“I am your elusive buyer, and I know you want to connect with me.
But take it from me – most of the ways you try to reach me are not going to work, and they are annoying me.
And it’s not just me.
There are 9 of us on the buying committee, and we all feel the same.
It will take us nearly a year to make a decision, and it’s unlikely we will talk to anyone in person for at least 8 months.
Until then, my colleagues and I will be doing our own research.
And we will ignore your calls and most of your emails.
You will just have to be patient.
By the time I reach out, we will have pretty much made up our minds.
Our requirements will be set for the most part.
We will have a top candidate in mind.
We will be calling them first.
And the odds are that’s who we will go with.
We will talk to others for validation.
Sorry, that’s the way it is.
And we do a lot of homework.
We are not just kicking tires.
This is our job, and we take the process seriously.
I could be fired if we pick the wrong vendor.
So why am I telling you this?
Because there are some things you can do to be useful to us.
We need help in our research, which will inform who we contact.
Here are some things you can do for us:
– Make it easy for us to understand in-depth what you do, how you do it, and why you are different
– Provide thought leadership that educates and informs us
– We are open to one-on-one expert consultations that provide unique perspectives
– Create opportunities for us to discuss challenges with our peers
– Provide educational forums, seminars, and workshops that help us build our knowledge
And if you do this well, it may show us that you are a firm we can trust.
Who knows?
We might call you first.”
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This is what a typical B2B buyer thinks according to 6sense’s recent research on the buyer journey.
PS: The image is a famous ad from the 1960s. The only thing that has changed is that they are even harder to reach.