Misalignment between Marketing and Sales is a common hurdle when you’re running ABM—both teams want more revenue but often work at cross-purposes. Marketing churns out leads by the dozen; Sales dials and emails aggressively. Yet qualified opportunities still slip away.

Why?

Because there’s no shared, data-driven system to prioritize who deserves immediate attention.

That’s where ABM Orchestration comes in. By monitoring real-time engagement signals at both the lead level (individual behavior) and the account level (collective company activity), you can stop guessing which leads are “hot” and start knowing. This single, unified scoring approach ensures that Marketing and Sales stay aligned on which prospects are truly worth pursuing—in real time.

Once this is in place, Sales teams no longer have to waste time figuring out who to reach out to. Instead, they start each day with a clear, prioritized task list—calls to make, LinkedIn connections to send, DMs to follow up on, or personalized video emails to craft—ensuring that every interaction is targeted, timely, and high-impact.

The Problem

Misalignment between Marketing and Sales leads to long sales cycles, wasted effort, and missed revenue opportunities. The core issue? Marketing efforts aren’t being measured in a way that tells Sales exactly who to engage with and when.

• Scattered Focus: Marketing runs campaigns to generate leads, but there’s no clear way to track which ones are actually turning into pipeline. Meanwhile, Sales chases short-term deals without visibility into which prospects are already warmed up.

• Missed Connections: Marketing invests in content, ads, and events, but there’s no direct link between these efforts and outbound sales priorities. Sales often reaches out blindly, unaware of who has already engaged.

• Time Wasted: Without a measurable system in place, Sales wastes time on low-intent leads, while Marketing continues spending on accounts that show no real buying signals.

The result? Sales outreach becomes a guessing game, and Marketing struggles to prove its impact. Without a way to track and score engagement, both teams operate in silos—when they should be working together to convert the right prospects.

The Consequence

• Inefficient Workflows: If your best leads aren’t flagged early, Sales might follow up too late (or not at all). Meanwhile, Marketing keeps nurturing leads that have zero interest.

• Cold Pipelines: High-potential opportunities go cold while both teams focus on tasks that don’t move the needle.

• Inconsistent Feedback: Without a unified approach, it’s nearly impossible to measure what’s working and refine your strategy in real time.

Meet Side Kick: AI Orchestration for ABM

Side Kick is an AI-powered platform designed to unify Marketing and Sales under one roof. Instead of juggling multiple tools and missing key insights, you get:

1. Real-Time Smart Bandwidth Prioritisation: Watch your leads’ and accounts’ scores rise as they engage with emails, LinkedIn, cold calls, or your website.

2. Automated Touch Points: Side Kick triggers the right outreach—low-touch (fully automated) or high-touch (human-in-the-loop)—based on each prospect’s score.

3. Unified Dashboard: Both teams see the same data, so they can move in lockstep instead of stepping on each other’s toes.

At the core of Side Kick’s power is our Smart Bandwidth Prioritisation Engine, a real-time model that tracks dozens of engagement metrics—like email replies, LinkedIn DMs, and website visits. Once a lead or account hits a “hot” threshold, automated tasks kick in, ensuring no top-tier lead slips by. Meanwhile, Sales reps get instant alerts to jump on a call or send a personalized message, right when prospects are most receptive.

Smart Bandwidth Prioritisation: The Heart of Alignment

What Is Smart Bandwidth Prioritisation in ABM?

Smart Bandwidth Prioritisation is a systematic way to measure both individual lead engagement and broader account signals, then roll them into a composite score. A higher score indicates stronger buying intent, prompting immediate outreach.

Lead-Level Metrics vs. Account-Level Metrics

1. Lead-Level: Focuses on a single person’s interactions—email clicks, LinkedIn replies, form fills, event attendance, etc.

   • Example: A lead replies positively to an email (scored in your sequencer) and visits your pricing page for 2+ minutes (tracked in Google Analytics). That alone suggests a strong purchase interest from that specific person.

2. Account-Level: Aggregates behaviors from the entire company—website visits by multiple employees, total time on site, job postings, employee count, or department growth.

   • Example: If four different employees from the same company download your latest whitepaper, that’s a clear sign the account as a whole is exploring solutions.

Metrics That Drive the Score (and Why They Matter)

Below are some of the most common metrics Side Kick uses to shape its Smart Bandwidth Prioritisation Engine ABM scoring model. These metrics work together to show a lead’s individual interest and the account’s broader readiness:

• Lead Email Clicks & Replies Tracks if individuals respond to your outreach. A reply—especially a positive one—tends to spike the score.

• LinkedIn Engagement Includes profile visits, message replies, or post interactions. This shows personal interest in you or your content.

• Form Fills & Event Attendance Indicates the lead is willing to share information or invest time in your events—two strong buying signals.

• Time Spent on Website & High-Intent Pages A quick site visit could be accidental; spending minutes on your pricing or product pages suggests serious research.

• Account-Level Website Visits & Page Count If multiple people from the same company are checking your blog or product pages, that’s a collective interest.

• Job Posts & Department Growth Rapid hiring in a relevant department signals they might need your solution soon.

• New Senior Hire A new decision-maker at the account could indicate a fresh budget or a shift in priorities—potentially an open door for your offering.

Example in Action:

Imagine Acme Inc.:

• Three team members from Acme visit your website on the same day (account-level interest).

• One lead, Chris, spends five minutes on your pricing page and downloads a case study (high-intent lead signals).

• Acme just posted a job ad for a marketing ops manager (account-level sign they’re expanding).

All of these interactions add points to Acme’s score. Once it crosses a certain threshold—say 50 points—Side Kick triggers a high-touch cold call task for your Sales rep specifically for Chris who’s individual score is the highest of all Acme leads you are targeting.

Putting It All Together: How Side Kick Automates Smart Bandwidth Prioritisation to Power your ABM Efforts

1. Real-Time Score Calculation

Side Kick pulls in data from multiple sources—CRM, LinkedIn, website analytics, job boards—and updates lead and account scores automatically. No more manual guesswork.

2. Automated Alerts & Outreach

When the score surpasses a defined threshold (e.g., “high intent”), the system notifies your Sales team instantly. It can even queue up personalized emails or LinkedIn messages so that no hot lead slips by.

3. Single Dashboard for Marketing & Sales

Instead of juggling multiple tools, you get a live view of who’s surging in interest. Marketing sees which campaigns are fueling the pipeline; Sales sees exactly who to call next.

Daily Workflow Example:

• Morning Check: Your Sales rep logs in to the Side Kick dashboard. They spot five leads who crossed the “top tier” threshold overnight.

• Targeted Outreach: They immediately call or send a personal email to those leads, referencing specific pages they visited or content they downloaded.

• Automation Handles the Rest: For mid-scoring leads, Side Kick auto-sends a follow-up email sequence or LinkedIn ad. If those leads’ scores rise, the Sales rep gets another alert.

The Results: Higher Conversions & Happier Teams

• Shorter Sales Cycles By striking when leads are actually interested, deals close faster.

• Better Win Rates More personalized outreach to the right leads leads to more meaningful conversations—and more wins.

• Stronger Alignment With one source of truth for both teams, Marketing and Sales stop pointing fingers and start celebrating shared successes.

• Efficient Resource Use Your Sales team devotes time to prime opportunities; Marketing invests budget in the channels that actually drive revenue.

Common Concerns—Debunked

1. “Is ABM scoring just hype?”

   Far from it. It’s a practical framework that ties real engagement data to next-step outreach. Think of it as a cheat sheet telling you who’s worth your sales time right now.

2. “We have messy data.”

   Even partial data can reveal trends once centralized. You can refine your scoring model over time as you gather better intel.

3. “We’re worried about losing the human element.”

   Scoring doesn’t replace personal touch—it ensures your high-value leads get that personal touch. Automation simply handles routine follow-ups.

4. “This sounds like too much work.”

   Once set up, ABM scoring removes guesswork, saves time, and boosts ROI. Think of it as front-loading a little effort to automate and streamline an entire pipeline.

5. “Why bother separating accounts and leads scoring?”

   A single lead might look promising, but if the rest of the company is disengaged, the deal could stall. Conversely, an account might be collectively browsing your site—even if one particular lead hasn’t engaged much yet. By monitoring both layers, you see a fuller picture of true buying intent and know whom to engage with, how, and when the right time is.

Conclusion

Misaligned Marketing and Sales teams often treat leads like a faceless volume game. Smart Bandwidth Prioritisation ABM scoring changes that by showing exactly which leads and accounts are most likely to buy, in real time. Armed with these insights, your Marketing team focuses on campaigns that actually deliver pipeline, while Sales reps give their best attention to leads who are genuinely interested.

Ready to see your pipeline shift from scattered leads to high-intent opportunities?

Book a Demo with Side Kick. Discover how our AI-powered orchestration can unify your marketing and sales data, automatically prioritize the right prospects, and let your team focus on building real relationships—where it counts most.