In today’s competitive B2B landscape, aligning marketing and sales is crucial. In this exclusive interview, Tim Navis-Vonsée, Marketing Director Netherlands at Salesforce, shares insights on deal-based marketing success and how it strenghtens Salesforce’s ABM strategy.
Overcoming sales and marketing misalignment
One of the biggest challenges in B2B marketing is the gap between sales and marketing teams. While marketing often focuses on generating leads, sales teams aim to close deals. As a result, this can cause friction.
However, deal-based marketing helps bridge this gap by aligning both teams toward a shared revenue goal. Tim highlights that having a clear structure, where marketing supports the full sales cycle, is essential. In addition, success metrics need to be aligned from the start. This kind of collaboration is central to deal-based marketing success.
Key metrics for measuring success
Tim outlines key metrics Salesforce uses to track the impact of deal-based marketing:
- Deal Size – Used to prioritise larger, high-value deals.
- Marketing-Driven Pipeline – A model that attributes value to both sales and marketing efforts throughout the sales journey.
As a result, Salesforce gains a more complete view of what drives pipeline growth.
Why Deal-Based Marketing works for high-priority accounts
Tim explains why this approach works especially well for strategic accounts:
- Brand Reinforcement: Salesforce uses events, custom content, and targeted messaging to stay top-of-mind.
- Trust and Personalization: Trust is a core value, and every interaction feels authentic and consistent.
- Face-to-Face Engagement: Meeting in person helps build stronger relationships and speeds up decisions.
Case study: Deal-Based Marketing in action
Tim will present a case study at the European ABM Forum in Amsterdam. It shows how deal-based marketing success helped boost customer engagement and influence the pipeline. For example, by combining events with follow-up content and targeted outreach, Salesforce created a smooth and effective buyer journey.
Scaling Deal-Based Marketing: best practices
To achieve deal-based marketing success, companies need a long-term mindset. Tim offers two practical tips:
- Commit to Ongoing Investment – This is not a one-time tactic, but a strategy that pays off over time.
- Focus on High-Value Accounts – It’s not designed for mass outreach, but it’s very effective for your most important customers.
Therefore, it’s ideal for businesses that want to invest more deeply in fewer, strategic relationships.
Enhancing sales and marketing alignment
A key benefit of deal-based marketing is stronger collaboration between sales and marketing. By working together more closely, marketing gains better insight into customer needs. Consequently, this leads to more relevant content, shared goals, and better results.
Conclusion
Tim’s insights offer a practical guide for achieving deal-based marketing success. By aligning efforts, focusing on customer experience, and measuring what matters, companies can improve their pipeline and close more high-value deals.
Join Tim Navis-Vonsée at the European ABM Forum!
Don’t miss Tim’s session at the European ABM Forum on April 3rd in Amsterdam, where he will dive deeper into the impact of deal-based marketing success and share real-world examples.