5 REASONS BUYING COMMITTEES ARE NOT CHOOSING YOUR SOLUTION



Buying committees are on the rise in the new B2B buyer journey. No longer are your salespeople addressing just the one decision-maker who can say “yay” or “nay” to your solution.

You are now selling to an average of six scrutinizing professionals!

You want their deciding team to look upon your organization and unanimously agree: “Yes. This is the clear choice.” But how can you rise above the competition as the chosen one? Easy. Demonstrate how you can serve their needs better than all the others.

WHY THE BUYING COMMITTEE IS CHOOSING THEIR SOLUTION

You are an expert on your company — but not theirs. Buyers overwhelmingly value selling organizations that gain a deep understanding of their company and its needs and, furthermore, demonstrate that with relevant content and conversations. In the 2022 DemandGen survey of 340 B2B executive buyers, 68% indicated this was the most important element in their ultimate solution decision.

Your organization is not creating high-quality content. Content remains on its kingly throne today. Your website and the thought leadership and resources you provide to buyers on it — as they spend nearly half their buying journey researching solutions online — matter. Do not just output noise. Make sure your content is tailored to your target buyers’ needs and that you are demonstrating your expertise wherever the prospective buyer clicks.

Your knowledge of the solution area and business landscape is weak. Too often sellers believe the No. 1 way to demonstrate expertise is to know their solution. That is partially true. According to Sales Mastery’s recent study, the top six deal-makers according to buyers are:

  • Seller understood my business, my situation and my needs
  • Seller demonstrated the ROI or value of the solution
  • Seller actively listened to me
  • Seller provided expertise and perspective
  • Seller helped me through how to use the solution
  • Seller configured a creative and compelling solution

The lesson: Listen to the buyer, bring perspective on the buyer’s business (market, trends, use cases) — and then tailor the solution to the buyer’s unique scenario. All that leads to a compelling and demonstrable value proposition (aka ROI). In other words, solution knowledge is relevant, but it wins the day when that context is applied to the buyer’s business, situation and needs.

Your organization is failing to provide a mix of content all along the buyer journey. Despite the advanced technology and many channels for research, buying is not getting easier. In fact, in a recent Gartner report, 77% of buyers deemed their last purchase as difficult. If your organization is not doing everything in its power to make it as easy as possible for buying committees to understand how your solution can serve their needs — and how to buy and implement that — then you will likely fail to land the deal. Be at their service from early digital engagements to sales discussion and content throughout their entire journey.

Your content is not helping the buying committee see the outcomes at the end of your solution. Can your solution help your buyer realize true gains? In a Forrester study, 71% of buyers said client value stories and relevant use cases were the most credible type of content in their decision-making. However, 78% noted that the salespeople they have encountered often do not have these prepared. Share the successes other similar businesses have realized with your solution to help your prospective buyers envision a prosperous future after they have chosen you.

DIFFERENTIATING YOUR ORGANIZATION FROM THE COMPETITION

It is clear B2B buyers want a selling organization that has the understanding and expertise to serve their needs — and takes the time to demonstrate this with highly relevant and insightful content and messaging at every juncture of the buying journey.

A number of foundational sales enablement tools — from personas to discovery to value messaging frameworks — go into getting this right.

If your organization is struggling to win over the buying committee, schedule a call with one of our revenue performance experts.

 

PUT BUYERS FIRST