The Shift to Core Buying Committees and How to Engage Them

Activate

The tech decision process is more complex and dynamic than it’s ever been and involves numerous buyers across several departments and functions. Many of our methods in demand gen have not kept up with the reality of multiple key players involved in the decision process. It is still common for software and cloud technology providers to insist on receiving no more than one or two leads per account.

“Given the shift to account-based strategy, decision-makers are heavily influenced by key roles across IT, security, applications and even power users when it comes to purchasing technology,” says Scott Vaughan, CMO/SaaS Executive and Growth Accelerator.

Put another way, companies might not reach the entire buying committee if they rely on outdated ways of generating leads. This puts these companies at a substantial disadvantage because they more than likely will lose out to competitors that engage the entire group in the sales process.

It is therefore wise to get access to not just one or two IT members, but all members of the buying committee.

Look beyond IT buyers

Nowadays, individuals outside IT have more influence on tech buys than ever before. A LinkedIn Tech Buyers report revealed 69% of influential business functions sit outside of IT. This finding is corroborated by Beth Caplow, Forrester’s VP and Principal Analyst: When it comes to buying scenarios, “the vast majority involve multiple people across multiple departments,” she says.

If you are looking for true dynamic involvement, get in front of all the buyers involved in the process.

How do you achieve this goal?

Don’t thwart your selling capability by limiting yourself to just one or two or three leads from a key account. Take these key steps to engage multiple buyers in your key accounts:

  • Step 1: Share the personas of all buyers involved in the purchasing process.
  • Step 2: Enlist your demand-gen partner to identify the specific contacts in those accounts.
  • Step 3: Have your partner confirm and qualify each of the contacts by engaging them with tailored content and pain-point-oriented discussions, in live conversations.
  • Step 4: Have your partner present those qualified, confirmed buying committees to you.
  • Step 5: Have your sales team follow up with entire buying committees, and – should you need it – have your partner coach your team on the best ways to convert.

Result:

By getting the attention of the entire buying committee, you gain greater buy-in from key stakeholders. If you only engage two or three contacts, you are missing out on a majority of the buying committee members. Provide buying committee members with content that speaks to their individual pain points. Create content that directly addresses the objections each committee member may face. By doing so, you’ll be able to sell more and create greater deal sizes while also cultivating deeper engagement.