Introduction
Ever launched an ABM campaign and wondered why it’s not delivering results? Many SaaS companies expect bigger deals and better engagement, but ABM challenges like messy data, misaligned teams, and unclear ROI make execution harder than expected.
Approximately 29% of marketers find it challenging to get accurate and quality data for their ABM initiatives. This limitation can hinder the development and success of effective ABM strategies.
Consider this: A well-funded SaaS company poured resources into ABM, expecting a surge in enterprise sales. They had top-tier tools, hyper-personalized campaigns, and a dedicated team. Yet, they hit a wall—inconsistent messaging, messy data, and unclear ROI tracking. Frustration grew as marketing blamed sales for dropping leads, and sales accused marketing of targeting the wrong accounts.
Also, a Gartner study found that 47% of organizations identify having separate sales and marketing funnels as the primary cause of misalignment, leading to inefficiencies in lead generation and extended sales cycles.
75% of marketers rely on One-to-Few ABM, 68% implement One-to-One ABM, while 61% focus on One-to-Many, showing a clear push toward hyper-personalization (ITSMA). But without a rock-solid strategy, ABM can quickly become an expensive experiment rather than a revenue driver.
In this blog, we’ll break down the biggest ABM challenges and equip you with data-backed solutions to turn ABM into a high-performing growth engine for your business. Let’s dive in.
Top ABM Challenges and Solutions for Effective Implementation in 2025
ABM challenges arise from several key areas, including aligning sales and marketing teams, managing data, and selecting high-value target accounts. Effective personalization at scale is often resource-intensive, and companies face difficulty accurately measuring ROI.
Integrating technologies and tools for seamless operations while ensuring scalability across the organization can also be complex.
Overcoming ABM challenges requires strategic prioritization, effective collaboration, and leveraging data-driven insights to drive engagement and measurable results.
Here are some of the major ABM challenges and solutions for your organization:
1. Aligning Sales and Marketing Teams
A common ABM issue for SaaS leaders is the disconnect between marketing-generated leads and sales-qualified opportunities. When sales and marketing teams operate in silos, ABM efforts suffer.
Mark Roberge, former CRO at HubSpot, says, “If marketing and sales aren’t speaking the same language, revenue growth becomes impossible.”
Companies with strong sales and marketing alignment are 103% more likely to exceed their goals and 32% increase in revenue, according to the HubSpot 2024 Sales Trends Report.
For ABM to succeed, both teams need to work together seamlessly.
Marketing creates awareness and builds engagement, but its efforts must translate into meaningful interactions that move potential customers closer to conversion.
Sales teams, on the other hand, have direct insights into
- what prospects want,
- what objections they have, and
- what messaging resonates best.
When this feedback loop is strong, marketing can tailor campaigns that align with customer pain points, making outreach more relevant and effective.
Without alignment, even the most well-crafted marketing campaigns may fail to drive meaningful engagement. When sales and marketing work in sync, ABM strategies become more precise, customer interactions become more valuable, and revenue growth follows.
Devo’s ABM Transformation: From Misalignment to Success
Devo, a security data platform, faced sales and marketing misalignment, making ABM execution difficult. To fix this, Greg Aquavella, Director of Marketing at Devo, took a hands-on approach to get sales buy-in and improve collaboration.
How Devo Solved Sales-Marketing Misalignment
- One-on-One Sales Training: Greg personally trained reps on using intent data and demand-based insights to identify and engage the right accounts.
- Hands-On Support: Instead of just sharing reports, he worked closely with reps until they realized how marketing data could help them sell smarter and faster.
- Continuous Collaboration: Sales started bringing their own ideas, using ABM insights to refine their outreach and increase engagement.
- Automation & Intelligence: Devo implemented an Account Intelligence Engine that provided real-time updates on target accounts, ensuring sales always had the latest insights.
Key Takeaway
Devo’s success proves that ABM isn’t just a marketing strategy—it requires deep sales involvement. When sales and marketing align, outreach becomes more effective, deals close faster, and revenue grows.
2. Selecting the Right Target Accounts
One of the other problems related to ABM is finding the right ICP or accounts to target. Without a strategic framework, companies waste resources on accounts that lack the intent or budget to convert.
“If ABM is about anything,” said Triblio CEO Andre Yee, “It is about quality leads. It’s about discovering and engaging the active buyer.”
April Dunford, positioning expert, and SaaS advisor, warns, “If you target too broad, your ABM strategy turns into just another lead-gen effort. Focus too narrow, and you might miss profitable opportunities.”
Striking the right balance requires data-driven account scoring models that consider firmographics, intent signals, and historical customer data. However, 28% of marketers cite “creating a target account list” as one of the major challenges in ABM, according to the Foundry ABM Benchmark Study 2023.
How Snowflake Identifies High-Value ABM Accounts
Snowflake, a cloud data platform, tackled this challenge by transforming its account selection process through intent data and AI-driven insights. Instead of relying on sales-rep-selected accounts, Snowflake adopted a proactive and responsive targeting approach.
How They Did It
Snowflake replaced manual account selection with a data-driven, intent-based approach for precise targeting and stronger sales-marketing alignment.
- Intent Data as the Foundation: Snowflake leveraged Bombora‘s intent data to prioritize accounts showing buying signals. This helped identify the right time to engage prospects rather than relying solely on sales guesswork.
- Scalable Account Prioritization:
- Previously, sales reps picked 10 accounts each for ABM.
- Snowflake refined the model, limiting reps to 3-5 high-value accounts, while marketing supplemented the list with intent-based account selection.
- Real-Time Activation: When an account surged in intent, Snowflake automatically launched an ABM play, ensuring synchronized marketing and SDR outreach within two weeks.
- Simplified Workflows: Instead of adding complexity, Snowflake embedded AI-powered account data directly into Salesforce, ensuring reps could access actionable insights without switching platforms.
The Results
- 2-4x increase in SDR meeting completion rates.
- 3x higher event attendance for ABM-targeted accounts.
- 50% faster deal cycles, accelerating time from open opportunity to closed-won deals.
- 36% meeting rate for ABM accounts—compared to 10% before adopting the data-driven model.
Key Takeaway
Snowflake’s success proves that ABM works best when backed by real-time intent data and a structured account selection process. By prioritizing high-intent accounts and ensuring sales and marketing alignment, they achieved more targeted engagement, shorter sales cycles, and higher conversion rates.
Also, read → Top 8 ABM tools you must try in 2025
3. Managing Data and Technology Integration
A strong ABM strategy depends on seamless data integration, but many organizations struggle with fragmented systems. Marketing automation, CRM tools, and analytics platforms often operate in silos, making it difficult to track engagement and optimize campaigns.
Scott Brinker, VP of Platform Ecosystem at HubSpot, explains, “The real power of ABM lies in unified data. Without integration, you’re running blind.” Siloed data across marketing, sales, and customer success teams leads to inefficiencies, inaccurate reporting, and lost revenue opportunities.
Also adding advanced analytics and AI to your ABM mix can take things to the next level. AI prioritizes the best leads without extra analysis, freeing up time for the team to think deeper and more creatively about strategy.
While AI can enhance lead prioritization and strategy development, 54% of marketers feel overwhelmed by implementing AI into their workflows, and only 47% understand how to measure its impact effectively.
How Vymo Streamlined ABM with Data Integration
Vymo, a cloud-based sales engagement platform, faced significant challenges in managing lead data, routing prospects, and prioritizing high-intent accounts. Their fragmented tech stack made it difficult to track engagement, leading to wasted efforts and poor conversion rates.
To fix this, Revv Growth redesigned Vymo’s ABM approach, focusing on data integration, AI-powered insights, and automation:
- Automating Lead Allocation – Implemented Round Robin Lead Routing to assign leads instantly, improving response times.
- Using AI-Powered Lead Scoring – Identified high-intent accounts, allowing sales teams to focus on the best opportunities.
- Integrating CRM and Scheduling – Connected Chili Piper to automate meeting scheduling and reduce delays.
- Synchronizing Data in Real-Time – Centralized marketing and sales data for better alignment and decision-making.
The Results
- MQL to SQL conversion increased 4.5X, from 4.5% to 18% in three months.
- $41.5 million in marketing-sourced pipeline was generated.
- Lead management efficiency improved 5X, reducing manual effort.
Key Takeaway
By automating workflows, integrating AI, and centralizing data, Revv Growth helped Vymo overcome ABM data silos, improve engagement tracking, and scale its ABM efforts for better efficiency and revenue growth.
Read more → How We Helped Vymo Build a $21 Million Marketing-Sourced Pipeline with ABM
4. Developing Personalized Content at Scale
Many founders believe personalization is the backbone of ABM, yet executing it at scale is where the real challenge lies.
The major ABM struggle is balancing hyper-personalized messaging with efficiency. Creating custom content for every account is resource-intensive, but generic messaging won’t engage high-value prospects.
“Scaling ABM content isn’t about creating something new for every account. It’s about structuring content so it can be easily adapted and made personal.” – Jon Miller, CMO at Demandbase
How Saleo Scaled ABM Personalization
Saleo, a SaaS company, needed a way to create personalized content for multiple target accounts without overloading their marketing team. They partnered with Tofu, an AI-powered content platform, to streamline content production.
What They Did:
- Rapid Content Creation: Generated 350 personalized landing pages and a sequence of three emails for 1,750 contacts across those accounts in just 43 hours—a task that would have otherwise taken an estimated 427 hours.
- Efficient Resource Utilization: Achieved an 8x increase in content generation speed, allowing the marketing team to focus on strategy and creativity.
- Enhanced Personalization: Delivered tailored content that resonated with each target account, improving engagement and conversion rates.
Key Takeaway
Saleo used AI to personalize content quickly and efficiently. By automating content creation, they delivered customized experiences at scale without overwhelming their team. This approach shows that ABM personalization doesn’t have to be time-consuming—structured content and smart automation make it possible.
5. Measuring and Demonstrating ROI
87% of B2B marketers said that the ROI of ABM initiatives outperforms other marketing investments. Despite its proven success, many SaaS companies struggle to measure and demonstrate the ROI of their ABM efforts. Unlike traditional lead-generation campaigns, ABM focuses on high-value accounts, making direct attribution to revenue more complex.
Bev Burgess, ABM Practice Leader at Momentum ITSMA emphasizes, “If you’re still measuring ABM success with MQLs, you’re missing the point. ABM isn’t about leads—it’s about revenue.”
Here are the key ABM challenges that many SaaS companies face while measuring their efforts:
- Complex Attribution: ABM involves multiple touchpoints, complicating the process of identifying which interactions lead to conversions.
- Inadequate Metrics: Traditional metrics like Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) don’t fully capture ABM effectiveness, as the focus shifts from quantity to quality of engagements.
- Extended Sales Cycles: Targeting high-value accounts often results in longer decision-making processes, delaying observable ROI impact.
How AskCody Proved ABM ROI with HubSpot
AskCody, a SaaS platform for meeting management, faced challenges in proving the effectiveness of their ABM campaigns. They needed a structured way to track engagement, measure revenue impact, and demonstrate clear ROI.
What They Did:
- Unified Data & Attribution: Integrated HubSpot’s CRM and ABM tools to centralize all marketing and sales activities in one platform.
- Clear Revenue Tracking: Used HubSpot’s multi-touch attribution model to connect ABM efforts directly to pipeline and revenue growth.
- Account-Specific Targeting: Focused on hyper-personalized content and messaging to engage high-value accounts effectively.
- Marketing & Sales Alignment: Ensured seamless collaboration between teams, improving follow-ups and conversions.
Results:
- 12% of total revenue attributed to ABM efforts
- Improved tracking and reporting accuracy for ABM campaigns
- Faster sales cycles due to improved targeting and engagement
Key Takeaways
By aligning marketing and sales, tracking engagement at an account level, and focusing on revenue-driven metrics, businesses can prove ABM’s impact and refine their strategy for long-term success.
Also, read → 13 Key ABM Metrics Every SaaS Company Should Track in 2025
To wrap up
ABM presents huge opportunities for B2B marketers, but success depends on smart strategy and execution. Companies that align sales and marketing, integrate technology, scale personalized content, and track performance see the biggest returns.
And the momentum is growing, around 67% of marketers are already using the ABM approach, and 81% plan to adopt it within the next year. The question isn’t if ABM works, but how well you execute it.
So, what are the biggest problems related to ABM holding your team back? The sooner you tackle it, the faster you’ll unlock higher efficiency, stronger engagement, and more revenue.
At Revv Growth, we specialize in solving ABM challenges with data-driven strategies that deliver measurable results. Let’s build an ABM strategy that works for your business.
Schedule a strategy call with our ABM experts today.
FAQs about ABM Challenges
1. What is ABM, and why is it important?
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is a strategy where businesses target specific high-value accounts to drive personalized marketing efforts. It’s important because it aligns sales and marketing teams, improves ROI, and helps build stronger, more meaningful relationships with key prospects.
2. What are the common ABM challenges?
ABM challenges include misalignment between sales and marketing teams, selecting the right target accounts, managing complex data, and tracking ROI. These challenges can impact the effectiveness of ABM campaigns and slow down business growth.
3. How do you select the right target accounts in ABM?
To select the right target accounts, businesses should use data-driven insights like firmographics, intent signals, and predictive analytics. This helps identify high-value accounts that fit your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), ensuring resources are focused on the most promising leads.
4. How can businesses manage data effectively in ABM?
Effective data management in ABM involves centralizing customer information through CRM systems, ensuring real-time data synchronization, and using data analytics tools. This ensures that all teams have access to accurate and up-to-date insights for informed decision-making.
5. How can businesses create personalized content at scale?
Creating personalized content at scale can be challenging, but it can be achieved by using modular content strategies. Leveraging automation tools helps tailor content to different accounts while maintaining efficiency and consistency across the campaign.
6. How can ABM ROI be measured?
ABM ROI can be measured by tracking metrics like account engagement, pipeline contribution, closed deals, and revenue growth. Focusing on these revenue-driven KPIs rather than traditional lead-based metrics ensures a clearer view of the campaign’s true impact.
7. What tools help solve ABM challenges?
Tools such as CRM systems, marketing automation platforms, and data analytics software are essential for overcoming ABM challenges. They help manage data, automate personalized content, track performance, and improve overall efficiency in ABM campaigns.