Declan Mulkeen

Growth Marketing Director Spain

strategicabm

I'm the CMO of one of the fastest growing Account-based Marketing agencies! My job? To build the brand and drive demand AND shine a light on what GOOD ABM is.

Let's talk ABM Podcast

The #1 podcast for B2B Marketing and Sales professionals looking to learn more about Account-based Marketing. Each episode sees me interview leading Account-based Marketing practitioners to share their success stories (and learnings) with the podcast audience. Subscribe now on your favourite podcast platform!

Host

CMO Council

Member

Peak Community

Peak Community is an invite-only private community of the best marketers and marketing leaders to connect with, learn from, and get 1% better each week.

Exit Five

Learnlight

I defined and drove Learnlight’s global marketing strategy and oversaw a team to execute highly effective and integrated local and international marketing campaigns, programs and partnerships to drive brand awareness, demand generation and revenue growth of this leading EdTech company.

I'm immensely proud of what we achieved in such a short space of time following the merger of Communicaid with Training Express. From a standing start we became a global name in corporate language and cultural training and created a brand that has gone on to grow and grow.

Marketing Director

Communicaid

As an Executive Director and Board Member, I formed part of the leadership team that transformed Communicaid into a global leader in the B2B training and consultancy space with FTSE 100 and FORTUNE 500 clients in more than 60 countries. We successfully sold the business to Learnlight in early 2017.

I was responsible for a team of 10 sales and marketing professionals. During my tenure I won several major global tenders and implemented a digital marketing strategy that positioned Communicaid as the leading provider of training and coaching solutions in its sector.

Director of Sales & Marketing

Laura Bofill

Sales & Marketing Manager

Ambros

Marketing Manager

Synovate

Market Researcher

Need help with ABM? DM me | Host of Let's talk ABM podcast🎙 | CMO at strategicabm

B2B Tech Marketer & ABM Advocate 🎯

Struggling to align Sales and Marketing? Or trying to turn Account-based marketing into your growth engine? 

These are the challenges I help solve every day as the CMO of strategicabm, a pure-play ABM Agency. 

At strategicabm, we specialize in creating full-funnel ABM strategies for B2B tech companies. 

Whether it’s refining ICPs, selecting high-value accounts, or executing personalized campaigns, we help businesses grow by winning, growing, and retaining the accounts that matter most.

With over 20 years of experience as a CMO in Professional Services and EdTech, I’ve led ventures from start-up to industry leader, delivering measurable results along the way. 

Now, I work to share insights on ABM and build meaningful relationships with clients who want to take their marketing to the next level.

We create some great ABM content to help you learn what good ABM looks like.

Let's talk ABM podcast: https://hubs.la/Q02_2T3d0
DashDot magazine: https://hubs.la/Q02_2T8w0
ABM under the hood podcast: https://hubs.la/Q02_2T9f0

Want to connect? Let’s make ABM work for your business.

📧 Email: declan@strategicabm.com
🌐 Website: strategicabm.com

There is such a proliferation of brands competing for the same customers making it much more difficult to cut through the noise. Sales teams get bigger and bigger but are yet less and less effective as buyer behaviour has changed beyond all recognition. 

Marketing budgets and technology innovation continue to grow apace but real ROI is hard to measure as the buyer journey now resembles a maze rather than a linear path to conversion.

Our mission at strategicabm is to enable B2B technology brands to accelerate their growth and maximise their investment resources by identifying and engaging with enterprise accounts actively in-market for their products and services.

We're Google, HubSpot, Drift, Vidyard and Cyance partners so have all the right tools and know-how to support you on your growth journey. Let's talk ABM!

Most B2B podcasts are vanity projects.

They fail to deliver any value...or revenue.

But if you approached it a different way?

"Let's launch a podcast"

I have heard this so many times from B2B Marketers.

"We can get our CEO to take part"
"We can get our SMEs to appear"
"We can invite our customers"
"We can...we can...we can..."

But here's the issue I have seen with these "We can..."

There is no real belief in the power of podcasts.

There is no real belief in how transformative a podcast can be for your business.

There is no real understanding of what it takes to make a podcast really work.

I've published 85 episodes of Let's talk ABM Podcast.

From day one I was clear on two things.

I wanted to HAVE conversations with ABM thought leaders AND...

I wanted to SHARE these conversations with the maximum audience. 

Many people/companies achieve the first part but fail dreadfully with the second. 

For me the recording of the episode is the easy bit.

It's the "after" where the real work goes in. 

The repurposing and distribution of the podcast. 

One interview turns into:

↳Video teasers that hook
↳Infographics that explain
↳Insight tiles that educate
↳Carousels that drive leads
↳Text-only posts that provoke
↳Quote tiles that spark conversation

And the measurable impact?

40–50% of our agency revenue is now directly or indirectly tied to the podcast.

Not because we record.

But because we repurpose - relentlessly.

If your podcast ends at “publish".

You’re sitting on a content goldmine that no one’s digging.

Want the behind-the-scenes on how we do it?

Comment "podcast" and I'll share a short video on how I do it. 

[I'm working on the video now so please bear with me it may take a day or two to send out]

Are you a fan of Let's talk ABM Podcast - would love to hear from you! 


I'm Declan. 

1️⃣ I help leaders build visibility, trust & impact through strategic storytelling
2️⃣ I share what great ABM looks like 
3️⃣ I'm host of Let's talk ABM Podcast

Helping leaders build visibility, trust & impact through strategic storytelling. CMO @ strategicabm. Host of Let’s talk ABM podcast 🎙️

You're tracking and measuring the wrong North Star.

Time to dump the MQLs, SQLs, MQAs, ACVs, MRRs, or ARRs.

Because if they are your North Star, you’re missing the biggest opportunity.

For too long, Marketing’s focus has been winning new customers.

↳Raising awareness
↳Building pipeline
↳Closing deals

But winning a customer isn’t the finish line.

It’s the starting line.

The companies that thrive today and tomorrow aren’t chasing transactions.

They’re building Customer Lifetime Value (CLV).

CLV fuels growth because it:

↳Aligns teams around customer-centric strategies
↳Strengthens brands through advocacy and loyalty
↳Turns customers into lifelong partners, not one-off wins

I've mapped out how ABM + CLM create a continuous loop of growth.

Where every stage, from Awareness to Advocacy, becomes a chance to:

↳Deepen relationships
↳Drive value exchange
↳Create champions inside your accounts

How to get started?

↳Integrate ABM & CLM into a unified strategy
↳Focus resources on accounts with the highest potential CLV
↳Use the right tactics at the right time to build lasting relationships
↳Ensure seamless collaboration between Marketing, Sales, and CS teams

So the question isn’t “How do we close more deals?”

It’s “How do we win, grow, and keep customers for life?”

Are you in?

Are you seeing this shift in your organization?

Join our ABM Masterclass where we'll show you how to integrate ABM and CLM:

https://hubs.la/Q03rr3j_0

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I'm Declan, Agency CMO and part-time podcaster [Let's talk ABM Podcast]

I’m 56, will never be “ex-Google,” and it turns out… that’s been my biggest advantage.

Because while everyone else was climbing ladders, I was getting lost in the maze.

And somehow, that’s what made me win.

I’ve always wondered why “ex-X” became such a badge of honor.

Because if I’d followed that logic years ago…

I’d have written nothing in my headline.

My career has never been a straight line.

↳I left university with no idea of what I wanted to be or do
↳I ended up running an Italian restaurant in New Jersey.
↳I came back to the UK still not knowing what to do
↳I ended up teaching English in Spain and loving it
↳I went to biz school at 30 to study Marketing
↳I cut my "Marketing teeth" in fashion
↳I moved back to the UK and London
↳I spent 17 years building a business
↳I lived out of a suitcase 
↳I ate alone in Paris (more times than I can count)
↳I sold a company
↳I moved to Spain (again)
↳I met my wife, had kids
↳I built another biz
↳I ended up in Agency land

I had no plan.

I had no blueprint.

I was not an “ex-anything”.

My friends had a clearer path.

Big firms.

Big names.

Big salaries. 

Big houses.

Big pensions. 

A clearer path.

A "pedigree".

But here’s what I eventually realised:

A non-linear career forces you to adapt.

It sharpens your imagination.

It makes you resilient in ways the corporate path can’t teach.

You see the world in a different way. 

It has become "my edge". 

My value isn’t defined by the logos on my CV.

It’s defined by the life I’ve lived and the impact I have had on people, companies, and those around me. 

Most careers are ladders...

Mine has been more of a maze.

And at 56...I wouldn’t trade it.

What about yours?

Linear path or total "chaos"?

I'm Declan

1️⃣ I help leaders build visibility, trust & impact through strategic storytelling
2️⃣ I share what great ABM looks like
3️⃣ I host the Let's talk ABM Podcast

I made $235,000 from one LinkedIn post.

And it had zero selling in it.

Here’s how.

Most B2B teams make Marketing too complicated.

↳Demos
↳Funnels
↳Nurture tracks
↳Endless sales sequences

And they forget the one thing buyers actually want:

A chance to learn.

Without being sold to.

At the agency, we run a free educational workshop.

ABM Lunch & Learn.

↳It’s not a demo
↳It’s not a sales call
↳It’s free education

But it takes work.

Before every session:

↳We send a pre-workshop questionnaire
↳We research their tech, team, and ICP
↳We analyse their ABM maturity
↳We prep tailored insights
↳We study the company

And then we do the most important part:

We listen.

We listen to their challenges.

We listen to their goals.

We listen to what isn’t working.

And through that conversation, we show them:

↳How their peers are winning
↳Where the bottlenecks really sit
↳What modern ABM actually looks like
↳What “good ABM” would look like for them

Most teams take the roadmap and continue on their own.

A few ask us to help them execute.

Both outcomes are fine.

After 4.5 years and 600+ workshops, we know our numbers:

Our conversion rate.

Our average customer lifetime value. 

So when one single LinkedIn post triggered a wave of bookings…

…and those bookings turned into clients…

…the result was simple:

That post was worth $235,000 in revenue.

Sometimes Marketing really is this simple:

A valuable post.

An engaged audience.

An offer that genuinely helps.

Comment “LUNCH” if you’d like an invitation to our free ABM Lunch & Learn workshop.

P.S. What’s the best ROI you’ve ever had from one post?

I'm Declan

1️⃣ I help leaders build visibility, trust & impact through strategic storytelling
2️⃣ I share what great ABM looks like
3️⃣ I host the Let's talk ABM Podcast

The ABM events question you're not asking.

Your place or mine?

You spend $50K on an event. 

Then... crickets.

Most B2B events fail.

Not because the venue was wrong.

Not because the content was boring.

But because they were built for the company and not for the customer.

That’s why modern ABM teams treat events as revenue plays, not calendar fillers.

Here’s how the best do it:

↳Prioritize velocity over vanity
↳Build for intimacy, not volume
↳Use owned events to deepen trust
↳Capture buying signals in real time
↳Segment follow-up by intent, not hope
↳Let SMEs do the talking - not just sellers
↳Prove ROI with CFO-ready cohort models
↳Use third-party events to build momentum
↳Design experiences that are impossible to forget
↳Treat every event as a 3-part play (Pre, During, Post)

We’ve packaged this into the ABM Events Playbook.

Grab it here: https://hubs.la/Q03Nbt1T0

What's one ABM event tactic that's working for you right now?

P.S.: I created this infographic below with Google NotebookLM - kind of cool, right?

I'm Declan. 

1️⃣ I help leaders build visibility, trust & impact through strategic storytelling
2️⃣ I share what great ABM looks like 
3️⃣ I'm host of Let's talk ABM Podcast

The strangest sales call I ever had started with one sentence.

“Do people ever join your calls and have a celebrity moment?”

That’s how a prospective customer opened our meeting recently. 

I laughed.

I thought she was joking.

She wasn’t.

She went on to tell me she’d been:

↳Listening to Let's talk ABM Podcast for years
↳Watching the evolution of the show
↳Learning from the guests
↳Following every episode
↳Sharing clips internally
↳Taking notes

And here’s the part that hit me:

By the time she booked a sales call…

The trust was already built.

She already knew how we think.

She already understood our frameworks.

She already believed in our approach.

She already felt connected - before we’d ever spoken.

That’s the power of a podcast.

Not virality.

Not downloads.

Not views.

But "permissionless" access to decision-makers

↳At scale
↳At depth
↳And...without selling

A podcast lets people learn from you in their own time.

It builds familiarity.

It builds credibility.

It builds authority.

↳Quietly
↳Consistently
↳Episode after episode

And the best part?

That “prospect”?

She’s now a customer.

What’s the most surprising thing your content has ever done for your business?

I'm Declan

1️⃣ I help leaders build visibility, trust & impact through strategic storytelling
2️⃣ I share what great ABM looks like
3️⃣ I host the Let's talk ABM Podcast

Old ABM dashboard: “Look at all this pretty data.”

New ABM dashboard: “Here’s what we should do next.”

Most dashboards look great…

 …but don’t do anything.

It’s the equivalent of finishing a run, checking your Garmin, and seeing a wall of colourful graphs that tell you nothing about how to improve.

Yep...they're pretty? 

But not very actionable. 

That was the trap Andrew Reed at AVEVA described.

His team realized their dashboards were becoming a “Garmin screenshot” of ABM activity.

Lots of insight, no direction.

So they rebuilt everything around one idea.

Don’t build dashboards - but build ACTION boards.

Because just like a Garmin doesn’t just show you pace and heart rate.

It tells you if you need to push harder, rest more, or change your training.

Your ABM dashboard should tell you:

↳Who to prioritise
↳What to optimise next
↳Where engagement is shifting
↳How activity is impacting pipeline
↳And ultimately… how close you are to revenue

The goal as we know isn’t data.

The goal is really about movement.

If your dashboard isn’t coaching your ABM program the way a Garmin coaches a runner, it’s not an ABM dashboard. 

Does your ABM dashboard inform you or instruct you?

I'm Declan. 

1️⃣ I help leaders build visibility, trust & impact through strategic storytelling
2️⃣ I share what great ABM looks like 
3️⃣ I'm host of Let's talk ABM Podcast

We sent a pair of netball shoes to a CMO.

What followed next was dynamite. 

CMO: “How on earth did you guess my shoe size?”

That’s what a CMO said when a pair of personalized sneakers showed up at her office.

↳Size? Nailed.
↳Style? Spot on.
↳Relevance? Unignorable.

It wasn’t a gimmick.

It was a signal. 

That we understood her business, her interests, and her role.

That we knew the importance of knowing your account and the people within it. 

That’s what world-class ABM looks like. 

Not personalization tokens.

But personalized intent.

It opened the door.

It reignited a conversation.
 
It led to a long-lasting relationship.

This is how ABM becomes unforgettable.

What’s your most creative ABM move?

Thanks Marcus for having me on the show. Great talking to! 

I'm Declan. 

1️⃣ I help leaders build visibility, trust & impact through strategic storytelling
2️⃣ I share what great ABM looks like 
3️⃣ I'm host of Let's talk ABM Podcast

Most marketers are getting personalization wrong.

And AI is about to expose it.

Because swapping a company name in an email isn’t personalization.

It’s automation.

And your buyers can smell it a mile off.

Cristina Daroca summed it up nicely in our recent Let's talk ABM Podcast chat.

Real personalization = rewriting the story for the account.

Not tokens.

Not templates.

But content built around the account's challenges, priorities, and language.

AI won't replace this. 

What it will do is accelerate it.

Cristina explained how rge Riverbed Technology team now uses AI to:

↳Map solutions to real pains
↳Draft tailored content faster
↳Uncover deeper account insights
↳Automate campaign layers without losing relevance

Not “personalization at scale.”

But precision at scale.

Two big ABM truths in 2025 (and 2026!):

Generic personalization is dead

AI is making true personalization more visible and valued. 


Agree?

I'm Declan. 

1️⃣ I help leaders build visibility, trust & impact through strategic storytelling
2️⃣ I share what great ABM looks like 
3️⃣ I'm host of Let's talk ABM Podcast Podcast

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