$npx -y skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-b2b-advertisingAccount-based B2B advertising — display ads, retargeting, cross-channel campaigns targeting specific accounts or segments. Use when ABM ads aren't reaching target accounts, display ad CTRs are low, retargeted visitors aren't converting, B2B audiences are too broad or too small, c
| 1 | # B2B Account-Based Advertising |
| 2 | |
| 3 | Help the user plan and execute account-based B2B advertising campaigns — display, social, retargeting, and connected TV. This skill is tool-agnostic but includes platform-specific guidance for ZoomInfo MarketingOS, Demandbase, 6sense, Terminus (now DemandScience), RollWorks, LinkedIn Ads, and Google Ads (B2B targeting). |
| 4 | |
| 5 | ## Step 1 — Gather context |
| 6 | |
| 7 | |
| 8 | If `references/learnings.md` exists, read it first for accumulated knowledge. |
| 9 | |
| 10 | Ask the user: |
| 11 | |
| 12 | 1. **What's your advertising goal?** |
| 13 | - A) Build awareness at target accounts (top-of-funnel ABM) |
| 14 | - B) Accelerate pipeline — engage accounts already in-cycle |
| 15 | - C) Retarget website visitors who didn't convert |
| 16 | - D) Support outbound campaigns with air cover |
| 17 | - E) Re-engage churned or dormant accounts |
| 18 | - F) Promote content/events to a target account list |
| 19 | - G) Not sure — need a B2B ad strategy |
| 20 | |
| 21 | 2. **What channels are you considering?** |
| 22 | - A) Display / programmatic ads |
| 23 | - B) LinkedIn Ads |
| 24 | - C) Facebook / Meta (B2B targeting) |
| 25 | - D) Connected TV (CTV) |
| 26 | - E) Google Ads (search or display) |
| 27 | - F) Multiple / all channels |
| 28 | - G) Not sure — recommend channels |
| 29 | |
| 30 | 3. **What ABM/advertising platform do you have?** |
| 31 | - A) ZoomInfo MarketingOS |
| 32 | - B) Demandbase |
| 33 | - C) 6sense |
| 34 | - D) Terminus (DemandScience) |
| 35 | - E) RollWorks |
| 36 | - F) LinkedIn Campaign Manager only |
| 37 | - G) Google Ads only |
| 38 | - H) None — evaluating options |
| 39 | - I) Other — describe it |
| 40 | |
| 41 | 4. **How are you defining your target audience?** |
| 42 | - A) Named account list (specific companies) |
| 43 | - B) Firmographic criteria (industry, size, revenue) |
| 44 | - C) Intent signals (accounts researching relevant topics) |
| 45 | - D) Website visitors (retargeting) |
| 46 | - E) CRM segments (pipeline stage, lifecycle) |
| 47 | - F) Combination of the above |
| 48 | |
| 49 | ## Step 2 — Strategy and platform reference |
| 50 | |
| 51 | **Read `references/platform-guide.md`** for B2B vs B2C comparison, campaign types, audience building, budget framework, attribution, and platform-specific guidance (ZoomInfo, Demandbase, 6sense, Terminus, RollWorks, LinkedIn, Clay, AdRoll, Reddit Ads, Google Ads). |
| 52 | |
| 53 | *You no longer need the platform guide details — focus on the user's specific situation.* |
| 54 | |
| 55 | ## Step 3 — Actionable guidance |
| 56 | |
| 57 | ### Launching your first ABM ad campaign |
| 58 | 1. **Define your target account list** (TAL) — start with 200-500 accounts max |
| 59 | 2. **Choose 1-2 channels** — LinkedIn + display is the standard starting point |
| 60 | 3. **Create 3-5 ad variants** — test problem-focused vs solution-focused creative |
| 61 | 4. **Set a 90-day pilot budget** — commit enough budget to reach statistical significance |
| 62 | 5. **Align with sales** — tell SDRs which accounts are seeing ads, adjust outbound timing |
| 63 | 6. **Measure account-level** — don't judge B2B ads on clicks; measure pipeline influence |
| 64 | |
| 65 | ### Creative best practices for B2B |
| 66 | - **Lead with the problem**, not your product — "Still managing compliance in spreadsheets?" |
| 67 | - **Use specific numbers** — "Reduce audit prep time by 73%" beats "Save time on audits" |
| 68 | - **Match creative to intent stage** — awareness (industry trends) → consideration (case studies) → decision (demo/pricing) |
| 69 | - **Personalize by segment** — different creative for different industries, company sizes, or personas |
| 70 | - **Keep it simple** — B2B display ads have 1-2 seconds of attention. One message, one CTA. |
| 71 | |
| 72 | ### Metrics to track |
| 73 | - **Account reach** — % of TAL that saw at least one ad impression |
| 74 | - **Account engagement** — website visits, content downloads from ad-exposed accounts |
| 75 | - **Pipeline influence** — $ pipeline created at ad-exposed accounts |
| 76 | - **Cost per engaged account** — total spend / accounts that showed engagement |
| 77 | - **Lift vs control** — engagement rate of ad-exposed accounts vs unexposed (if you have a holdout group) |
| 78 | |
| 79 | ## Gotchas |
| 80 | |
| 81 | 1. **Don't judge B2B ads by click-through rate** — B2B display CTR is typically 0.05-0.1%. That's normal. Measure account-level engagement and pipeline influence instead. |
| 82 | |
| 83 | 2. **Small account lists need larger budgets per account** — targeting 100 accounts with $1,000/mo means $10/account/mo, which isn't enough for meaningful reach. Either increase budget or expand the list. |
| 84 | |
| 85 | 3. **LinkedIn matched audiences require 300+ matches** — if your uploaded account list has fewer than 300 Linke |