Founder & Partner
Most Teams Are Confusing ABM With Demand Generation
If you ask most founders or CMOs whether they run Account-Based Marketing, the answer is almost always yes.
Scratch beneath the surface, and the reality looks very different.
What most teams refer to as ABM is essentially demand generation with more targeted targeting. Same campaigns. Same content. Same messaging. Just pointed at a smaller audience.
That distinction matters more than most leadership teams realize.
Why This Mislabeling Happens
The confusion usually starts with tools.
Teams buy intent platforms. They run industry-based campaigns. They publish case studies and gated white papers.
Then they call the entire motion ABM.
None of that is inherently wrong. It is just not Account-based Marketing.
Tools Do Not Equal Strategy
Buying intent data does not make you account-based. Running ads to a target account list does not make you account based. Segmenting by industry does not make you account-based.
Those are distribution choices. ABM is a system.
When ABM is treated as a toolset instead of a coordinated revenue motion, it becomes indistinguishable from demand generation and produces the same results.
High activity. Low deal movement. Weak revenue signal.
What Real ABM Actually Looks Like
True Account-Based Marketing is built around one-to-one execution.
That means Custom messaging per account Creative built for a specific buying group Personalized value narratives Intent signals actively flowing to sales in real time
Marketing does not stop at awareness. Sales does not start at outreach.
Both teams operate inside the same system with shared ownership of account progression.
If sales cannot immediately act on intent with context, clarity, and relevance, you are not running ABM.
The Real Cost of Getting This Wrong
When ABM is misapplied, leadership sees a familiar pattern.
Pipeline looks full. Forecasts feel optimistic. Deals stall late.
The problem is not effort. The problem is alignment.
Demand gen optimizes for volume. ABM optimizes for movement.
Mixing the two without clarity creates noise, not revenue.
Watch the Short Breakdown
This short video explains the difference between real ABM and demand generation in under a minute.
ABM Is a Revenue System, Not a Marketing Label
Account-based marketing only works when it is designed as a system across marketing, sales, and revenue operations.
That includes Clear account selection logic Defined buying group strategyMessaging mapped to real deal stages Intent that actually changes sales behavior
If your ABM resembles demand generation with better targeting, that is the gap.
And that gap is exactly why revenue impact feels smaller than it should.
The Real Reason Your ABM Isn’t Working
If your ABM motion appears impressive on a dashboard but doesn’t impact how deals progress, it isn’t ABM.
It’s demand generation wearing a better targeting mask.
Real Account-Based Marketing forces hard decisions. Who you pursue. How deeply you personalize. And how tightly marketing and sales operate as one system.
Most teams avoid that level of focus because it’s uncomfortable. That discomfort is exactly where revenue leverage lives.
If you want to build ABM that actually moves deals instead of inflating pipeline reports, that’s the work we do at The Revenue Coaches. Book a Revenue Health Assessment with our founders.
About Daniel Nielsen
Daniel builds revenue engines that convert. With 25+ years leading growth across SaaS, fintech, e-commerce, and real estate, he has driven more than $1B in revenue. He has led go-to-market strategy at Realtor.com, Socialsuite, Charitable Impact, Kartera, World Duty Free, and Kao Salon Services, delivering 400% lead growth, 135% ARR overachievement, and 116% year-over-year ARR growth.
