Account tiering
Account tiering sorts a target account list into bands, usually three, based on potential value and fit. Tier one receives the most personalised and most expensive treatment, tier three the least. It is how an ABM programme decides where to spend disproportionate effort rather than spreading it evenly.
How many tiers should you have?
Three is the working default. Tier one is small enough that a rep can name every account, typically ten to fifty. Tier two runs to a few hundred and gets grouped treatment by industry or use case. Tier three is everything else in the addressable market and gets segment-level personalisation.
What should tiers be based on?
Potential contract value and fit against the ideal customer profile, weighted by whether you can actually reach the buying committee. A large account you cannot get into is not a tier one account, it is a wish. Intent data belongs here too, but as a timing input rather than a tiering input.
How often should tiers change?
Quarterly is common and usually right. Moving accounts between tiers more often makes the programme impossible to measure, because the treatment changes faster than the sales cycle. The exception is a clear buying signal, which should trigger a treatment change without waiting for the next review.
