Pipeline growth hinges on your ability to convey real value to the right accounts. This is true in any economy, but during periods of uncertainty, GTM teams are under pressure to work even more efficiently. That means sellers must not only align solutions with buyers’ specific needs and priorities, but they must do so quickly and at scale. In other words, to grow pipeline in a shaky economy, you need to work faster and smarter.

To learn how today’s revenue leaders are getting the job done, I teamed up in a recent webinar with Stephanie Byrd (Marketing Director, Schneider Electric), Nancy Harlan (Vice President, Global Account Based Marketing, UiPath) and Drew O’Brien (VP of Sales Strategy, Databook). Together, we zeroed in on the most effective strategies for driving progress within the four elements of pipeline growth that typically remain under our control:

Here are some of our most insightful takeaways:

Targeting and Messaging

Account-based marketing (ABM) is an excellent practice for building pipeline—but it only works if you find the right companies, the right buyers within those companies, and the right messages to connect with those buyers. This is how our panelists recommend you get started.

• Research, research, research. You need a complete picture of every single account, from its strategic priorities to its key buyers, to ensure your solutions can effectively deliver what their businesses need. When efficiency is paramount, tools like Databook can rapidly unearth valuable insights from investor reports, analyst transcripts, and P&L statements, saving you hours—if not weeks—on research time.
• Speak to value drivers. If you’ve done your research, you’ll know the specific levers that trigger value outcomes for each account, and you’ll know which value drivers matter most right now. Craft messages that unequivocally show how your offerings will move those levers. The more personal and relevant you can get, the better.

Outreach Quality

All of our panelists agreed that the most effective outreach efforts are rooted in a deep understanding of your customer. What does that mean for sellers?

• Invest in your business and financial acumen. The top 1% of sellers know: You can’t sell to a customer without being an expert in their business. Who do they sell to? How do they make money? What is their greatest pain and urgency right now—and can you back that up with evidence from their financials? Can you read and understand things like 10-Ks and P&L statements? When you can converse about business insight confidently, executives know a meeting with you won’t waste their time.
• Communicate with buyers in their language. On a high level, this means speaking about the priorities that matter most to buyers. They don’t care about products—they care about the use cases that impact operational metrics and objectives. On a more tactical level, tailor your outreach emails to be clear, concise, and human, using words and phrases that buyers themselves use. Avoid anything that looks like an obvious template or gimmick.
• Keep messaging fresh. Don’t forget that data is constantly changing. Our panelists often track buyers as they proceed through various stages of outreach, and they are constantly updating and honing their messages based on the effectiveness of each touch. Quality is a continuous process, especially in ABM.

Speed to Market and Efficiency

Our expert panel agreed that speed and scale are more vital than ever to growing pipeline. How are they addressing this need?

• Use technology that’s built for sellers. The sales tech stack can get extremely complex if you’re not careful, so our panelists highly recommend a streamlined approach. Invest in technology that’s specifically built to enable sellers to do their jobs better, faster, and more effectively. And look for platforms that accelerate onboarding, too, so new sellers and BDRs can ramp up and become productive quickly. (Hint: Our panelists think Databook excels here.)
• Don’t overthink things. The key to maintaining pipeline momentum is to keep the flow going, even if you make mistakes along the way. Leverage technology that helps you scale your efforts through automation and insights, so you can maximize your growth potential without analysis paralysis.

GTM Consistency and Unified Focus

The go-to-market team includes everyone from BDRs to sellers to marketers and beyond. That’s why our panel says effective ABM and pipeline growth demand total team alignment.

• Offer proactive and functional messaging tools. Make sure everyone on the team has access to the messaging, strategies, and frameworks behind your value propositions. Our panelists use things like shared thought leadership frameworks, cheat sheets for sellers, and even executive POV documents generated by Databook. The less you struggle to keep everyone on the same page, the more efficient the account planning process will be.
• Keep their eyes on a mutual prize. To help multiple organizations focus on a single goal, consider aligning their incentives as well. One of our panelists successfully applies this strategy to keep sales and marketing in sync on GTM efforts.

Want more insight from our webinar participants? Click below to hear the full discussion. And for even more Strategic Relationship Management insight to fuel your ABM efforts in any economy, join the Strategic Sales Network for the latest and greatest resources.