Account-Based Marketing Assessment Suite

The Account-Based Marketing Assessment Suite from The Starr Conspiracy is a set of four interactive tools built for B2B marketing leaders deciding whether to launch, scale, or restructure an ABM motion. The suite produces personalized readiness scores, ROI estimates, benchmark positions, and program archetypes in under ten minutes per tool. Median completion time across pilot users is 6.4 minutes.

Most ABM 'assessments' published by martech platforms are lead-capture forms wearing a quiz costume. You enter a job title, hit submit, and get a sales call. We built this suite the opposite way. The methodology, formulas, scoring rubrics, and benchmark thresholds are all exposed on the page. The personalized output is what gets emailed to you.

What This Suite Contains

Four tools, each targeting a distinct decision point in the ABM lifecycle.

ABM Readiness Assessment. A 12-question diagnostic that scores your organization across three maturity dimensions: Strategy and Vision, Data and Infrastructure, Talent and Organization. Output is a 0 to 100 readiness score with a maturity tier classification and a prioritized fix list. Methodology adapted from the ITSMA ABM Framework (2023) and Forrester B2B Revenue Waterfall (2024).

ABM Program ROI Calculator. Takes eight inputs (target account count, average contract value, current win rate, sales cycle length, program cost, attribution window, expansion revenue assumption, and time-to-pipeline) and returns projected pipeline, projected revenue, payback period, and a three-year NPV. Formula exposed in plain notation below.

ABM Benchmark Comparator. You input your program's actual metrics (account engagement rate, opportunity creation rate, average deal size lift, sales cycle compression, and target account penetration). The tool returns your percentile rank against the Demandbase ABM Benchmark Report 2024 distribution and identifies which two metrics will produce the largest pipeline lift if improved.

ABM Program Diagnostic Quiz. A 10-question diagnostic that maps your current program to one of five archetypes: Spray-and-Pray, Tactical Pilot, Stalled Scale, Operational ABM, or Revenue-Integrated ABM. Each archetype maps to a specific intervention pattern.

How The Scoring Works

The Readiness Assessment scores each of 12 questions on a 0 to 5 scale, weighted by dimension. Strategy and Vision questions carry a 1.2 multiplier because misaligned strategy invalidates downstream execution. Data and Infrastructure carries a 1.0 multiplier. Talent and Organization carries a 0.9 multiplier (the most fixable dimension). Raw score is normalized to 0 to 100.

Readiness tiers:

• 0 to 39: Not Ready. Foundational gaps in at least two dimensions. Launching ABM here destroys budget.
• 40 to 59: Pilot Ready. Foundation exists for a 10 to 25 account pilot, not a full program.
• 60 to 79: Scale Ready. Capable of running 50 to 150 accounts with measurable pipeline impact.
• 80 to 100: Optimize Ready. The question is no longer 'can we run ABM' but 'where are we leaving pipeline on the table.'

Median readiness score across 200+ B2B tech companies we have assessed sits at 47. Most companies attempting ABM are running a Pilot Ready program with Scale Ready ambitions, which is the single most common cause of ABM program failure.

The ROI Calculator Formula

Projected Annual Pipeline = (Target Accounts × Engagement Rate × Opportunity Conversion Rate × Average Contract Value)

Projected Annual Revenue = Projected Pipeline × Win Rate × (1 + Expansion Multiplier)

Payback Period (months) = Program Cost / (Projected Annual Revenue / 12)

Three-Year NPV = Sum of (Year N Revenue / (1 + Discount Rate)^N) minus Total Program Cost, with default discount rate of 10%.

Default assumptions, all overridable: engagement rate 35% (Demandbase 2024 median), opportunity conversion 18% (Forrester 2024 B2B tech median), expansion multiplier 0.25, discount rate 10%.

Benchmark Sources and Vintage

• Demandbase ABM Benchmark Report 2024 (account engagement, opportunity creation rate)
• Forrester B2B Revenue Waterfall 2024 (conversion rates by demand state)
• ITSMA ABM Framework 2023 (maturity dimension definitions)
• The Starr Conspiracy proprietary dataset, 218 B2B tech ABM programs assessed between Q2 2023 and Q3 2024 (archetype classifications, fix-priority weighting)

When benchmark sources conflict, the tool uses Demandbase for engagement metrics and Forrester for conversion metrics. Source attribution appears next to every percentile output.

What The Diagnostic Quiz Outputs

Each archetype includes a named intervention pattern.

• Spray-and-Pray (0 to 19 points). You are running broad-based campaigns labeled as ABM. The fix is not more tooling. It is target account list discipline.
• Tactical Pilot (20 to 39 points). One-off plays on a small account list with no operational backbone. The fix is the operational layer, not more plays.
• Stalled Scale (40 to 59 points). You launched, you got early wins, you cannot replicate them at 3x the account count. The fix is sales and marketing handoff redesign.
• Operational ABM (60 to 79 points). The motion works but it lives in marketing. The fix is revenue integration.
• Revenue-Integrated ABM (80 to 100 points). Marketing, sales, and customer success operate against the same account plan. The fix is segmentation and unit economics optimization.

How To Use This Suite

Run the Readiness Assessment first. If you score below 40, stop. Do not run the other three tools yet. Fix the foundation. If you score 40 or above, run the ROI Calculator next to build the business case, then the Benchmark Comparator to identify the two metrics most worth improving, then the Diagnostic Quiz to classify your current program archetype.

The full sequence takes about 25 minutes. Marketing leaders typically run it twice: once for the current state, once for the projected state 12 months out.

Methodology Limitations

Three things this suite does not do.

It does not predict win rates for specific accounts. Account-level prediction requires firmographic and intent data the tool does not ingest. It does not benchmark you against your direct competitors by name; benchmark distributions are anonymized at the industry level. It does not replace a buying committee analysis. If your average deal involves more than nine stakeholders, layer in qualitative committee mapping alongside the quantitative outputs.

Sample size caveat: the proprietary dataset skews toward B2B tech companies between $20M and $500M in ARR. If you are larger or smaller, treat archetype classifications as directional, not diagnostic.

Related Resources

For capability definitions referenced in the scoring rubrics, see the account-based marketing glossary entry and the demand states framework. For the strategic foundation underneath the readiness dimensions, see our B2B demand generation approach. For the framework that informs the ROI calculator's conversion assumptions, see the Ten Demand States framework documentation.

The Bottom Line

If your ABM decision is being driven by a vendor demo, a board mandate, or a conference keynote, you are about to spend money on a motion you cannot operate. Run the Readiness Assessment first. Build the business case with the ROI Calculator second. Then decide. The suite is free, the methodology is public, and the only thing gated is the personalized output sent to your inbox.

Related Questions

How long does an ABM readiness assessment take to complete?

The Readiness Assessment takes 6 to 8 minutes for most users. The full four-tool suite takes about 25 minutes if you have your program metrics available. If you do not have current metrics, plan for an additional 30 to 45 minutes to pull them from your CRM and marketing automation platform before running the Benchmark Comparator.

What is a good ABM readiness score?

A score of 60 or above qualifies as Scale Ready, which means you can credibly run a 50 to 150 account program. Median score across the 218-company dataset is 47, which is Pilot Ready. Most companies launching ABM are operating below the threshold required for the program scope they have committed to, which is the single largest predictor of program failure within 18 months.

Can the ROI calculator be used to justify ABM budget to a CFO?

Yes, with one caveat. The calculator produces a defensible projected pipeline, projected revenue, payback period, and three-year NPV using sourced default assumptions. CFOs will push back on the engagement rate and expansion multiplier defaults. Override them with your own historical data before presenting. The formula is exposed in plain notation on the page so finance can validate the math independently.

How is this suite different from vendor ABM assessments?

Platform-published assessments are typically lead-capture forms with hidden scoring and a sales follow-up. This suite exposes the methodology, formulas, and benchmark sources on the page. The personalized output is what arrives by email. The methodology stays public so you can validate it, challenge it, or rebuild it for your specific context without talking to anyone.