Should we send the team to a public Account-Based Marketing course, or bring training in-house?

I get asked this often.

And my answer surprises people: Do both. But in the right order.

Here’s why:

Public ABM workshops - open to any interested participant - are brilliant for:

✓ Testing the water → Try it yourself or send 1-2 people before committing the whole team ✓ Outside perspective → Your team mixes with marketers from different industries (some of the best insights come from “wait, how can YOU handle that?“) ✓ Confidential learning → People ask questions they might not ask in front of their colleagues or boss ✓ Lower initial investment → Try before you scale

In-house workshops are powerful for:

✓ Confidential account discussion → Work on YOUR actual target accounts (impossible in public courses) ✓ Team alignment → Get sales, marketing, and leadership in one room, speaking one language ✓ Industry customisation → Examples, exercises, and strategies specific to your sector and buyers ✓ Cost effective at scale → Train 12 people for the price of sending 6 to public courses ✓ Immediate application → Leave with actual campaigns ready to launch for your business

So which should you choose?

Both. Strategically.

The smart sequence:

#Phase1: Send your ABM lead or 2-3 key people to a public workshop first → They learn the methodology → They see what good looks like → They understand what’s possible → They come back as internal champions

#Phase2: Bring me in-house 2-3 months later → Now your champions can participate at a higher level → The whole team learns together → You work on YOUR accounts, YOUR challenges → Everyone aligns on YOUR specific ABM strategy

Why this sequence works:

Your internal champions ensure the in-house workshop is focused, relevant, and immediately actionable. They ask better questions. They spot opportunities faster. They help the rest of the team connect the dots.

And frankly? You get much better ROI from the in-house investment when someone in the room already speaks fluent ABM.

We’ve seen this pattern with 300+ enterprise businesses:

The companies that do sequential training (public → in-house) implement faster, execute better, and see results sooner than those who jump straight to in-house with zero ABM experience.

It’s like learning to swim. Public workshop = swimming lessons. In-house workshop = training for your specific race.

Both matter. Order matters more.