If there’s one thing we’ve all learned about ABM lately, it’s that the old playbooks don’t work the way they used to.
Buyers move faster now. Their research happens quietly. And by the time they show intent, the window to connect is already small.
That’s why modern ABM isn’t about big campaigns that take months to plan anymore. It’s about short, focused plays, built around real signals, powered by AI, and designed to move with your accounts instead of after them.
And with AI, everything has changed about how we run ABM. It helps us spot intent faster, personalize with context, and launch campaigns at the exact moment they’ll make the most impact.
In this blog, we’ve broke down six modern plays that help you win new business, deepen relationships, and expand within existing customers.
Each one is practical, repeatable, and built for how buying really happens today.
Let’s walk through them one by one.
#Play 1: Winning Over Competitor Accounts
Every market has companies already using another solution, and that’s often where your biggest opportunity lies. They already understand the problem you solve. The key is knowing when they’re ready for something better.
This play helps you step in at the right time, using signals and AI to spot when those accounts might be open to change.
1. Watch for switching signals – Use intent data and behavioral clues to find signs of dissatisfaction, such as:
- A new leadership hire or team restructure
- Negative reviews or declining product engagement
- Funding rounds or expansion announcements
- Visits to competitor comparison or pricing pages
AI can help surface these moments faster, picking up things like keyword searches, technographic changes, or sudden spikes in research activity before your team would normally notice.
2. Reframe the story – Don’t attack the competitor. Instead, focus on what’s missing in their current setup and how your solution moves them forward. Show:
- What they could be doing better
- The cost of staying stuck
- How your approach delivers faster, easier results
3. Act fast and stay aligned – Timing makes all the difference. When a signal appears, marketing should build awareness with targeted content while sales follows up with personalised outreach based on the same story.
When done right, this play turns competitor data into opportunity. You’re not fighting for attention, you’re showing up at the perfect moment, with a better answer to a problem they already want to solve.
#Play 2: Customer Lookalike
This one’s my favourite. In fact, most of the pilot projects I’ve worked on have started with this play, because it’s simple, reliable, and works almost every time.
Your best customers can teach you more than any dataset ever will. They show you what works, the challenges they faced, the outcomes they achieved, and the value they saw in your solution.
This play is about using that knowledge to find and win more accounts just like them.
1. Start with your top customers – Look at your most successful customers, the ones who’ve seen measurable results and are a strong fit for your solution. Identify what they have in common:
- Industry and company size
- The tech stack they use
- The specific problems you helped solve
- The roles involved in the buying process
These patterns form your lookalike profile.
2. Find similar accounts – Once you know what “great” looks like, use those patterns to find new accounts that mirror your best customers. Signals and AI can help uncover these lookalikes faster, by connecting patterns between your top customers and other companies showing similar intent or engagement.
You can also group these lookalike accounts into small clusters that share the same use case or challenge. This makes it easier to run focused plays and personalize your messaging at scale.
3. Lead with proof, not promises – When reaching out, don’t start with product talk, tart with outcomes. Show real examples of how you helped similar companies achieve results. You can do this through:
- Short customer stories or case snippets
- Customer testimonials
- Data-backed outcomes from the same industry
Show them what’s possible for them, what you can help them achieve.
4. Keep sales and marketing in sync – Marketing builds awareness with content that tells these success stories, while sales uses those same examples in outreach and conversations. That consistency helps new accounts connect faster and trust sooner.
When done right, this play becomes one of the easiest ways to scale ABM, because you’re not guessing who to target or how to engage. You’re simply repeating what’s already proven to work, powered by real signals, and told through the voice of your happiest customers.
#Play 3: High-Value Account Focus
This play is for Tier 1 or high-value accounts.
These are high-potential, high-impact accounts that deserve more than ads or emails. They need presence, the kind that builds familiarity, trust, and relevance across every channel.
Keep this group small, usually around 10 to 20 accounts, so you can give each one the focus and attention it deserves.
This play helps you stay visible and connected with these accounts across multiple touchpoints, without feeling repetitive or forced.
1. Build a shared plan – Start by getting sales and marketing fully aligned on these high-value accounts. Agree on:
- Which accounts to prioritise and why
- What stage they’re currently in
- The specific outcome you’re driving, awareness, engagement, or meetings
Once this is clear, decide how both teams will divide efforts and stay coordinated.
2. Create a surround effect – The goal is simple: make your brand feel familiar everywhere your buying committee looks. You can do this by:
- Running personalised ads that speak to their specific priorities
- Sending thoughtful, tailored emails or direct messages
- Engaging meaningfully with their posts and updates
- Inviting key contacts to small, exclusive events or webinars
- Sharing helpful, relevant content that builds credibility over time
Every touchpoint should feel like part of one connected story.
3. Personalise with context – Use AI to understand what each account is paying attention to, whether it’s new initiatives, hiring changes, or trending topics they’re exploring. Use those insights to make your outreach feel timely and personal.
4. Stay coordinated – Marketing keeps your brand visible and valuable, while sales adds the personal layer through one-on-one conversations. The key is to keep both teams in sync, sharing updates, signals, and responses so you move together, not in silos.
The first signs of success here aren’t closed deals. It’s recognition, engagement, and familiarity, when your target accounts start remembering your name and paying attention to what you say.
Pipeline follows naturally once that trust is built.
That’s how you turn your most valuable accounts from names on a list into long-term, high-value relationships.
#Play 4: Intercepting Competitor Intent
Sometimes, your best opportunities are the ones already showing interest in your competitors. These accounts are in active research mode, reading comparison blogs, checking pricing pages, and exploring alternative tools.
That’s your moment to step in.
This play helps you intercept those signals early and reposition the conversation before your competitors take the lead.
1. Spot the intent signals – Watch for accounts that show clear signs of researching a competitor. These can include:
- Engaging with competitor-related ads or content
- Visiting competitor comparison or pricing pages
- Searching for competitor names or use cases
- Talking about related topics on social media
AI can help you pick up these moments faster by connecting intent data, keyword activity, and account-level engagement trends.
Not every signal means the account is ready to switch, validate that they fit your ICP and show genuine buying interest before you engage.
2. Reframe the narrative – When you reach out, don’t lead with “we’re better.” Instead, change how they think about the problem itself. Focus your story on outcomes, not on product features or comparisons. Highlight what the competitor’s approach might be missing and how your solution helps them go further, faster, or safer.
This shift turns your outreach from a sales pitch into a helpful perspective. You’re not challenging the competitor; you’re guiding the buyer toward a better way to solve their problem.
3. Engage fast, but stay relevant – Speed matters here. Once you see the signal, act quickly, while the topic is fresh and before they move too far into the competitor’s funnel. You can engage through:
- Personalized outreach from sales
- Context-driven content or ads that address the same pain points
- Invitations to short demos, product walkthroughs, or webinars
The key is to keep every message rooted in insight, not promotion.
4. Align and follow through – Make sure sales and marketing are working from the same playbook. Marketing warms up the account with competitor-related content, while sales continues the conversation with context from the signals. Every touch should feel like a natural next step.
When done right, this play can change the deal direction before it’s even on the table. You’re not reacting to your competitor’s moves, you’re getting ahead of them. And that’s the real power of signal-led ABM.
#Play 5: Turning Website Traffic into Conversations
Your website is full of buying signals. Every visit, click, and page view tells a small part of the story. The challenge is figuring out which visitors actually matter, and how to turn those visits into real conversations.
This play helps you identify high-fit, high-intent visitors and engage them at the right time, in the right way.
1. Identify meaningful signals – Start by focusing on the accounts that are spending time on your high-intent pages, like product overviews, pricing, or customer stories. Look for patterns such as:
- Repeat visits over a short time
- Time spent on solution or pricing pages
- Traffic from known target accounts or industries
- A sudden spike in activity after a campaign or event
Not every visit matters. The goal is to filter out the noise and zero in on visitors who show genuine interest.
2. Connect the dots – Once you’ve spotted those high-value visits, use firmographic and intent signals to understand who’s behind them. Is it an ICP account? Is it a returning prospect? Is it someone from a buying committee already in conversation with sales?
AI can help tie these clues together, connecting behavior, company data, and engagement patterns so your team can focus on the visitors that actually count.
3. Engage while interest is high – Timing is everything. When an account shows active interest, don’t wait for them to fill out a form. Act quickly through:
- Personalized outreach from the sales team
- Targeted ads or email sequences based on what they viewed
- Dynamic web content that adapts to their interests
The goal isn’t to overwhelm them, it’s to show up while the topic is still fresh.
4. Align around the signal – Make sure marketing and sales both have visibility into these web engagement insights. Marketing can warm up the account with relevant content or ads, while sales can follow up with a personal message that references what the account is already exploring.
That coordination makes your outreach feel natural, not random.
When done right, this play turns anonymous traffic into meaningful conversations. You’re no longer waiting for form fills or cold outreach. You’re simply connecting with the right people, at the right time, powered by the intent they’re already showing.
#Play 6: Expanding Within Existing Customers
Most ABM programs focus on winning new accounts. But some of the biggest growth opportunities are already inside your customer base.
This play is about identifying expansion opportunities — upsells, cross-sells, and renewals — by spotting the right signals and engaging customers at the right moment.
1. Look for expansion signals – Expansion doesn’t happen by chance. It starts with understanding what’s changing inside your existing accounts. Watch for signs like:
- New product usage patterns or feature adoption
- Organisational changes or new leadership hires
- Funding announcements or expansion into new regions
- Customers showing interest in content related to your other offerings
The best expansion signals often appear months before renewal, catching them early helps you guide the conversation, not chase it.
2. Use insights from customer success and product teams – Your customer success and product teams often hold the most valuable insights. They know which customers are thriving, which are stuck, and where additional help could make a real difference.
Combine their input with account data and AI insights to understand which customers are ready for a bigger conversation.
3. Lead with value, not upgrades – When you reach out, avoid talking about “plans,” “tiers,” or “add-ons.” Instead, talk about progress, how they can achieve more of what’s already working. Show them:
- What outcomes similar customers achieved through expansion
- The new problems your solution can now help them solve
- How your partnership can support their next phase of growth
This approach makes your outreach feel consultative, not transactional.
4. Stay connected beyond renewal cycles – Don’t wait for renewal time to re-engage. Keep a steady rhythm of value-driven touch points, product updates, success stories, small wins, or strategic check-ins. When customers consistently hear from you outside of renewal season, expansion conversations happen naturally.
5. Align on the customer journey – Marketing, sales, and customer success should operate as one team here. Marketing keeps the relationship warm with relevant content and updates, Sales helps uncover strategic needs, And customer success guides timing and opportunity signals.
As customers grow with you, they often turn into advocates, sharing success stories that open doors to new opportunities.
When done right, this play turns your ABM program into a growth engine. You’re not just winning new logos, you’re helping your customers grow, and growing with them.
Bringing It All Together
Each of these six plays is designed to do one thing really well. They help you connect with the right accounts, at the right time, with the right message.
Whether it’s identifying new opportunities, winning over competitor accounts, or expanding within your customers, the goal is the same: stay relevant, stay present, and move with your buyers, not after them.
And with AI, things have gotten much easier now. It helps you see intent sooner, personalize faster, and scale precision without losing the human touch.
But the real magic still lies in the fundamentals- alignment, timing, and empathy. When sales, marketing, and customer success move in sync, ABM stops feeling like a process. It starts feeling like a partnership.
That’s the shift modern ABM is all about. From chasing engagement to creating connections. From running campaigns to running plays that actually move business forward.
If you’re already experimenting with some of these plays, I’d love to hear what’s working for you. Drop me a note or share your take, let’s keep learning from each other.
