ABM Tools

What tools are commonly used in account-based marketing?

Account-based marketing often involves technology, but technology is not the strategy.

Tools such as 6sense, Demandbase, Terminus, RollWorks, Salesforce, HubSpot, Marketo, LinkedIn Campaign Manager, Sales Navigator, Outreach, Salesloft, Gong, GA4 and Looker Studio can all support an ABM programme.

Some help identify accounts. Some help understand intent. Some help activate campaigns. Some support sales follow-up. Some help measure whether engagement is turning into opportunity movement.

The value depends on the thinking behind it

A team can buy an ABM platform, build a target account list, switch on intent data, launch account-based advertising and still struggle to create meaningful sales conversations. On paper, the programme may look sophisticated. In practice, the harder questions still need to be answered.

→ Which accounts are genuinely worth pursuing?
→ What makes them a good fit?
→ Who is involved in the buying group?
→ What does sales already know about the account?
→ What message will change the conversation?
→ What should happen when an account shows engagement?
→ How will the team know whether activity is improving opportunity conversion?

Common tools used in account-based marketing

ABM platforms

6sense, Demandbase, Terminus and RollWorks, to support account identification, intent data, advertising, orchestration and account-level reporting.

CRM platforms

Salesforce and HubSpot, to manage account, contact, opportunity and sales activity data.

Marketing automation

HubSpot, Marketo and Pardot, to run nurture journeys, campaign workflows, email programmes and lead management.

Sales intelligence

LinkedIn Sales Navigator, ZoomInfo and Cognism, to research accounts, contacts, buying groups and organisational changes.

Sales engagement

Outreach and Salesloft, to manage outbound sequences, follow-up activity and sales outreach.

Conversation intelligence

Gong, to understand sales conversations, objections, deal progression and customer language.

Paid media

LinkedIn Campaign Manager, Google Ads and programmatic media platforms, to reach priority accounts and buying groups.

Website and content experience

Tools that personalise journeys, package relevant content and support account-specific engagement.

Analytics and reporting

GA4, Looker Studio, Tableau and Power BI, to understand engagement, account movement and commercial impact.

The right stack depends on the maturity of the programme

Early-stage ABM teams may not need complex orchestration straight away. They may first need sharper account selection, cleaner data, clearer messaging, better sales follow-up and reporting that shows what is happening at account level.

More mature teams may need stronger intent modelling, buying group coverage, account scoring, multi-channel activation, opportunity influence reporting and AI-supported research or content workflows.

Every tool needs a clear job

6sense or Demandbase can help identify accounts showing intent, but the team still needs to decide which accounts matter commercially.

Salesforce or HubSpot can hold account and opportunity data, but the business still needs a shared process for acting on it.

LinkedIn can help reach buying groups, but the message still needs to be relevant.

Gong can reveal what is happening in sales conversations, but someone still needs to turn that insight into better campaigns, content and enablement.

AI tools can speed up account research, message development and content adaptation, but they still need direction. Without a strong ICP, proposition, sales context and measurement approach, AI can simply help teams produce more activity without improving the quality of the programme.

Four practical questions to ask about your ABM tools

Before adding another platform, campaign layer or dashboard, it is worth asking four practical questions.

01
Are we clear on which accounts we want to prioritise, and why?
ABM tools can help surface intent, engagement and fit signals, but the team still needs a clear view of which accounts matter commercially. Without that, the stack can quickly create more lists, more segments and more debate.
02
Do we know what sales should do when an account shows engagement?
A signal is only useful if it leads to a better action. If an account visits a key page, engages with content or appears in an intent report, sales needs context, messaging and a clear follow-up route. Otherwise, the insight sits in a platform while the account receives the same generic outreach as everyone else.
03
Are our tools helping us understand the buying group, or just individual contacts?
ABM works best when the team can see more than one lead or one known contact. The technology should help build a better view of roles, influence, decision dynamics and gaps in buying group coverage. If the programme is still centred on isolated contacts, it may be missing the wider group involved in the decision.
04
Can we measure whether account engagement is improving opportunity conversion?
The real test is not whether a platform produces more activity. It is whether the team can see priority accounts moving from interest to conversation, from conversation to opportunity, and from opportunity to revenue. That means looking beyond impressions, clicks and isolated engagement signals.

The best ABM tools make the work easier to act on

They help marketing and sales focus on the right accounts, understand what matters to the buying group, support better conversations and measure progress in a way the business can trust.

ABM technology should reduce wasted effort, not add another layer of dashboards, signals and tasks. It works best when the tools support a clear commercial strategy, rather than being expected to create one.

Frequently asked questions

→ Do you need an ABM platform to run account-based marketing?

No. ABM platforms can help scale and orchestrate a programme, but many organisations start effectively with sharper account selection, cleaner CRM data, better sales follow-up and reporting that shows what is happening at account level.

→ Which ABM platform is best?

There isn't a single best platform. 6sense, Demandbase, Terminus and RollWorks each have strengths. The right choice depends on your account list, intent data needs, buying group coverage, integrations and how mature your programme is.

→ How does AI fit into an ABM stack?

→ What should we look at before buying another tool?

Whether the accounts, buying groups, sales actions and measurement approach are clear. Adding tools before those decisions are made usually creates more dashboards, not better results.