What to expect from Account Based Marketing: from Target Account List to generated sales pipeline
Account Based Marketing is not about uploading a list of attractive companies and waiting for leads to appear. Especially not in B2B markets with complex customer journeys, multiple decision-makers and higher contract values.
At Sqrl, we take a different view on growth. We help B2B organisations move from a clearly defined Target Account List to Sales Qualified Leads and, ultimately, generated sales pipeline. Not based on coincidence, but based on data, intent, buying groups, buying personas and a methodology that structurally connects sales and marketing.
For our ABM programmes, we work with a clear benchmark:
20% of the Target Account List develops into SQLs.
25% of those SQLs develop into generated sales pipeline.
We use this benchmark over an 18-month period. In practice, we often see the first results much earlier, but 18 months provides a realistic framework for B2B organisations with longer sales cycles and higher contract values.
What do we mean by an SQL in Account Based Marketing?
An SQL, or Sales Qualified Lead, is not just an individual lead that happened to fill in a form. Within our ABM approach, an SQL is a target account where there is a demonstrable buying need and enough context to make commercial follow-up relevant.
That buying need is identified through a combination of signals, interactions and meaningful touchpoints within the account. We do not only look at the company as a whole. We look at the buying groups and buying personas involved.
An account can include multiple buying groups or personas. For each relevant buying group or persona, we typically map up to around 7 meaningful touchpoints. These can include digital interactions, personal contact moments, content engagement, event interaction, demo interest or other signals that show movement around a specific theme, challenge or need.
An SQL is therefore only created when there is more than general interest. There needs to be:
- a demonstrable buying need;
- relevant touchpoints within the right buying group or persona;
- enough context to understand the need;
- a logical moment for business development or sales follow-up;
- an increased likelihood that follow-up will lead to a meaningful commercial conversation.
Examples of high-intent touchpoints include:
- a personal contact moment;
- an invitation to a demo;
- event registration or event interaction;
- a substantive question from the account;
- a conversation with a relevant buying persona;
- repeated engagement around a specific topic;
- another measurable signal that points to increased buying intent.
This combination allows us to recognise intent at the right moment. Not too early, but certainly not too late.
Because not every form of engagement is immediately an SQL. Sometimes it is better to first investigate where the opportunity really sits. Which buying group is active? Which buying personas are moving? Is there already a clear buying need, or does the journey still need to be developed further?
That is where the principle of hold your horses comes in. Not every interaction should be passed straight to sales. Sometimes you increase the probability of winning by nurturing further, building more context or activating multiple personas within the buying group.
From SQL to generated sales pipeline
Of the SQLs created through our Account Based Marketing programmes, an average of 25% develops into generated sales pipeline.
By generated sales pipeline, we mean proposal or sales opportunities with a higher probability of conversion. Not because the account showed a random sign of interest, but because the account, the buying group and the relevant buying personas have already been nurtured over time through a focused customer journey.
That makes a major difference.
Sending a proposal to a cold account is very different from entering a sales process with an account that:
- has repeatedly engaged with relevant content;
- has had multiple touchpoints with marketing and sales;
- has been identified within the right buying group;
- is showing interest from the right personas;
- already has a better understanding of the value proposition;
- has been followed up in a structured way by business development.
That is why Sqrl does not only look at leads. We focus on the quality of the pipeline being created.
Why account spread is essential for predictable results
Our ABM approach is built for B2B companies that want to grow through a focused, but sufficiently broad selection of target accounts.
We focus on:
One-to-few ABM: 10 to 50 target accounts
One-to-many ABM: 50 to 150 target accounts
This spread is a deliberate choice. With fewer than 10 accounts, the approach becomes extremely personalised, but also more vulnerable. The risk is higher, the spread is lower, and software and data are not used to their full potential.
With 10 to 150 target accounts, the ideal balance emerges. There is enough focus to be personal and relevant, but also enough volume to make intent data, touchpoints and benchmarks meaningful.
This is exactly where Sqrl is strongest: Account Based Marketing for B2B organisations where methodology, software, data and business development come together.
From target accounts to focus accounts
An important part of our approach is that we do not immediately treat every target account as if it is ready for intensive follow-up.
We start with a Target Account List. This list consists of companies that are strategically relevant based on market, profile, sector, size, potential and fit with the proposition.
We then use intent data and measured interactions to identify which target accounts are developing into focus accounts.
Only when an account shows enough meaningful signals does the deeper buying group and buying persona journey begin. That is a crucial difference.
It allows us to create differentiated and personalised customer journeys, even in larger ABM campaigns with 50 to 150 accounts. We do not waste energy on accounts that are not yet showing movement. Instead, we deepen the journey where commercial relevance is increasing.
Which B2B markets does this approach work for?
Sqrl works with B2B organisations that have complex customer journeys and higher contract values. Our Account Based Marketing approach is especially relevant for companies in sectors such as:
- industry, including OEM, parts, materials and high-tech;
- automotive, transport and logistics;
- IT, including SaaS and consultancy.
In these markets, buying processes are rarely linear. There are often multiple decision-makers, influencers and users involved. The need does not always arise at one clear moment. And the difference between interest and real buying intent can be significant.
That is exactly why Account Based Marketing is so effective in these markets. Not as a one-off campaign, but as a structured growth methodology.
Example: what does the benchmark mean in practice?
Suppose a B2B organisation starts an ABM campaign with 100 target accounts.
Based on our benchmark, this means:
100 target accounts
→ 20 SQLs
→ 5 generated sales pipeline opportunities
The value of those 5 opportunities depends on the contract value. For B2B companies with higher one-off order values or annual contract values, this can quickly create a significant commercial impact. To translate those opportunities into a full financial return, see how to calculate the ROI of account based marketing.
That is why Sqrl always looks at the combination of:
- number of target accounts;
- expected SQL conversion;
- expected pipeline conversion;
- average order value or annual contract value;
- sales cycle;
- existing market position;
- available sales capacity;
- level of collaboration between sales and marketing.
Account Based Marketing becomes truly powerful when these variables are considered together.
Why the first results (sales pipeline revenue) often appear earlier
Although we place the benchmark within an 18-month period, in practice we often see the first signals much earlier.
Some target accounts start showing intent quickly. For example, because a buying persona responds to content, attends an event, accepts a connection request, visits a specific page or shows meaningful engagement around a specific topic.
However, speed is not the same as quality.
The strength of ABM is not in passing a lead to sales as quickly as possible. The strength lies in recognising the right moment. Sometimes that means immediate follow-up. Sometimes it means further nurturing, building additional touchpoints or activating more people within the buying group.
That is why we always work closely with the business development teams within our clients’ organisations. Account Based Marketing is not a remote marketing project. It is a shared commercial growth approach in which marketing, sales and subject-matter experts work together.
The strength of Sqrl: methodology, software and collaboration
What sets our approach apart is the combination of three elements.
First, we work with a clear ABM methodology. From Target Account List to focus accounts, buying groups, buying personas, content, touchpoints and follow-up.
Second, we use software and data to make behaviour, intent and interactions visible. This creates more predictability in lead generation and pipeline development.
Third, we work closely with our clients’ business development teams. Because ABM only works when marketing and sales focus on the same accounts, the same signals and the same commercial opportunities.
This combination makes Sqrl highly relevant for B2B organisations that do not simply want more leads, but better opportunities. Opportunities with accounts that matter.
What the benchmark means for your pipeline
The value of Account Based Marketing is not only found in the number of leads. The real value lies in the quality of the movement created within the right accounts.
With our benchmark, we make that movement concrete:
20% of the Target Account List becomes SQL.
25% of those SQLs become generated sales pipeline.
Within an 18-month period.
For B2B companies with complex customer journeys and higher contract values, this provides a realistic and measurable framework to use ABM not as an experiment, but as a growth engine.
Sqrl helps organisations identify, activate and develop their best accounts into commercial opportunities with a higher probability of winning.
That is what to expect from Account Based Marketing done well: less waste, more focus and a more predictable route to sales pipeline.
