The Manufacturing Playbook for Account-Based Marketing & Sales

Introduction

Overcoming marketing & sales challenges in manufacturing

Manufacturing revenue teams often struggle to align and maximize growth due to industry-specific hurdles:

• Complex, lengthy sales cycles with multiple decision-makers
• Highly technical and customized product offerings
• Reliance on channel partners and distributors for sourcing and closing deals
• Pressure to expand within existing accounts

These challenges are compounded by disconnected data between marketing and sales, leading to missed opportunities from anonymous buyer behavior (what 6sense calls the “Dark Funnel“).

6sense provides manufacturing teams with unified, actionable insights to identify and convert demand more efficiently.

Inside the minds of Manufacturing buyers

Focus resources on accounts ready to engage

Sales and marketing would be much easier if we knew exactly when clients were in-market for solutions. Intent data tools like 6sense provide this critical insight.

6sense combines data from:

• 3rd party internet research (keywords and topics people are searching)
• Your own data (website, CRM)

This information is then matched to specific accounts, revealing:

Buying team members and their contact information

When clients are in-market

Which products they’re interested in

Activate smarter manufacturing growth plays

To capture the full potential of demand and stay ahead of competitors, manufacturing revenue teams must adopt data-driven strategies. 

6sense enables teams to identify anonymous website visitors, discover companies actively researching relevant solutions, and engage high-fit, in-market buyers with personalized messaging at the right time.

This playbook explores seven plays that revenue teams can leverage to drive growth: three for marketing, three for sales, and one bonus play. Let’s explore them now!

3 Account-based marketing plays for Manufacturers

These three powerful account-based marketing plays will drive growth and boost your revenue. By focusing on the right accounts at the right time, you can maximize your marketing efforts and deliver high-quality leads to your sales team.

1. Reveal anonymous opportunities for sales engagement

Problem

Many visitors browse your website without filling out a form, leaving their identities unknown.

Impact

Without knowing who’s interested, sales teams miss the chance to connect with and convert potential high-value prospects.

Solution

Use 6sense to identify anonymous accounts researching your products or similar offerings from competitors, highlighting the best-fit accounts for targeted sales outreach within their workflow.

Result

Your sales team receives in-market alerts straight to their inbox and are the first to engage with high-quality contacts showing interest. This leads to stronger opportunity development and increased sales.

2. Maximize tradeshow ROI with intent data​

Problem

Costly tradeshows are failing to generate quality leads and miss revenue goals with traditional methods.

Impact

The right attendees are not being targeted leading up to the event resulting in poor quality booth leads and low ancillary event turnout.

Solution

Use 6sense to identify accounts and contacts showing intent for the tradeshow or relevant keywords. Proactively drive your target prospects to your booth and events, regardless of pre-event attendee lists.

Result

Targeted stakeholders visit your booth and attend related events, enabling sales to book more meetings and

3. Optimize and track the effectiveness of product launches​

Problem

Manufacturers struggle to gauge early-stage product launch success due to complex buyer needs and long adoption cycles.

Impact

Uncertainty in product-market fit leads to slow adoption and unmet revenue targets.

Solution

Monitor engagement in targeted segments with 6sense. Gain insights into market response with keyword tracking and identify high-fit accounts for focused sales efforts.

Result

Enhanced product launch strategies, quicker adoption, and improved market share with early feedback on effectiveness.

3 account-based sales plays for Manufacturers

Empower your sales team with these three account-based sales plays designed to accelerate revenue growth. Using data-driven insights and targeted engagement strategies, your reps can effectively navigate complex manufacturing buying processes, maximize distribution partner performance, and expand within existing accounts.

1. Boost distribution performance by sending pre-qualified leads

Problem

You are only able to pass leads to your distribution partners when a web visitor fills out a contact form.​

Impact

Few leads get passed to your channel partners resulting in missed sales goals and external reps spending time selling other products.

Solution

Use 6sense to identify anonymous web activity conducted by in-market prospects. These leads are now identified and can be passed to partners for engagement.

Result

Distributors receive high-quality leads, boosting their sales performance and helping them become better-aligned partners.

2. Accelerate deal cycles by engaging the right buyers at the right time​

Problem

Intricate manufacturing buying processes lead to long, complex deal cycles likely to stall.

Impact

Promising opportunities get stuck in the pipeline, risking missed quotas and revenue targets. 

Solution

Use multi-threading to engage multiple stakeholders from the start. Build out the entire buying team of contacts for comprehensive engagement. 

Result

Accelerate deal cycles by engaging key stakeholders, consistently advancing deals through the pipeline.

3. Grow existing account footprint through data-driven expansion

Problem

Sales reps struggle to proactively identify the best growth opportunities within existing accounts.

Impact

Untapped “white space” leads to missed revenue and lower customer lifetime value.

Solution

Monitor intent and engagement signals within existing customer accounts. Slack and email alerts let your team know when an account is ready for additional action.​

Result

Reps can strategically expand within accounts by targeting the most promising areas for growth.​

But that’s not all! A bonus revenue growth play

The marketing and sales plays we’ve covered are essential, but there’s one more powerful strategy you should have in your revenue growth playbook. 6sense AI Email Agents leverage generative AI to bridge the gap between personalization and scalability. By crafting engaging, tailored email conversations at scale, you can convert more accounts into pipeline without stretching your team’s resources thin.

Problem

Mass automated emails often lack personalization, while manual 1:1 outreach isn’t scalable, leading to low engagement and missed opportunities.

Impact

You struggle to keep their pipelines full as many leads go cold from impersonal outreach, slow responses, or missed follow-ups. 

Solution

Use AI assistants to create personalized, scalable email outreach, respond conversationally to inquiries, and copies in sales reps when buyers are ready — ensuring each lead feels valued without adding to your team’s workload.

Result

Higher engagement rates and a stronger pipeline. By using AI for initial interactions, sales teams can focus on warmed leads, driving improved conversion rates and revenue growth. 

Take your Manufacturing revenue to the next level with 6sense

The strategies outlined in this playbook are just the beginning of what’s possible with 6sense. By harnessing the power of AI-driven insights and personalization, manufacturing teams can revolutionize their marketing and sales efforts, accelerating growth and maximizing revenue.

Take the next step in your revenue growth journey by requesting a demo of 6sense today. Our experts will show you how our platform can transform your business, helping you identify new opportunities, engage key stakeholders, and drive top-line growth.