In a recent conversation with Davis Potter on The ForgeX Files, Ashton Wright — a senior ABM leader at Salesforce and later at Slack — broke down what it takes for scaling ABM across two very different realities: the resource-rich enterprise and the leaner, fast-moving startup.
Wright has spent over 14 years in agency, in-house, and publisher roles. At Salesforce, she helped build the company’s early ABM team from the ground up. Later, when Salesforce acquired Slack, she carried those lessons into a smaller-budget, lower-headcount environment. The contrast between these two contexts reveals some of the most practical truths about ABM today: how to prioritize accounts, how to make creative approaches repeatable, and how to keep sales and marketing aligned when resources appear very different.
Enterprise ABM: Testing at Scale
At Salesforce, Wright and her team had what most marketers fantasize about: budget and brand recognition. That cushion didn’t just buy ads — it purchased freedom. Freedom to test technology, freedom to fail without killing the program, and freedom to set up what she called a “center of excellence” for one-to-few and one-to-many plays.
But the real unlock wasn’t just budget. It was discipline in account selection. Wright recalls the early temptation of many ABM pilots: just asking sales, “Who do you want in?” Salesforce avoided that trap. Instead, they leaned on data and created scoring systems that balanced quantitative signals with sales input.
This matters because the fastest way to kill a scaling ABM pilot is to flood it with “wish list” accounts that will never convert. Wright’s approach echoes what I’ve seen in signal mapping work — breaking down not just intent signals but operational buckets across products, verticals, and lifecycle stages. By tying account selection to observable signals (such as active buying committees, pipeline movement, and competitive displacement), Salesforce made ABM a repeatable engine.
The luxury of scale also allowed Salesforce to think vertically. Wright describes how financial services weren’t just a single cohort; it was multiple layers — 10 one-to-one whales, another 20–30 in one-to-few, and dozens more in one-to-many. Each layer had different creative and different plays, but the same vertical lens connected all.
Slack ABM: Scrappy, Repeatable, Relentless
Then came Slack.
When Salesforce acquired the collaboration platform, Wright stepped into a team with fewer people and less budget. Suddenly, ABM had to transition from artisanal to industrial: “rinse and repeat ” became the mantra.
The key shift for scaling ABM here: instead of over-investing in bespoke one-to-one campaigns, Slack’s ABM motion leaned on creative reuse and micro-campaigns. A single case study landing page designed by demand gen? Repurpose it for the retail vertical, swap in a tailored CTA, and add a partner logo. What initially appears generic becomes vertical-specific without reinventing the wheel.
This is where the logic of the advanced buyer-intent signal comes in — not just knowing the industry label, but mapping patterns across companies that “look alike” in terms of their structure, technology adoption, or behaviour. In healthcare, for example, these types of signals can reveal whether a company behaves more like a nimble digital disruptor or a slow-moving incumbent, regardless of headcount. Wright’s rinse-and-repeat philosophy aligns perfectly with that approach: identify the patterns, categorize the accounts, refine the message once, and scale it.
Lessons From COVID: Humanizing at Scale
The pandemic tested every ABM program, regardless of budget. Salesforce, famous for its event-driven field plays, had to pivot to digital overnight. Wright and her team responded with what sounds simple but was radical at the time: meet people where they are, including their families.
The Martha Stewart cookie-baking virtual holiday event wasn’t just a gimmick. It was a proof point that ABM is not about personas — it’s about people. Families were at home, and work and life had collapsed into the same space; Salesforce leaned into that reality instead of pretending otherwise.
This aligns with one of the most underused assets in scaling ABM: buying human signals, not just digital. While intent data shows surges and topic interest, the Buying Signals framework you’ve developed pushes further: is the account showing openness to human connection? Are they attending events that bridge professional and personal identity? Those signals matter just as much as clicks on a whitepaper.
What Both Sides Can Learn from scaling ABM
From Salesforce’s world:
- Don’t start with a sales wish list. Use scoring, signals, and data integrity to pick accounts.
- Verticalization isn’t just a structure — it’s a way to make creative, content, and sales conversations efficient.
From Slack’s world:
- Treat creative assets like Lego bricks. Reuse, recombine, and personalize lightly to hit scale without burning budget.
- Focus on cohorts defined by exegraphics or pain points, not just industries.
Both worlds share the same truth: scaling ABM only works when sales and marketing leadership buy in together. Wright is blunt on this — ABM isn’t a “turn it on, see results tomorrow” motion. It’s a long-tail bet where the payoff is acceleration of enterprise deals, not just net new logos.
The Next Ten Years: Demystifying ABM
Wright closes with a warning: don’t wait until you’ve got hundreds of enterprise accounts to start scaling ABM. By then, you’re too late. Whether you’re 50 employees or 80,000, the principles are the same — focus, prioritize, align with sales, and build repeatable motions.
That’s where her vision overlaps with broader work happening in the space. I ran a pilot that we called Exegraphics Micro-campaigns and the results showed how even small teams can run precise, repeatable campaigns without the Salesforce-sized headcount. The Signal Mapping frameworks prove that you don’t need a mountain of budget if you’ve got the right inputs and discipline.
Scaling ABM is not a luxury for Fortune 500 companies. Done right, it’s a discipline that any company can adopt — as long as they stop chasing vanity volume and start committing to a signal-driven focus.
Takeaways
Enterprises can afford vertical depth and advanced account scoring, while startups need to repurpose assets and focus on repeatable micro-campaigns. Both rely on clear buyer signals to decide where to invest.
Flooding it with wish-list accounts. Successful programs tie account selection to observable signals like buying committees, funding events, and pipeline activity.
By reusing creative assets like Lego blocks, tailoring lightly for each vertical, and categorizing accounts based on exegraphics and behaviors instead of just industry labels.
Don’t wait until you’re a giant enterprise. Even lean teams can adopt scalable ABM early if they focus on identifying key signals, prioritizing key accounts, and aligning sales efforts.