk Drilling
• Jem Lloyd-Williams – CEO at Mindshare UK
• Chris Hirst – Global CEO at Havas Creative
• Riaz Kanani – CEO & Founder at Radiate B2B
• John Harris – President & CEO at Worldwide Partners
• Ricky Abbott – President of Americas for Transmission
• Michel Juvillier – Founder of The Societies Media
• Raffaele Apostoliti – President & CEO at Expandi Group
• Judith Niederschelp – CEO at Demand Studio
• Paul Frampton – President at Control v Exposed
• Luke Bozeat – COO at MediaCom UK
• Matthew Jantjies-Green – Head of Agency Partnerships at AccountInsight