Account-based programs: a realistic 90-day plan
A short guide from Costa Synergy for consulting and advisory firms.
Expectations shape how a account-based programs program is judged. Here is what a realistic first quarter looks like for consulting and advisory firms.
Weeks 1 to 3: setup
The groundwork happens here: ideal customer, message, exclusions and reporting. A first small test follows.
Weeks 4 to 8: learning
Results start to arrive and patterns appear. This is when targeting is tightened and the message is refined.
Weeks 9 to 12: scaling what works
With evidence in hand, volume increases on the segments and messages that perform.
What to expect
Judge the first month on quality and speed of learning, not on totals.
What this looks like week to week
Give the program enough time to learn. Most of the improvement in account-based programs comes from adjustments made in the second and third months, once there is real feedback to work with.
Treat data quality as part of the work, not a separate project. Remove bounced, outdated and opted-out records as they appear, and the program gets cheaper and more accurate over time.
Keep the first brief short. A page that covers who to reach, what to say and what counts as a result is more useful than a long document nobody rereads.
Share early wins and early misses with the wider team. SDR managers and sales leaders usually spot patterns the program team misses, and they are more likely to act on results they helped shape.
Common questions
How is quality checked?
Every result is measured against the definition agreed before launch. Anything that falls short is flagged in the weekly report rather than counted.
Do we need a large budget to start?
No. A focused pilot on one segment is often the better first step, because it produces clearer lessons than a broad program spread thinly across many audiences.
What happens to contacts who are not interested?
They are recorded and respected. Anyone who opts out is added to a suppression list and is not contacted again in any later campaign.
Can account-based programs work alongside our existing marketing?
Yes. It works best when it shares the same targeting and message as the rest of your marketing, so buyers hear one consistent story.
About Costa Synergy
Give us the accounts that matter and we map the buying group, find the right contacts and run coordinated, account-specific outreach across the people who influence the decision.
By the end of the quarter, you should know what works for your market and what it costs. That is the point of the first 90 days. Get in touch.