A Practical Look at ABM: Tools, Teams, and Measurement w/ Madelyne Oliver, Senior Marketing Operations Manager @ Cloudflare
ABM is supposed to be the most effective way to drive pipeline and revenue—but for many CMOs, it still feels like a never-ending struggle. Sales and marketing aren’t aligned. Measurement is murky. The tools are expensive, and let’s be honest—half the time, you’re not even sure if you’re actually doing ABM or just running a glorified demand gen campaign. And then there’s the biggest challenge that doesn’t get talked about enough: data governance. Platforms like 6sense and Demandbase rely on your first-party data, but if that data is a mess—full of gaps, duplicates, and outdated info—your account lists won’t be trustworthy, sales won’t buy in, and your entire ABM strategy will struggle to gain traction. So how do you fix it? In this episode, we’re tackling what actually makes ABM work. No fluff, no vendor pitches—just real talk on how to clean up your data, align your teams, and finally see ROI. Because ABM shouldn’t be this hard—and with the right strategy, it doesn’t have to be. What You’ll Learn: How to fix your first-party data so your ABM platform actually delivers results The real difference between ABM and demand gen (and why so many teams blur the line) How to get Sales and Marketing to trust—and act on—the same account list Resources: https://97thfloor.com/articles/podcasts/a-practical-look-at-abm-tools-teams-and-measurement/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/madelyneoliver "ABM is single-handedly account-centric. It focuses on the journey of the account, whereas DemandGen is leads, contacts, all of those people touch points that we would expect that get associated of course with the account." - Madelyne Oliver Timestamps: 03:18 - ABM vs DemandGen: account-centric vs lead-centric approaches 04:55 - Common mistakes in account selection and sales alignment 07:20 - One-to-one, one-to-few, one-to-many ABM framework 14:49 - How AI is making data collection both harder and easier 22:41 - ABM tech stack recommendations for mid-market companies 24:56 - Measuring ABM impact: pipeline and revenue-driven metrics
The Campaign | A Marketing Podcast by 97th Floor
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Show Notes
ABM is supposed to be the most effective way to drive pipeline and revenue—but for many CMOs, it still feels like a never-ending struggle. Sales and marketing aren’t aligned. Measurement is murky. The tools are expensive, and let’s be honest—half the time, you’re not even sure if you’re actually doing ABM or just running a glorified demand gen campaign.
And then there’s the biggest challenge that doesn’t get talked about enough: data governance. Platforms like 6sense and Demandbase rely on your first-party data, but if that data is a mess—full of gaps, duplicates, and outdated info—your account lists won’t be trustworthy, sales won’t buy in, and your entire ABM strategy will struggle to gain traction.
So how do you fix it? In this episode, we’re tackling what actually makes ABM work. No fluff, no vendor pitches—just real talk on how to clean up your data, align your teams, and finally see ROI.
Because ABM shouldn’t be this hard—and with the right strategy, it doesn’t have to be.
What You’ll Learn:
- How to fix your first-party data so your ABM platform actually delivers results
- The real difference between ABM and demand gen (and why so many teams blur the line)
- How to get Sales and Marketing to trust—and act on—the same account list
Resources:
https://97thfloor.com/articles/podcasts/a-practical-look-at-abm-tools-teams-and-measurement/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/madelyneoliver
"ABM is single-handedly account-centric. It focuses on the journey of the account, whereas DemandGen is leads, contacts, all of those people touch points that we would expect that get associated of course with the account." - Madelyne Oliver
Timestamps:
03:18 - ABM vs DemandGen: account-centric vs lead-centric approaches
04:55 - Common mistakes in account selection and sales alignment
07:20 - One-to-one, one-to-few, one-to-many ABM framework
14:49 - How AI is making data collection both harder and easier
22:41 - ABM tech stack recommendations for mid-market companies
24:56 - Measuring ABM impact: pipeline and revenue-driven metrics