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Bonterra’s Journey with 6sense: Transforming ABM with Predictive AI and Sales Alignment

Austin, TX
6sense for Sales & Marketing
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445%

increase in influenced pipeline


6,673

target accounts driven to the website

Bonterra is one of the fastest-growing social good software companies in the world. Through innovative solutions for fundraising, corporate social responsibility, and case management, Bonterra is working towards increasing giving to 3% of U.S. GDP by 2033, unlocking $573 billion for more global good annually. 

Justin Lopez, account-based marketing manager (ABM) at Bonterra, shares how the company pivoted their marketing strategy by implementing 6sense’s AI-powered revenue platform. Bonterra significantly improved targeting, engagement, and overall efficiency by focusing on account-based marketing (ABM). 

The Challenge: Overcoming Inbound Limitations and Lack of Account Visibility

Historically, Bonterra heavily relied on inbound leads to drive their sales pipeline. While this approach generated high lead volumes, it didn’t always translate into meaningful pipeline growth. The company faced several challenges:

  • Inbound Limitations: The heavy focus on inbound marketing left in-market buyers untouched with strategies to capture their buying intent. 
  • Lack of Sales and Marketing Alignment: Sales and marketing felt a disconnect on target accounts. Sales lists churned quickly and were based on ICP fit that weren’t always aligned to Marketing definitions and there were no coordinated activities against these activities.  
  • Challenges with Targeting and Messaging: Difficulties in refining targeting and aligning messaging limited Bonterra’s ability to effectively engage key accounts. 

The Solution: Implementing a Sales-First, Multi-Channel ABM Strategy

Bonterra added 6sense Sales Intelligence to their predictive AI and ABM use case to shift from inbound only to outbound sales focused on 6sense insights. The implementation focused on refining targeting, improving sales alignment, and increasing campaign efficiency. 

Smarter Targeting with Predictive AI:
6sense’s predictive analytics gave Bonterra insight into where accounts were in their buying journey. This helped prioritize high-intent accounts, allowing the team to focus on the most valuable opportunities.

  • Sales and Marketing Alignment:
    Bonterra emphasized close collaboration between sales and marketing to identify target accounts. They created POD models where AEs and BDRs meet weekly to discuss 6QAs and recent activities from key accounts, and next steps on multithreading. By working together, both teams aligned on account priorities and messaging, ensuring consistent outreach. 
  • Multi-Channel ABM Campaigns:
    Audiences were synchronized across platforms like Meta and LinkedIn, ensuring target accounts received consistent messaging wherever they engaged. This multi-channel approach enhanced engagement.
  • Data-Driven Optimization:
    Bonterra used real-time engagement data to refine their campaigns, focusing efforts on accounts showing the highest engagement. This data-driven approach improved overall campaign performance and resource allocation.

6sense’s Sales Intelligence dashboard has been a game changer for Bonterra’s sellers, namely the ‘Recent Activities’ tab and ‘Discovery’ feature. The ‘Recent Activities’ tab surfaces inbound actions like form fills and specific web visits. The ‘Discovery’ feature allows sellers to see engaged contacts that are increasing or decreasing engagement over a 7-day span. For Bonterra, the ‘Discovery’ feature helped find net-new contacts at their target accounts who have visited the website. 

The information provided on 6sense dashboards has lit up Bonterra’s Dark Funnel, enabling sellers to have more guidance on which accounts to go after. Since using Sales Intelligence, Bonterra has noted an increase in website visits from target accounts.

The ability for our go-to-market team to see which of our key accounts are engaging with our website or marketing ads in nearly real-time is a complete game-changer,” Justin enthuses. 

The Results: Driving Higher Engagement and Improved Sales-Marketing Alignment

After implementing 6sense, Bonterra experienced a transformative shift in how they approached marketing. With data-driven insights and enhanced collaboration between sales and marketing, the company saw substantial improvements in targeting, engagement, and overall efficiency. 

“Comparing our account-based marketing ads to our non-ABM ads, we see both higher conversion rates and higher click-through rates. Across the board, our ABM metrics are stronger,” says Justin. 

Here are Bonterra’s wins using 6sense since January of 2024: 

  • 6sense programs influenced $6M in pipeline, which is a 445% increase from the previous fiscal year
  • 6763 target accounts driven to website 

“Everything we’re doing from an outbound perspective would be so much harder without 6Sense,” admits Justin. 

A Data-Driven Path to Bonterra’s Future Growth

By embracing 6sense’s AI-driven platform, Bonterra successfully transitioned from a dependence on inbound leads to a proactive, account-based marketing strategy. The synergy between sales and marketing improved engagement with key accounts and drove significant increases in conversion rates and overall efficiency in their go-to market strategy.

Bonterra’s journey illustrates the transformative power of predictive analytics and cross-team collaboration in executing effective ABM strategies. The company’s success is a valuable example for organizations looking to improve the efficiency of their marketing program while achieving greater alignment between sales and marketing teams.

About the Customer

Bonterra is a leading provider of social good software, helping nonprofits, foundations, and corporations maximize impact. Their solutions streamline fundraising, donor engagement, program management, and corporate social responsibility, empowering organizations to drive meaningful change.

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