Your CEO doesn't care about your 47-tab attribution spreadsheet

Hey [Name],

Quick game. Which update makes your CEO happier?

Update A:
"Our ABM campaign generated 847 impressions, 73 clicks, 12 form fills, and 8 MQLs with a 2.3% CTR!"

Update B:
"We booked 3 meetings with target accounts. One's already at proposal stage."

If your CEO prefers Update A, I have bad news about your company's future.

Truth: Most ABM metrics are vanity theater to make marketers feel productive.

Impressions? Nobody cares.
CTR? Still nobody cares.
MQLs? DEFINITELY nobody cares.

What matters? Meetings booked. Pipeline created. Deals closed.

Everything else is expensive noise.

The Only Dashboard You Need

Delete your 47-tab spreadsheet. Here's the only dashboard that matters:

Account	First Touch	Days to Meeting	Pipeline Stage	Deal Size	Status
Acme Corp	Email 3/1	12	Proposal	$75k	Active
TechCo	LinkedIn 3/5	Not yet	Engaged	TBD	Nurturing

That's it. One page.

Notice what's missing? Everything that doesn't directly relate to revenue.

When to Kill Campaigns (Earlier Than You Think)

Most marketers run failing campaigns too long:

• "Needs more time"
• "Just need to optimize"
• "Not statistically significant"

When to actually kill:

Week 2: No responses from 20 touches? Wrong message/audience. Kill it.

Week 4: Responses but no meetings? Wrong offer/timing. Kill it.

Week 6: Meetings but no pipeline? Wrong fit/solution. Kill it.

Week 8: Pipeline but no movement? Wrong champion/urgency. Kill it.

Kill bad campaigns fast to find good ones faster.

The Only 5 Metrics That Matter

1. Response Rate (NOT open rate)
- Good: >5% reply with interest
- Bad: <2% or just "unsubscribe"

2. Days to First Meeting
- Good: <14 days
- Bad: >30 days or never

3. Stakeholder Spread
- Good: 2+ people engaging
- Bad: Sporadic single touches

4. Meeting to Pipeline Rate
- Good: >50% create pipeline
- Bad: <25% (wrong accounts)

5. Deal Velocity
- Good: 30% faster than non-ABM
- Bad: Slower (overcomplicating)

Track these five. Ignore everything else.

The Attribution Model That Works

Marketers love complex attribution debates:

• First touch vs last touch
• Multi-touch weighted models
• Marketing influenced vs sourced

Meanwhile sales is closing deals and not caring.

Here's the only attribution that matters:

Did ABM touch the account before it closed?
- Yes = ABM influenced
- No = Not ABM

That's it. Stop overcomplicating.

Reports That Get You Promoted

Bad report: 20 slides of metrics showing "progress"

Good report: 1 slide showing revenue impact

Include in appendix (if asked):

• Which tactics worked
• Lessons learned
• Sales feedback

Never include:

• Impression counts
• Email open rates
• Complex attribution
• Excuses

The Feedback Loop That Works

Most feedback loops:

1. Run campaign
2. Generate report
3. File report
4. Repeat mistakes

Better feedback loop:

1. Run campaign 2 weeks
2. Call 3 accounts that responded: "What made you respond?"
3. Call 7 that didn't: "What would have made you respond?"
4. Adjust immediately

Real prospect feedback > any dashboard.

Your North Star Metric

If you track only one thing:

Meeting Rate with Target Accounts

Not pipeline. Not revenue. Meetings.

Why?

• Marketing can control it
• Immediately measurable
• Correlates with revenue
• Hard to game
• Sales actually cares

30%+ meeting rate? You're doing something right.
Below 10%? Something's broken.

Simple ROI Math

Investment:
- Time: [Hours] × [Rate] = $X
- Tools: $Y/month
- Direct mail: $Z
- Total: $(X+Y+Z)

Return:
- Deals closed: $A
- Pipeline created: $B
- ROI = (A+B)/(X+Y+Z)

ROI >3x = Keep going
ROI 1-3x = Optimize
ROI <1x = Kill it

Don't complicate with lifetime value projections. Simple wins.

Your action items:

1. Build the one-page dashboard (delete the complex ones)
2. Set kill criteria for campaigns
3. Pick your north star metric (probably meeting rate)
4. Call non-responders to ask what would work
5. Report revenue impact, not activity

Tomorrow: When to scale, pivot, or admit defeat.