Paper Tube Co ABM Tier Strategy

Overview

Asymmetric developed a 3-tier Account-Based Marketing (ABM) framework for ^[1] targeting 250 researched accounts. The tiers reflect buying intent signals and determine the engagement model — from high-touch personal outreach to automated warming sequences. This strategy was introduced in response to stagnant client acquisition despite competitive pricing and quality work.

Each of the 250 accounts has a dedicated research document (company profile, decision-making unit, pain points, personalization hooks, case study matches) and a custom strategy document (outreach sequence, email copy, LinkedIn touchpoints, pivot notes) — both attached to the corresponding Salesforce campaign and account record.

Tier Definitions

Tier 1 — Sales Qualified (50 accounts)

• Criteria: High buying intent based on observable signals — recent hires, news events, product launches, sustainability commitments, or packaging pain points that align with Paper Tube Co's offering.
• Engagement model: Personal outreach by Parag (owner/president), not automated.
• Workflow: Asymmetric is producing a consolidated "copy-paste" document covering 10–15 accounts at a time, structured day-by-day with pre-written emails, LinkedIn connection requests, and follow-up messages. Parag executes directly from this doc without navigating individual strategy files.
• LinkedIn: Can be executed with a free account; LinkedIn Sales Navigator adds a Salesforce integration that allows messaging and profile lookup without leaving the CRM.
• Email signature note: Parag should add a title (e.g., "President") to his email signature so recipients don't mistake outreach for a sales rep.

Tier 2 — Marketing Qualified (102 accounts)

• Criteria: Good-fit prospects not showing immediate buying signals.
• Engagement model: Automated email sequences (drafted by Asymmetric). If engagement signals appear (clicks, site visits), accounts can be promoted to Tier 1.
• Status: Email copy in progress at time of meeting.

Tier 3 — ABM Leads (95 accounts)

• Criteria: Colder prospects; same research depth as Tier 1 but lower near-term buying probability.
• Engagement model: Traditional outbound email automation to warm up over time. Automation rules flag accounts that become active and move them up tiers.

Salesforce Setup

Each account has:
- Research document attached to the Salesforce account record.
- Strategy document (email sequence, LinkedIn cadence, pivot notes) attached to the individual campaign record.
- Parent campaigns for each tier, with child campaigns per account.

At the time of the meeting, campaigns and accounts were being linked; contacts were also being imported with duplicate-check logic to avoid overwriting existing CRM data. Asymmetric was completing this setup in the background during the call.

Parag primarily works in the Sales Console view; Asymmetric is configuring Salesforce so he doesn't need to navigate Account Engagement to see relevant data.

Key Design Decisions

• Why personal outreach for Tier 1? LinkedIn automation is heavily restricted by the platform and risks account flagging if volume is too high. High-value accounts warrant the manual effort.
• Why a single consolidated doc for Parag? Navigating 50 individual strategy documents creates friction and increases the chance outreach stalls. A day-by-day, copy-paste format removes cognitive overhead.
• Why tier at all? Applying the same engagement intensity to all 250 accounts would be unsustainable. Tiering concentrates effort where buying probability is highest while keeping lower-intent accounts warm through automation.

Action Items (from meeting)

• [ ] Asymmetric: finalize Salesforce contact import and link contacts to campaigns/accounts (@Mark Hope)
• [ ] Asymmetric: create and share Tier 1–3 Salesforce lists with Parag (@Mark Hope)
• [ ] Asymmetric: draft day-by-day outreach doc for 10–15 Tier 1 accounts (copy-paste format) (@Karly Oykhman)
• [ ] Asymmetric: share full 250-account ABM research folder with Parag (@Karly Oykhman)
• [ ] Asymmetric: send invoice for 250-account ABM research (@Mark Hope)
• [ ] Parag: review Tier 1 strategy documents
• [ ] Parag: begin Tier 1 outreach once consolidated doc is received
• [ ] Parag: add title (e.g., "President") to email signature
• [ ] Parag: evaluate LinkedIn Sales Navigator trial for Salesforce integration

Related

• ^[2]
• ^[3] (if created)
• ^[4] (if created)
• ^[5] (companion topic from same meeting)