Taking ABM to the Next Level!
Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton on becoming the most successful ever driver in F1. It was an emotional win for him and the team and the boy from Stevenage has ‘done good’. (I also applaud his stance on both Black Lives Matter and the environment – it’s great to see him using his platform to encourage positive change.)
This year has been a momentous one for me, too, although in not quite the same way as Lewis! It’s now over a year since I set up She/Her, and it’s safe to say that even when you might expect a new venture to have an unusual first year, this year has gone way beyond what I was expecting in a whole host of ways!
Of course, no-one was prepared for Covid-19, but luckily as someone who has had the chance to work remotely for (most of) a number of years, I’m used to being able to shut myself away in my little office in the garden and crack on. And so apart from a few weeks of the whole family going down with the dreaded virus a few weeks back, cracking on is what I have been doing.
Getting back to the tenuous link with Lewis, I wanted to share an exciting project I’ve been working on recently with a specialist sponsorship and communication agency called SQN. Run by Claire, Chris and Chris, we’ve worked together on a brand new, and I think really exciting proposition that links sponsorship with ABM. After all, sponsorship has been around for decades (and F1 is perhaps one of the most famous examples!) and ABM is the new kid on the block. But as far as we know, no-one is linking that spend and potential together and we’ve come up with a framework to help CMOs maximise their investment in both.
When I was at Sage, as global VP of Partner Marketing, I pioneered ABM with channel partners. And this is a new chance to switch things up and keep expanding the possibilities of what ABM can offer. After all, even with ABM, now everyone is doing it, we’re all looking for a new angle, right? If you’d like to find out more, please drop me a line. We’re keen to find a (very) few CMOs who are looking to try out something new, fresh and exciting, which we think could really take your ABM program – and your sponsorship – to the next level! (If you don’t have a sponsorship program, and don’t really know what it involves, or think it costs millions and is only about corporate hospitality – then think again. I must admit, I had a pretty limited view too before I met the SQN team, but I believe the opportunity is really exciting.)
It’s been great to spend a year really helping other businesses and teams get to grips with ABM and having the opportunity and headspace to be able to continue to work on new ideas. Without being too gushy, I’m so grateful to the people in my life this year that have meant I’ve had the best working year of my life to date! It’s been absolutely delightful to be working with past friends, past colleagues and even some people who were past customers and have become customers again.
Bev Burgess posted a fantastic tweet recently based on a Harvard Business Review comment from the Dalai Lama. Bev said ‘Cooperation comes from friendship. Friendship comes from trust and trust comes from kindheartedness’. For some of my working life I’ve been taught by managers (notice I don’t say leaders!) that you can’t be friends with your customers, or your staff. Certainly, my last full-time role was an object lesson in how not to be. But I can confidently say, that’s absolute bollocks. I’ve loved that everyone I’ve worked with this year have been past contacts of one form or another, or people that I’ve been recommended to. And it’s been brilliant. I’ve worked on projects, strategy, content, campaigns and ABM propositions and projects with other agencies, with customers and with partners. And I’ve honestly loved every minute. So, thanks to everyone I’ve worked with this year – I appreciate every one of you!
Roll on year 2 – it can’t be as much as a rollercoaster as year one, but I think while I still have the best clients and partnerships – I’m going to enjoy it even more!