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zip × Innovative Group
FY27 Enterprise ABM Pilot · Kickoff day one · 13 October 2026

Day one: decisions and next steps.

Zip's sales, marketing and RevOps leaders spent the day with Innovative Group setting up the six-month pilot. The ten accounts are chosen, the program scope is confirmed, and the way success will be measured has moved to a model that fits enterprise sales cycles. This page summarizes what was decided, what it means for the program, and who owns each next step.

Decided
Scope, the ten accounts, operating rules, measurement direction
For sign-off Wednesday
Updated scorecard, comparison group, contact data approach
Companion
Kickoff deck →
Summary

Five things to know.

1

A pipeline program

The pilot moves deals already in pipeline at ten accounts. New lead generation stays with Zip's SDR and field programs.

2

Ten accounts chosen

Target, Walmart, Costco, Nordstrom, Macy's, Kohl's, Nike, Chewy, Albertsons and H-E-B. Mostly categories that already understand BNPL.

3

Buying committee is the lever

Most stalled deals rest on one relationship. The program widens each account to the full buying group.

4

Measured on movement

Committee expansion and a pipeline velocity score, read against a matched comparison group.

5

A value read at six months

The method is set before results arrive, so the six-month read and any expansion decision rest on agreed rules.

Program scopeDecided

Ten accounts, six months, existing pipeline.

DecisionWhat it meansWhat we do
The pilot moves pipeline that already exists. Zip's SDR and field programs own new lead generation.
Clear lanes. Results from the pilot will not be mixed with other pipeline programs.
All activity stays inside the ten accounts and their buying committees.
B2B marketing investment this fiscal year goes to field and to this pilot.
The two programs will be read side by side at year end.
Every program touch is tagged to the pilot so attribution is clean.
Prove the model on ten, then scale to 25 or 50 accounts.
The pilot needs to produce a repeatable method as well as results.
We document the playbook as we run it, account by account.
Account selectionDecided

The ten accounts.

Big box

  • Target
  • Walmart
  • Costco

Department

  • Nordstrom incl. Rack
  • Macy's
  • Kohl's

Brand and specialty

  • Nike
  • Chewy

Grocery

  • Albertsons
  • H-E-B

Selection logic

  • Eight in categories that already accept BNPL, so the pilot tests the ABM approach and does not depend on educating a new category.
  • Two grocers, where Zip already has dedicated messaging.
  • Every account has open pipeline that has slowed or stalled.
  • Changed from the first list: TJX and CVS out, Kroger replaced by Albertsons, Nike and Chewy added.
  • Seller owners (confirmed day two): Chad (Target, Kohl's), Patrick (Walmart, Costco, H-E-B), Anne (Albertsons, Chewy, Nordstrom, Macy's), Caroline (Nike).

Comparison group

  • Ten matched accounts on normal seller coverage, with no program activity, so lift can be measured.
  • Matched one to one where a peer exists (for example Sam's Club or BJ's for Costco).
  • The big box three are read on their own, since they have no direct peers.
  • Excluded from both lists: accounts in Zip's agentic pilot.
Program focusAgreed

Where the program puts its effort.

The sales team's account review shaped the plan. Each row is a finding from the session and the program response.

FindingWhat it meansWhat we do
Most stalled deals rest on one relationship. When that contact is busy or moves on, the deal pauses or resets.
The fastest way to move these deals is more people at the merchant who know Zip and want it.
Map and reach the full buying committee at each account: payments, e-commerce and marketing, product, IT, customer experience.
Adding a payment method rarely has a deadline. Merchants already offer one or more BNPLs.
Momentum has to be created between seller meetings.
A steady, persona-specific drumbeat between quarterly check-ins, plus executive briefings where an account is ready.
The retail calendar sets the window. Q4 code freezes pause integration work, and some retailers set next year's roadmap in October.
Timing matters as much as message.
Sequence outreach so conversations land before each account's planning cycle. The go-live decision on Wednesday reflects this.
Enterprise cycles run about a year to signature, then 6 to 9 months to launch.
A six-month pilot will show movement and engagement, rarely closed deals.
Measure the signals that predict progress (see Scorecard).
Sales assets come from Zip's enablement team, and a separate vendor is building account research at scale.
No duplicated effort.
Innovative Group focuses on buying committee reach, intelligence on the ten, and measurement. Asset needs go to enablement.
Messaging and channelsAgreed

How the message reaches the buying committee.

FindingWhat it meansWhat we do
Compliance limits how directly Zip's value can be stated in broad marketing.
Targeted, one-to-one channels can carry a clearer story than mass media.
Persona messaging delivered directly to named committee members, reviewed through Zip's compliance process.
Merchant awareness of Zip trails the larger BNPL brands.
Committee members outside the core relationship may not know Zip yet.
Treat new committee members as new prospects: introduce Zip, then the account-specific case.
Content syndication and events have produced pipeline; thought leadership has worked when used.
Build on what has worked.
A three-part syndicated webinar series (practitioner, advanced, ROI for finance), thought leadership placements, and Meta as a B2B targeting layer alongside LinkedIn.
The brand platform carries forward, with chapter two in development, plus sports and media partnerships.
Program messaging should feel like the same brand at the merchant level.
Align B2B messaging to the brand platform. Review partnership assets for B2B use on Wednesday.
Operating rulesPartly agreed

How marketing and sales work the ten together.

Agreed

Committed next step

A call booked, executive alignment, or an event attended. Requests for information are logged and do not count toward progress.

Agreed

Lead routing

Director level and above go straight to the account seller.

Agreed

Rules of engagement

Marketing reaches anyone a seller is not actively working. After 21 days without seller activity, a contact returns to marketing.

Agreed

Influence

Every tracked interaction counts while the baseline is built, then the definition is refined.

In progress

Account scoring

Weights adjusted in the session: product added as a persona, marketing weighted up, procurement moved to awareness. Updated model this week.

In progress

Lead scoring and stages

Contact-level scoring proposed by Innovative Group. Written stage criteria to follow with sales leadership.

ScorecardFor sign-off Wednesday

Measured on movement in the buying committee.

Enterprise deals rarely change Salesforce stage inside six months, so stage data is tracked for context. Success is read through committee expansion and a pipeline velocity score built from real activity.

MetricBaselineDay 90Day 180
Pipeline acceleration · primary
Pipeline velocity score NewSix-month look backFirst readLift against comparison
Pilot accounts against comparison groupPaired day 45First readFull comparison
Commercial value of the movementModel agreedEarly viewAt least the program spend
Buying committee expansion · reported monthly
Committee members reached per accountAbout 340 to 50%55 to 65%
Named contacts engaged per accountAbout 318 to 2225 to 30
Committee members active on a live deal06 to 810 to 14
Committed next steps NewSet at baselineTracked2 to 4 meetings in 75% of accounts
Meetings and field moments created0TrackedReported
Tracked for context
Days in stage, stage-to-stage conversionSix-month look backTrackedReported
Milestones such as an NDA signedLoggedTrackedReported
Value caseDirection agreed

How the six-month value read will be made.

The method is agreed now, before results exist, so the read at six months and any decision to expand are made on rules everyone accepted up front.

1

Pipeline velocity score

A score built from defined buying committee activity, so progress is visible even when Salesforce stages hold still.

2

Before and after

Six months of program activity set against each account's own history of engagement.

3

Lift against comparison

Change in weighted probability across the ten against the comparison group, converted to expected commercial value and set against the spend.

Update, 14 October: the velocity score will be built from a menu of deal milestones, calibrated against Zip's recent wins and losses. See day two →

Reporting rhythm

  • Monthly: leading indicators to Zip leadership.
  • Day 90: first read against the comparison group. Expansion can be considered early if the signal is strong.
  • Day 180: full value read.
  • After Wednesday: a one-page plan for leadership with the ten, the approach and the method.

Dependencies

Seller activity in SalesforceIn place
Intent signals (ZoomInfo)In place
Email engagement (Pardot)Access granted
Webinar and event data (Splash)To connect
Website visits from the ten (consent setup)To review
Approved route to reach contacts on Zip's behalfTo confirm
Owners

Next steps.

Innovative Group

Updated account scoring modelMarkThis week
Updated KPI framework and scorecardRita, MarkThis week
Comparison group proposalRita, with VaneetThis week
Data source mapMarkThis week
One-page plan for leadershipChris, with AlysonAfter Wednesday
Baseline with six-month look backMark, with ZmicerNext week
Value model optionsChris, MarkNext week
Sample account planRitaNext week
Lead scoring and routingRitaNext week
Webinar series and Meta test proposalRitaWithin two weeks

Zip

Approved B2B messaging and nurture contentAlyson
Six months of engagement history for the tenZmicer, Emmy
Outreach analysis (touches to first opportunity)Zmicer
Revenue per deal assumptionsVaneet
Approved route to reach contactsAlyson
Website consent and tracking setupAlyson
Salesforce account clean-up for the tenZmicer
Wednesday

Four decisions to close.

A

Comparison group

Confirm the matching approach and the list.

B

Scorecard

Sign off the updated measures and targets.

C

Contact data

Agree the route for reaching each buying committee.

D

Owners and calendar

One owner each side for commercial and systems, the go-live date, and review dates.

Day two readout → · Kickoff deck · Zip portal