Qualified, and Signed Before Kickoff
- ABM
Start only when the account list, the expert time and the sales owner are signed.
Josh Morrow, David & Goliath
Parent service: Managed Account-Based Marketing Programme
Why this exists
Work that starts before the list, the experts and the sales owner are signed gets built twice, then argued over. The programme can be discussed before those signatures exist. It should not be kicked off on a hope that they will catch up later. This play decides whether kickoff is allowed.
How it works
Step 1. Decide the offer can be explained to a named account.
If the vendor cannot say what the product changes for a buyer, the list is not ready to sign. Qualify the offer first. An engagement that starts with a vague offer produces assets nobody can defend, and the signature would be signing a blank.
Step 2. Decide the account list carries a sales signature.
Marketing can propose names. Sales signs the ones it will actually work. Names without that signature are not in the engagement. They can be researched later. They are not built for now, and they are not quietly added once kickoff has passed. The signature names the accounts and the person who signed.
Step 3. Decide the experts and the time are named.
Write the people who will review content and the time they can give. A promise to find someone later is not a signature. If the time is not agreed, kickoff waits, because content without a reviewer is a claim nobody owns.
Step 4. Decide there is one sales owner with room to take meetings.
Name the person who accepts a held meeting. If that person has no room in the calendar, the engagement is not qualified, however keen the marketing lead is. The threshold is three signatures: the list, the expert time and the sales owner. Missing any one of them means kickoff does not start.
Step 5. Decide the exclusions in writing.
Accounts, sectors and claims that are out of bounds are written down before an asset is made. A restriction that lives only in a meeting is not a restriction. If an answer is still owed, that item waits outside the first fortnight.
Step 6. Decide the first fortnight from the signed page only.
Channels, topics and accounts for the first fortnight must be readable on the signed page. Work that needs a new assumption is deferred until the page is signed again. Do not smuggle it in as a small extra.
When it does not run
If a signature is withdrawn, new work stops until the page is signed again. Work already approved may finish. New accounts, new claims and new channels do not start on the withdrawn signature. There is no informal version of kickoff. A verbal go-ahead does not replace the signed page.
Frequently asked questions
What has to be signed before kickoff?
The account list, the expert time and the sales owner have to be signed before kickoff. Missing one of the three means kickoff waits.
Can marketing sign the account list alone?
Marketing cannot sign the account list alone. Sales signs the names it will work, and unsigned names stay out of the engagement.
What counts as expert time?
Expert time counts when the people who will review the work, and the time they can give, are named. A promise to find someone later is not a signature.
Why does the sales owner need room in the calendar?
The sales owner needs room in the calendar because a qualified engagement includes someone who can accept a meeting. A named owner with no room is not yet qualified.
Does every engagement have to start the same way?
Every engagement does not have to start the same way. This play only decides whether the list, the expert time and the sales owner are signed.
What is written down besides the three signatures?
Exclusions are written down besides the three signatures: accounts, sectors and claims that are out of bounds. A restriction that was only said in a meeting is not in force.
What can the first fortnight include?
The first fortnight can include only work that is readable on the signed page. A new assumption waits until the page is signed again.
What happens if a signature is withdrawn?
A withdrawn signature stops new work until the page is signed again. Work already approved may finish, and new accounts or new claims may not start.
Related plays
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