Seniority + Decision Authority
The engineering of multi-tier seniority bands—separating Economic Buyers from Practitioners—to ensure your narrative adapts to the authority of the person engaging.
The "Junior Lead" Trap
Most ABM programs are "Seniority Blind." They treat a Director’s intent surge with the same weight as an Individual Contributor’s. This leads to Sales teams wasting weeks "bottom-up" prospecting into accounts where the Budget Holder is completely unaware of the project. If you don't map Decision Authority, you are scaling activity, not pipeline.
Pipeline Risk Factors
- Budget Collapse: Reaching late-stage evaluation without an Economic Buyer engaged.
- Messaging Friction: Sending "How-To" technical guides to C-Suite stakeholders.
- Inaccurate Weighting: Over-reporting "Engagement" that lacks the authority to sign a contract.
The Authority Framework
Focus: ROI, Strategic Alignment, Budget. (CXO, VP, Managing Dir)
Focus: Features, Implementation, Use Case. (Director, Manager)
Focus: Utility, Daily Workflow, UX. (Specialist, Analyst, Admin)
Environment Implementation
6sense / Demandbase ON
We configure Seniority Filters to automatically segment accounts based on "Executive Engagement." We write back specific Authority Tiers to CRM so reps can immediately see if a "Budget Holder" is part of the current intent surge.
Rule: IF Seniority == 'C-Level/VP' THEN Tag 'EB_Engaged'Platform Off (CRM/MAP First)
We build Authority Inference Logic using CRM contact fields. We map standard seniority levels (provided by enrichment tools like ZoomInfo) into your 3 core ABM Authority Bands for sequence selection.
Logic: Map Level [CXO, VP] → Band: 'Executive'Artifacts You Receive
- Authority Mapping Rubric: The definitive guide for Title → Authority Banding.
- Seniority Nurture Specs: Content mapping by role authority level.
- Committee Density Report: A dashboard showing authority gaps in your Top 100 accounts.