What Do ABM Teams Actually Use for Account-Based Ads?
Scott Schnaars
Most ABM teams for account-based ads run one enterprise intent platform (6sense or Demandbase) layered with ZoomInfo or Bombora for intent signals and Clay for enrichment. The stack works in isolation but rarely connects well end-to-end, and it's usually run by one or two people who also own a dozen other things. Before adding any tool to that stack, running it through a structured evaluation before, during, and after the demo catches what a features walkthrough won't show you.
Which Tools Do ABM Teams Actually Rely On?
A thread in the Exit Five community asked what people are actually using for account-based advertising. The answers were direct about what works and what doesn't:
| Tool | Role in the stack |
|---|---|
| 6sense / Demandbase | Enterprise intent and orchestration platform — the heavyweight core of most stacks |
| ZoomInfo / Bombora | Additional intent signal layers |
| Clay | Data enrichment |
Each tool is defensible on its own. The problem is they don't always connect to each other cleanly, and a smaller, well-integrated stack will consistently outperform a larger, disconnected one. The right ABM platform is the one your team can actually use on a Tuesday afternoon without a dedicated admin.
How Should You Evaluate an ABM Platform Before You Buy?
Most evaluations ask the wrong questions in the demo and discover the right ones six months in. Run the check in four stages:
| Stage | What to do | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Before the demo | Send the vendor your actual ICP account list — 100 to 200 accounts — and ask for data coverage and field accuracy | Tells you more than any feature walkthrough; the sales deck's coverage numbers are often different for your specific market |
| During the demo | Ask to see the integration with your specific CRM (not a generic overview), including sync latency and what happens on a data conflict; ask what the most common six-month failure mode looks like | Real-time intent is not the same as nightly batch sync, and how a vendor answers the failure-mode question tells you as much as what they say |
| Activation test | Map the exact workflow your team would follow to act on a signal | If acting on a signal requires a manual step to reach your ad platform, it won't happen consistently |
| After the demo | Request references from similarly sized companies who've been customers over a year, read the contract for data portability and exit terms, and total the real cost including onboarding and ops support | Multi-year contracts without clear data portability are a flag worth raising; compare total cost to the pipeline influence you'd need to see to justify it |
The hidden variable in every ABM evaluation is data quality. Better data with fewer features beats better features with worse data — and that comparison won't appear in any vendor deck.
What's the Biggest Mistake ABM Teams Make When Building Their Stack?
Buying more tooling than the team can actually operate. Each additional platform adds another login, another data source to reconcile, and another integration that can silently break. The fix isn't fewer capabilities — it's fewer disconnected tools doing overlapping jobs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the most common ABM ad stack?
6sense or Demandbase as the core platform, often paired with ZoomInfo or Bombora for intent signals and Clay for enrichment.
What should you test before signing an ABM platform contract?
Send the vendor your real ICP account list and ask for data coverage and field accuracy on those specific accounts, not their general claims.
How do you know if an ABM platform will actually get used?
Map the exact workflow required to act on a signal. If it takes a manual step to reach your ad platform, adoption will drop off.
What contract terms should you check before buying ABM software?
Data portability and exit terms — a multi-year contract without a clear way to get your data out is a red flag.
Is a bigger ABM stack always better?
No. A smaller, well-integrated stack consistently outperforms a larger one where tools don't talk to each other.
Yirla connects account intent signals to your paid campaigns automatically, so your ABM stack doesn't need a dedicated admin to act on them. (https://www.yirla.com/integrations)