zip × Innovative Group
Memo
| To | Zip leadership |
| From | Prepared for Alyson Ely by Innovative Group |
| Date | 14 October 2026 |
| Re | FY27 Enterprise ABM Pilot: kickoff outcomes and what comes next |
What to know
- The pilot is set up. Ten enterprise accounts, six months, aimed at moving deals already in pipeline. New lead generation stays with SDR and field.
- Success is defined before work starts. A pipeline velocity score built from deal milestones, plus buying committee expansion, read against a matched comparison group. Final scoring agreed Monday 19 October.
- The first month is foundation. Account plans, data access, measurement baseline and content in review. Outreach follows, and results start to show from there.
- You will hear from us every Friday, with a monthly read and a full value read at six months.
What the pilot does
Most of Zip's stalled enterprise deals rest on one relationship inside the merchant. The pilot widens each of the ten accounts to the full buying committee (payments, e-commerce and marketing, product, technology, and the executive team) so more of the people who decide know Zip and want it. Innovative Group runs the program as an extension of Alyson's team, working directly with each account's seller.
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 |
Selected with Sales leadership from the Tier 1 list. Each has open pipeline that has slowed, and each has a named Zip seller.
How success is measured
Enterprise deals rarely change Salesforce stage inside six months, so stage movement is tracked but is not the measure. The pilot is judged on:
- Pipeline velocity score: progress through milestones that predict a close, such as ROI presented, executive alignment, NDA signed and integration scoping. It is calibrated on Zip's recent wins and losses.
- Buying committee expansion: people reached, engaged and active on each deal.
- Lift against a comparison group of similar accounts on normal coverage, converted to expected commercial value and set against the program spend.
What you will see, and when
| Every Friday | A short update: what moved this week, what is next |
|---|---|
| Late October | A one-page plan: the ten, the approach, the measurement method |
| Monthly | Leading indicators, with account-level detail behind them |
| Day 90 | First read against the comparison group |
| Day 180 | Full value read and recommendation on expansion |
Where leadership can help
- Review speed. Each asset needs about a month across copy, design, legal and bank partner compliance. Treating ABM work as a priority review tier would shorten that.
- Ownership of execution. Innovative Group leads writing and ABM paid media for the pilot, with Zip's teams reviewing. This keeps the program consistent and protects Zip's team capacity.
- Patience with the first month. The foundation work (data, measurement, account plans) is what makes the results credible later.
Next 30 days
| Mon 19 Oct | Velocity scorecard agreed with Sales leadership and account owners |
|---|---|
| Fri 23 Oct | Target account plan reviewed. The remaining nine follow. |
| Late October | Measurement baseline, data access, content plan, first assets into review |
| November | Buying committee mapping complete, outreach begins with existing approved assets |
| December to January | Soft start through the holiday period, full program from January |
Detail: full kickoff summary · day one · day two