EBlog

What does your buyer want?  Dissecting the complex B2B sale.  Part 1: What’s changed.

August 11, 2008 | Posted by: Lee

This is the first in a series of posts that looks at the complex B2B technology sale.  Specifically, what's changed, who's involved, what they want, and where they go to find answers.

Lots of different people.  All with different needs. 

According to MarketingSherpa, there can be as many as 21 people involved in a complex technology sale.  Multiple people come and go throughout the buying cycle and some will wear multiple hats.  

No matter how many people are involved, they all want the same thing - clear answers to their questions.  What's tough for B2B companies is that different people ask different questions at different times in the buying process.

As buyers move through the decision making process, they first want to be sure your solution does what they need.  Once they're convinced it's a viable option and within budget, then they take the time to learn more about your company.

The biggest shift overall has been the role that content plays in complex B2B technology sales.

According to a study by KnowledgeStorm, 85% of technology buyers said they needed 3-5 pieces of content before they had a clear understanding of what the company provided.  They're looking for educational content that explains concepts, strategies, and benefits.

Additionally, because of the amount of information available online, buyers aren't reaching out and contacting companies as early in the process as before.  Instead they're doing more research online (on your site and others) without engaging your sales team.  This shift means B2B companies need to start providing content online which may have been more typically covered in the first contact with sales.

What does this mean for me?

It’s the combination of multiple types of content, each meeting a different need at a different point in the sales cycle that works best. 

Content that is more relevant to the buyer (because it answers their questions) will be perceived as more valuable.  And companies that provide that information will be more likely to get invited to the table.