Editorial Team You can’t just throw information at executives and expect it to stick. For Account-Based Marketing (ABM) to work, your executive content has to deliver tailored insights that grab a C-suite decision-maker’s attention, directly impacting how fast a deal moves and expands. So, how do you make sure your ABM content actually lands?
Key Takeaways
- Before you write a word, use the “Account Insights” module in Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (Pardot) to find your key decision-makers and what they care about.
- Use HubSpot’s “Content Builder” to create personalized executive briefs by dynamically inserting company-specific data points that show you’ve done your homework.
- Set up “Journey Builder” in Salesforce Marketing Cloud to sequence your briefings based on real-time engagement triggers, making sure the right content arrives at the right moment.
- Track your content’s impact in Marketo Engage’s “Content Performance” dashboard, paying close attention to engagement rates and time spent on page for your specific target accounts.
- Connect LinkedIn Sales Navigator to your CRM so you can enrich account profiles with real-time intel on executive moves and company initiatives, keeping your content sharp and relevant.
Step 1: Identifying High-Value Accounts and Executive Personas in Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement
First things first: you have to know exactly who you’re talking to. This is a targeted approach, not a volume play. In 2026, the tools are too good for that. Open up your Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (what we all still call Pardot) and head to Prospects > Accounts. You’ll see your list of target accounts. I always filter this list by “Account Score” and “Annual Revenue” to bubble up the companies with the highest potential. For these kinds of briefings, we’re hunting whales.
Sub-step 1.1: Deep Dive into Account Insights
Once you’ve picked a target account, click into it. On the account detail page, find the “Account Insights” module. This is where the real analysis starts. You’re looking for reported interests, recent web activity, and the contacts associated with the account. Focus on the “Key Decision Makers” section, which usually pulls from your CRM to show you titles like CEO, CFO, or CIO. If you see that an account has been engaging heavily with content about “cloud security frameworks,” that’s a massive clue for your content’s theme.
Sub-step 1.2: Enriching Executive Profiles with LinkedIn Sales Navigator
People often skip this, but it’s a mistake. Open LinkedIn Sales Navigator and search for the account and the key execs you just identified. Don’t just look at their current job. Where did they work before? What articles or posts have they shared or commented on? What are their company’s big strategic goals right now? This outside data provides context that your CRM just won’t have. For example, finding a CIO’s recent post about the headaches of AI integration makes your pitch for an AI solution a hundred times more relevant.
Pro Tip:
The biggest mistake is relying only on your internal CRM data. Sources like LinkedIn give you a real-time pulse on what executives are thinking that internal systems lag on. Always cross-reference. Your goal is to build a complete picture of their professional challenges and aspirations, going way beyond a simple job title.
Step 2: Crafting Personalized Executive Content in HubSpot
Now that you have clear executive profiles, it’s time to build the actual content. An executive brief isn’t a whitepaper. It needs to be short, data-driven, and hyper-relevant. We’re going to use HubSpot’s Content Builder for this, mainly because its personalization tokens and modular design are perfect for the job.
Sub-step 2.1: Structuring the Executive Brief Template
In HubSpot, go to Marketing > Website > Landing Pages and create a new landing page. Pick a clean, professional template. I find the best structure has a few distinct sections: a 3-5 sentence executive summary, a section identifying a challenge specific to their company or industry, an overview of your proposed solution, and one clear call to action. The “Content Builder” module gives you the drag-and-drop flexibility to lay this out quickly.
Sub-step 2.2: Implementing Personalization Tokens
This is how you make it personal. Click into a text module and look for the “Personalize” dropdown. From here, you can insert tokens like “Contact First Name,” “Company Name,” “Industry,” or any custom properties you’ve synced from Salesforce. So instead of a generic line like “Many companies struggle with data security,” your copy becomes “We understand [Company Name]’s focus on strengthening its data security posture, especially given the recent [Industry] regulatory changes.” That’s the kind of detail that shows you’ve done the work.
Sub-step 2.3: Integrating Dynamic Content Modules
If you want to get more advanced, use “Smart Content” modules. These let you show different content blocks based on who is viewing the page, whether it’s their industry, their list membership, or even how they got there. You could have a brief where the “Challenges” section automatically swaps out for a finance executive versus one in manufacturing. It requires pre-segmenting your audience, but the relevance shoots through the roof. A 2024 Statista report confirmed that this level of B2B personalization for web and email can boost engagement by up to 2.5 times.
Pro Tip:
Please, don’t use generic stock photos. Find high-quality graphics or, even better, create custom charts that visualize the data you’re presenting. For a busy executive, a good data visualization will always beat a dense paragraph of text. Just make sure any charts are clearly labeled and you source your data.
Step 3: Sequencing Executive Briefings in Salesforce Marketing Cloud Journey Builder
With your content built, how you deliver it is just as important. You aren’t just sending a one-off email. You’re orchestrating a journey. Salesforce Marketing Cloud’s Journey Builder is the tool for this because it lets you build triggered, multi-channel sequences.
Sub-step 3.1: Building the Journey Entry Event
Inside Journey Builder, click “Create New Journey.” The entry event for ABM is often a “Data Extension Entry,” where you’ve put a list of your target execs. An even better way is to use a “Salesforce Data Event,” which can trigger the journey when a sales rep updates a field in the CRM, like checking a box for “ABM Executive Briefing Ready.” This keeps sales and marketing perfectly in sync.
Sub-step 3.2: Designing the Multi-Step Executive Briefing Path
Start dragging activities onto your canvas. The first step is probably an “Email Activity” to send the brief. Right after that, add a “Decision Split.” This split should check for engagement: Did they open the email? Did they click the link to the brief? How long did they spend on the page (if you have that tracking set up)? If an exec opens but doesn’t click, you can send a follow-up with a different subject line. If they click and spend five minutes on the page, you can automatically create a task in Salesforce for a sales rep to call them. It’s about reacting to their behavior.
Sub-step 3.3: Incorporating Multi-Channel Touches
Don’t just stick to email. Drop in an “Ad Audience” activity to retarget those same executives on LinkedIn with related content to keep your message top of mind. Use “Wait Activities” to put a few days between your communications so you’re not annoying. A personalized InMail sent through Sales Navigator, automatically triggered by their high engagement on your brief, can be a really powerful touch. The goal is to surround the executive with relevant value without being overwhelming.
Pro Tip:
Test your journeys. Seriously. Send tests to yourself and a few coworkers to make sure every personalization token works. A broken token in an email to a CFO completely undermines your credibility. You should also watch the journey’s performance like a hawk for the first 24-48 hours after you turn it on to catch anything unexpected.
Step 4: Measuring Impact and Iterating in Marketo Engage
Creating and sending the content is one thing, but measuring if it worked and then making it better is how you actually succeed at ABM. Marketo Engage has the analytics tools we need for this.
Sub-step 4.1: Setting Up Content Performance Reports
In Marketo, go to Analytics > Analytics Studio and create a new report. For the report type, choose “Content Performance.” Filter it down to the specific landing pages or emails you used for the executive briefs. The metrics you’re watching are “Unique Opens,” “Click-Through Rate,” “Conversion Rate” (if you have a form), and especially “Time Spent on Page.” A high time-on-page from an executive is a strong signal of real interest.
Sub-step 4.2: Analyzing Account-Level Engagement
Individual metrics are fine, but for ABM you have to look at the whole account. In Marketo, go to Analytics > Account Performance and filter for the accounts you targeted. You’re looking for changes in their aggregate engagement scores, total web visits, and program success. An account’s engagement score jumping up after you sent the brief is a good sign it had a positive influence. You can usually drill down and see which specific people at the account were the ones engaging.
Sub-step 4.3: Correlating Content Engagement with Sales Outcomes
This is the key measure. You need to connect your Marketo data back to your Salesforce CRM. Get with your sales team and figure out if the accounts that got and read your briefs are moving through the pipeline faster, closing for larger amounts, or have better win rates. A simple way to do this is to tag opportunities in Salesforce with a custom field like “Executive Briefing Engaged” and then run reports comparing them to a control group that didn’t get the brief. A 2023 IAB report on B2B marketing found that ABM strategies that use personalized executive content consistently get higher ROI, with some companies seeing deal sizes increase by as much as 20%.
Pro Tip:
Don’t be afraid to change things on the fly. If a brief is bombing, figure out where people are dropping off. Weak subject line? Too long? Unclear CTA? Make a small, data-backed tweak and test it again. This agile approach is much better than sticking with a failing strategy.
Good executive briefings are the bedrock of modern ABM, and they turn your generic outreach into relevant, value-packed conversations. When you identify the right executives, build personalized content, orchestrate smart delivery, and measure the impact, you’ll drive real business results. For more on getting the most out of your efforts, see how RevOps can boost retention and ROI in 2026. It’s also worth understanding why 42% of ABM efforts fail account selection to sharpen your own strategy.
What’s the optimal length for an executive briefing?
Keep it concise. Aim for 1-3 pages or what someone can read in 5-7 minutes. Executives are short on time, so focus on the key insights and data with a clear call to action. It’s about impact, not word count.
How often should I send executive content to a target account?
The right frequency depends on their engagement and where they are in the sales cycle. For a new account, monthly or quarterly might be fine. For an active opportunity, you can send content more often to answer specific questions, as long as it’s always adding value.
Are digital briefings enough, or should I consider print?
Digital is great because you can track everything and use dynamic personalization. But for a top-tier strategic account, a high-quality printed brief, especially if hand-delivered by a sales exec, can make a huge impression. The choice depends on the context and what you know about the executive.
What kind of data should I put in executive content?
Use data that speaks directly to their role and their company’s problems. Things like industry benchmarks, ROI models, competitive intel, or performance metrics from similar companies work well. Always source your data and present it clearly to build credibility.
How do I get sales and marketing aligned on these briefings?
You need regular, structured meetings. Marketing has to pull sales into the content process to get their insights on what execs are worried about. Sales needs to give feedback on what’s working and actually use the content marketing creates. Shared goals and a tightly integrated CRM are what make this alignment stick.
