What's up everyone! Welcome to the ForgeX Files, our monthly newsletter.

The data from our ABM Maturity Report told a very clear story… most programs are not nearly as mature as they think they are. The traits and practices that separate advanced programs from the rest are specific, measurable, and (for some teams) missing. This is a big reason why we built our new ABM Certification & Training, but more on that later.

Below I break down 5 maturity milestones from our research. Let's get into it.

5 ABM Maturity Milestones Every GTM Team Should Be Driving Toward:

Only 15% of organizations describe their ABM efforts as "well established." The other 85% are still in early or transitional stages. Yet, ABM adoption is widespread (>79% have deployed it for at least 1 year), but most programs plateau or get abandoned before they reach the level of maturity that *actually* delivers ROI.

Our ABM Maturity Report breaks down the traits and practices that mark maturity, grounded in our proprietary survey data and interviews with experienced ABM leaders (Read the full report here).

1.) You Have a Documented ABM Charter

This is foundational, and is where I see the most programs fall apart before they even get off the ground.

An ABM charter defines + aligns your program's scope, objectives, stakeholders, and chosen deployment model(s). It aligns your cross-functional teams by clarifying expectations and establishing shared goals. It should be one of the FIRST things you build when standing up an ABM program.

And yet, according to our last State of ABM survey, only 33% of organizations have a documented ABM charter in place…

If you don't have an ABM charter, you run the risk of dealing with the same problems (e.g. unclear ownership, poor sales alignment, lack of internal understanding around how “ABM” is defined) over and over again.

2.) You've Built a Center of Excellence (CoE) for ABM

This one surprised even us when we looked at the data closely.

Only 22% of organizations have a Center of Excellence (CoE) for ABM, which is low.

Yet, is incredibly important as the organizations that do have a CoE report more balanced and more consistent ROI performance across every 👏 single 👏 ABM deployment model. And are more likely to outperform other marketing programs within their organization.

A CoE consolidates ABM expertise, standardizes best practices, and drives consistency across teams, regions, and lines of business. In larger or more distributed organizations, it provides governance that supports coordinated execution, resource sharing, and alignment across multiple ABM teams.

The main takeaway = if you're running ABM without a CoE, you might want to consider putting one in place so that you’re not leaving program consistency and ROI on the table.

3.) ABM is NOT a Part-Time Responsibility

Dedicated headcount is almost always a prerequisite for building a fully developed ABM program.

Without it, ABM usually feels like a secondary responsibility layered onto existing roles (typically Demand Gen), and never gets the focus it requires to mature.

57% of respondents in our last State of ABM survey reported having dedicated ABM headcount, and a majority plan to increase that investment. Another 16% are preparing to stand up dedicated ABM teams for the first time.

The need for ABM role specialization is also critically important and should not be overlooked. Each deployment model (Enterprise ABM = 1:1, 1:Few) + (Growth ABM = 1:Many, Tiered) + (Deal-Based ABM) demands a different strategy, skill set, and mindset.

Assigning one practitioner to run both Enterprise ABM and Growth ABM simultaneously leads to misalignment, burnout, and poor execution.

4.) You've Operationalized Around Buying Groups

In our State of ABM survey, respondents with 1:1 ABM programs ranked "identifying and engaging buying committees within target accounts" as their number one goal.

Mature programs have already operationalized around it, working with RevOps to ensure their tech supports the operationalization of buying groups.

5.) You’re Using Tech Effectively & Leveraging AI

• Limited use of technology for ABM

• Low or poor tech stack and data integration

• Reliance on completely manual campaign-level processes

• No automation

• No AI exploration

These are examples of what high maturity does not look like (obviously). Mature programs properly integrate the right tools into day-to-day workflows and continuously optimize them.

AI is an area where we starting to see tangible differences across ABM programs that are leaning in vs. those who are not.

According to our 2026 AI in ABM Benchmark Survey, the gap between high-performing ABM teams and everyone else is growing fast:

• AI initiatives are 3x more likely to be improving conversion and pipeline for high performing teams.

• 88% of high performing teams expect even more impact going forward, vs 51% of other teams.

Where Do You Go From Here?

These 5 milestones are a small portion of what we cover in our ABM Maturity Report. If you haven't read it yet (or haven't revisited it recently), the full report goes deeper into each maturity category.

P.S. The maturity markers above are some of the reasons we built our new ABM Certification & Training. It's designed to help ABM leaders close these gaps, operationalize the practices that separate advanced programs from everyone else, and much more. Here's what's inside 👇

What’s New at ForgeX?

ABM Certification & Training

We're officially launching our new ABM Certification & Training.

• The curriculum is research-backed and covers our modernized ABM deployment models, campaign planning and activation, measurement, and more.

• First cohort kicks off in May (with new cohorts launching monthly), and private team training is also available if that's a better fit for your org.

Built on the ForgeX 7-Pillar Account-Based GTM Architecture™ and Modernized ABM Deployment Models. Every session includes working templates you can deploy immediately.

The Revenue Vault: Your New Home for ForgeX Research & Insights

All of our research, benchmarks, and frameworks now live in one place. The Revenue Vault gives you access to 75+ proprietary resources, monthly exclusive workshops, and a private community of ABM leaders going deeper on real challenges.

And don't forget to join our Slack community to stay connected between newsletters.

Events

25 MAR | ForgeX Community Meetup | ABM vs. Demand Gen: Same Strategy or Different Discipline?

23 APR | ABM Roundtable | ABM Measurement & Reporting: Metrics, Dashboards, and Exec Alignment

20 MAY | ABM Roundtable | From MQLs to Buying Groups: How Modern ABM Teams Are Executing

Revenue Xchange Podcast

• 🎙️ ABM and Demand Gen Have Converged. Now What? | Davis Potter

Have any questions about this episode or suggestions for future topics? Feel free to share them here.

Grow Your ABM Program and Career with ForgeX

ForgeX helps B2B organizations operationalize modern Account-Based Marketing programs through proven deployment models, benchmark-driven frameworks, and direct guidance from experienced practitioners.

ABM Certification Cohorts

• Structured cohort-based ABM certification program designed to certify practitioners.

• Participants gain hands-on training in modern account-based strategy, orchestration, and measurement alongside peers from leading B2B organizations.

• New monthly cohorts : May, June and July 2026 | Fridays, 1-3 PM ET

Private Team Training & Certification

• ForgeX works directly with your organization to train your teams on how to design, execute, optimize, and scale modern ABM programs aligned to your GTM strategy.

ABM Strategy & Execution Workshops

• Interactive working sessions designed to help teams build and operationalize core ABM capabilities.

1:1 Analyst Guidance

• Direct access to ForgeX analysts for ongoing advisory, program troubleshooting, and strategic support.

Practitioner Mentorship

• Dedicated mentorship for ABM and GTM leaders responsible for building and scaling world-class programs.

Have an awesome rest of the week y’all!

LFG,

Davis