Meet Matt Steffen, Forrester’s New Analyst Covering Account-Based Marketing
Get To Know Matt
Most people who know Matt know he has a passion for travel and immersing himself in other cultures. He studied abroad in destinations including Argentina, Morocco, and Hong Kong in high school, college, and grad school. His career also provided him with the opportunity to take up residence in Turkey and do consulting work in India.
He now calls the Pacific Northwest home, where he revels in the eclectic arts and music scene, burgeoning nonprofit community, and ample opportunities to gather with friends at interesting cafes and restaurants, not to mention abundant nearby locales to enjoy day trips hiking and kayaking.
How Did Matt Become Interested In Account-Based Marketing (ABM)?
When Matt relocated to Turkey, he kick-started a 12-year career in advanced manufacturing. The companies he worked for had very niche capabilities, so there were an inherently limited number of accounts to sell to. Also, deal sizes were large, and sales cycles were long. It quickly became apparent that account-based strategies were a natural fit. He embraced the approach and saw much success.
From there, he joined T-Mobile US, one of the world’s largest telecoms. At the time, T-Mobile was a behemoth in the consumer and small-and-midsize business segments but lacked a significant share of the enterprise market. He became part of a small team standing up T-Mobile’s first-ever ABM program — leading efforts with the 1:1 and 1:few deployment types. As luck would have it, T-Mobile was a client of SiriusDecisions and, ultimately, Forrester Research, which gave him access to a vast array of resources designed to help practitioners like him follow ABM best practices. As T-Mobile grew in the enterprise space and the positive results of following Forrester’s guidance played out time and time again, he increasingly became a champion of the value of ABM both inside and outside of his organization.
Now at Forrester, Matt looks forward to guiding clients on their own unique journeys to achieving success with account-based strategies.
What Will Matt’s Research Focus On?
Matt’s research at Forrester will focus on sales and marketing alignment, outsourcing options for ABM practitioners, and the state of 1:1 and 1:few ABM as 1:many ABM converges with demand generation.
The first report to publish with his name in the byline will be titled “Communicating The Value Of Account-Based Marketing To Skeptics In Sales.” He worked on this report alongside Bob Peterson to provide guidance for communicating the value of ABM to sales in a structured manner, with unique value propositions for four key sales functions.
What Topics Is Matt Most Interested In Right Now?
In addition to his research focus, he is also interested in how to layer value-based and purpose-driven strategies into ABM. Another topic that resonates with Matt is global ABM, which suits him well considering his background.
How To Connect With Matt
Schedule an inquiry, advisory, or guidance session with Matt. Browse his published research and tune in to his blog.