"If your #ABM strategy fits in a tweet, you're doing it wrong."… – Stefan Repin

I help identify a reliable route to market with b2b clients | Account-Based Marketing expert | B2B Demand Generation for Regulated Markets

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May 5, 2025

"If your #ABM strategy fits in a tweet, you're doing it wrong." Here's what makes me laugh, cannot stop actually: Everyone's posting their "simple 3-step #ABM framework" like they're selling $50 products on Shopify. Reality check: Enterprise #B2B sales are messy, complex, and rarely follow your perfect little automation sequence. You know what doesn't work? - Thinking some LinkedIn ads will close a $500K deal - Believing your "perfect" content funnel works for regulated industries - Assuming decision-makers care about your "targeted" posts Try explaining to your board how your "foolproof" ABM strategy handles: • 12-18 month sales cycles • 15+ stakeholders per deal • Regulatory compliance • Internal politics • Procurement processes • Security reviews - RFPs and a strict no gift policy! The truth? Real #ABM is about: - Building genuine relationships - Understanding complex buying cycles - Navigating organizational hierarchies - Aligning with multiple stakeholders - Managing compliance requirements Stop pretending enterprise sales is as simple as: 1. Run some ads 2. Send automated emails 3. Wait for PO If you're selling to enterprises, you need: • Deep industry knowledge • Strategic account planning • Multi-thread engagement • Stakeholder mapping • Risk management P.S. Your marketing automation tool won't fix a broken enterprise strategy. The hard truth: If you think #enterprise #ABM is easy, you've never actually done it. Just a reminder from Jason Lemkin.

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2 Comment on LinkedIn

May 5, 2025

Discussion about this post

Tomek Chojnacki

fractional CMO for B2B tech companies with long sales cycles & high-value contracts

3 months ago

I hear ya. We've become spoiled by instant gratification: binge-watching, social media validation, and same-day delivery. This has spilled over into marketing. We're sold growth hacks, winning cheat sheets, or LLM prompts, and told everything is simple, measurable, and controllable. This has led to business leaders seeking simple solutions for complex challenges. And the truth is, they don't exist, especially for long sales-cycled B2B.

Stefan Turnwald

The one who enables Excellence in Customer Engagement - Founder, Speaker, Customer Engagement Enthusiast

3 months ago

Stefan Repin. Great post. Change "enterprise B2B" for "pharma sales" and you have an unpleasant description of the state of the art in pharma and life sciences.

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December 4, 2021

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October 15, 2020

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October 7, 2021