Observations
Nurturing and ABM Through the Eyes of a Salesperson: How New Approaches Make Your Job Easier and Deal Sizes Bigger
During a meeting, your manager announces the introduction of two new approaches: Nurturing and ABM. Your first thought is most likely: “Great, marketing has invented something else. Now they’ll spam my ‘warm’ clients, and I’ll be handed a list of five companies and told that this is my quarterly plan. Sounds like a lot of extra work and less freedom.”
This skepticism is understandable. For years, bad marketing got in the way instead of helping. However, we’re talking about a systematic approach with a completely different goal. Nurturing and ABM are not systems of control. They are systems designed to support you. They are designed to remove the most unpleasant, exhausting, and low-efficiency tasks from your routine, not to add work for you.
In this article, we will examine these approaches from the perspective of your daily work and, most importantly, your personal benefit, not theory. We will explain how they help you spend less time “panning for ore” and more time working with real “gold nuggets.”
Nurturing — Your “Automatic Assistant”
Your pain: In your CRM, there are dozens of “warm” but “not ready” leads. You had an initial meeting with them. They showed interest but said, “We need to think it over. Let us come back in a quarter.” It’s impossible to remember everyone and call them regularly. As a result, three months later, you remember a client like this, but they have already bought from a competitor. You lost the deal.
Nurturing through your eyes: This is not a “mass mailing,” but rather a personal robotic assistant that does two things while you are busy with hot deals:
1. It remembers for you and builds trust. As soon as you change the deal’s status to “Thinking it over,” the system automatically “picks up” the client. It launches a pre-prepared “soft touch” sequence for them. This is not selling, but delivering value. For example:
- Email 1 (sent after three days). Subject: Following up on our conversation about [Client’s Problem]. Instead of asking, “So, what is the decision?” include a link to a case study from their industry. This shows that you are thinking about their problem and not just about your deal.
- Email 2 (after 10 days): Subject: New Data on [Client’s Market] Include a link to a recent study or article, even if it’s from an external source. This positions you as a useful industry expert, not just a salesperson.
- Email 3 (after 25 days): Subject: Invitation to a Webinar: [Related Topic]. Inside is an invitation to an online event. You provide a reason for contact without demanding anything in return.
2. It works like a “radar.” Most importantly, the system monitors activity. Then, you receive a notification: “Client X has just downloaded a case study and visited the pricing page twice.” What should you do?
The most important thing is to avoid saying, “I see that you were on our website.” That’s frightening. The correct call script sounds like this: “Ivan, good afternoon. I am calling for a very timely reason. The other day, we discussed pricing with a company similar to yours, and I thought this might be relevant to you as well.” Use the data you received as a reason, not the subject, of the conversation. It may seem like a lucky coincidence, but it’s actually the result of the system’s work.
You benefit by no longer losing deals you “forgot” about. You also receive well-founded reasons to call, leading to constructive dialogue.
ABM — Your “Personal Concierge Service”
Your pain: You are given a “raw” list of 200 companies, and your manager says, “Call them.” You spend an entire week “panning” to find five to ten worthwhile companies, hearing refusals from hundreds of non-target contacts along the way. This is the most demotivating and thankless work.
ABM through your eyes: It’s not a “restriction” of your freedom, but rather a personal VIP service that works for you.
First, you are not just an executor; you are a partner in reconnaissance. In the ABM approach, marketing doesn’t work blindly. As a salesperson, you are the main source of valuable insights. You help compile a list of ten “dream companies” at the start. You share information with the marketer that cannot be found on Google: Examples include, “There is currently an internal struggle between IT and production at company Y; our product could be the solution,” and “The CEO of company Z is obsessed with innovation; he only needs to see the most advanced features.” You become a supplier of strategic information that enables precise marketing.
Second, you are not working on cold ground, but on “warm” ground. Marketing launches “artillery preparation” by showing targeted content and advertisements to key decision-makers at your companies. How can you use this? You can elegantly refer to it in your email or call: “Ivan, did you see our CTO’s recent article on [topic] in an industry publication? It directly relates to issue X, which we could discuss…” This immediately raises your status and shows that you are part of a large, coordinated effort, not a lone salesperson.
You benefit by spending zero time qualifying “dummies.” Your work will transform from “cold calling” to elite consulting for the largest and most interesting clients. Marketing will prepare the ground in advance and create a customized “arsenal” for you.
Less routine, more commissions!
As you can see, systematic marketing isn’t about teaching you how to sell. You already know how to do that. It’s about freeing up your time for sales.
Let’s compare two typical days. One day of a “hero” salesperson (without a system): two hours searching for contacts, one hour creating a presentation, two hours of “cold” calls, two hours answering basic questions, and one hour of real negotiations. Now, a day in the life of an “expert” salesperson with a system: thirty minutes studying data from the “radar,” five hours of meaningful negotiations with “warmed-up” clients, and one and a half hours of strategic synchronization with marketing. No routine.
Nurturing takes over the routine work of the “farmer,” who tends to the “ripening” harvest. ABM takes over the work of the “scout,” who searches for the most valuable targets. This allows you to focus one hundred percent on what you do best: being a brilliant negotiator. The more time you spend negotiating, the higher your results and commissions will be.
Are you ready to explain to your team that a systematic approach is an opportunity, not a threat? Send them this article to start a dialogue. If your sales department needs such a support system, let’s discuss it.
