Measuring progress when the sales cycle is long

In many complex B2B businesses, significant opportunities take months or even years to develop. Relationships need to be built, stakeholders engaged and credibility earned before revenue appears. That makes revenue a lagging indicator, and it means growth programmes, including account-based marketing (ABM), are often judged too early or against the wrong measures.

We believe progress in a long sales cycle only becomes visible when you know exactly where you started.

We see six ways to make that progress visible.

Agree what you'll measure. Before activity starts, agree with sales and senior stakeholders what progress should look like along the way, not just at the point of sale. Getting that agreement upfront avoids different teams expecting different results.

Balance shorter and longer-term measures. Shorter-term measures might include engagement from target accounts, new key contacts reached and attendance at events or briefings. Longer-term measures might include new opportunities in the pipeline, revenue won, contracts renewed and accounts buying a product or service from you for the first time.

Take a snapshot before you start. Your CRM will show what has happened over time, but it is often difficult to work out exactly what the position was on day one. Documenting a benchmark of your key measures for each priority account at the start, including the sales stage, expected revenue, number of key contacts and how strong those relationships are, gives you something solid to compare against.

Show how the dial has moved. If you sell many products or services, a simple matrix of your top accounts against your portfolio, marking where there is an active conversation and where they already buy from you, creates real visual impact. Captured at the start and refreshed over time, it shows at a glance how far things have moved, and it is often far more compelling for senior stakeholders than a page of numbers.

Track the signals in between. Between the baseline and the revenue, look for signs that accounts are moving: more of the buying group getting involved, better access to decision-makers and invitations to more strategic conversations. Compared with your snapshot, these show progress long before it reaches the pipeline.

Keep a feedback log. Record what account teams, sales colleagues and the accounts themselves are saying as the programme progresses. Anecdotal commentary, such as a comment from a senior stakeholder or a new conversation that has opened up, brings the hard measures to life when you present progress to senior teams.

How to move forward

We believe measurement should be planned before a marketing programme starts, not added once results are expected. ABM works best as a long-term programme, and our 7 Questions Behind Effective ABM series works through each stage, from deciding where to focus to reviewing what you have learned.

If you had to show the before and after for your priority accounts today, could you?