Buyer Experience Report - Key Findings

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José Forte
José Forte Posts: 9 ✭✭✭
edited October 2024 in All Discussions

Hey champs 6Sense just made an amazing job with their Buyer Experience Report. Since we're talking about almost 500 pages I've made a recap to share internally but also though that it could make here and understand what are your thoughts and what will you make with this.

This research spanned over two years and focused on understanding the buyer journey, interactions with vendors, and the timing of vendor engagements involving more than 3,500 B2B buyers. They highlighted patterns on those buyers journeys and how sales can leverage that but also the impact of content on the prospect journey, how important it’s to have a consolidated relation with partners and also how can we tackle the prospects defensive mode to BDRs with solutions as community and community content.  

Articles/Docs: 

https://6sense.com/resources/buyer-experience-report/2024-b2b-buyer-experience-report https://6sense.com/resources/buyer-experience-report/b2b-buying-activities https://6sense.com/resources/buyer-experience-report/defensive-buyer-syndrome https://6sense.com/resources/buyer-experience-report/the-critical-period-for-b2b-buying

Key Findings:

1. Prospects Research On Defensive Mode:

  • A notable portion of buyers are in "Do Not Disturb" mode during their early research, resisting direct seller engagement until they’re almost ready to make a decision​.

Defensive Buyer Syndrome refers to buyers' behavior of avoiding seller interaction early in their journey. Instead, they opt for self-research and external consultation to narrow down options before engaging with vendors. Here are some key statistics related to this phenomenon:

  1. Buyers Prefer to Self-Research and Avoid Seller Engagement:
    • Most B2B buyers (85%) establish their requirements before speaking with sellers, relying heavily on external sources. More than 80% of buyers initiate contact when they are 70% of the way through their journey, meaning they avoid engaging with sellers during the research and selection phase.
    • Tip: Provide valuable, easily accessible content and recognize that aggressive outreach early in the process may backfire. Respect their self-research phase and offer helpful content that nurtures without pressure.
  2. More Content Interactions Before Contact:
    • On average, B2B buyers have hundreds of interactions with vendor content, analysts, and consultants before they ever speak with a sales representative. This behavior exemplifies how buyers protect their process and stay defensive until they are well-informed.
    • Tip: Invest heavily in digital content, such as educational blogs, case studies, and reports, that buyers can access independently. This will help establish trust while buyers are in "do not disturb" mode.
  3. Early Buyers Form Smaller Groups: Teams engaging vendors early tend to be smaller and evaluate fewer vendors​.
    • Tip: Identify early-stage buyers quickly. If you detect that a buyer is early in their journey, tailor your approach to provide educational content and help guide their decision-making process.
  4. Buyers Engage in Hundreds of Interactions: The average buying cycle length increases as more vendors are added to the shortlist. Buyers who evaluate more vendors take significantly longer to make a decision since on average buyers have 16 interactions per vendor.
    • Tip: Help buyers narrow down quickly. Focus on differentiating your solution early to limit the number of vendors being considered, which can accelerate the decision process.
  5. Winning Vendors Are Usually Contacted First: In over 80% of cases, buyers engage the vendor they end up choosing first.
    • Tip: Ask early about your position. When you first engage with a prospect, ask where you are on their shortlist. This can help you focus on either confirming their choice or shifting perceptions if you’re lower on the list.
  6. Buyers' Preference for Analyst or Consultant Input:
    • More than 70% of B2B buyers work with consultants or analysts to help inform their decisions. Buyers who use consultants or analysts tend to have longer buying cycles (13.6 months on average) compared to those who don't (6.5 months). These buyers also make larger purchases and involve more people in the decision-making process.
    • Tip: Address complexity proactively and cultivate relationships with industry influencers. If you know a buyer is working with consultants or has a larger buying group, prepare for a longer cycle by delivering customized, in-depth content that addresses the added complexity. Make sure you’re visible and respected by the consultants or analysts your buyers might be consulting.
  7. Buyers Complete Requirements Independently:
    • 85% of buyers have their purchase requirements mostly or fully set before engaging with vendors).
    • Tip: When you do engage with buyers, don’t assume they’re starting from scratch. Instead, ask what they’ve already established in terms of needs and solutions so you can position your product as the best fit.

Actionable Strategy to Combat Defensive Buyer Syndrome:

  • Enable Content-Driven Selling: Since buyers spend significant time interacting with content, BDRs and sales teams should focus on providing high-value materials that align with the buyer’s journey stage. Utilize platforms like your CRM to track these interactions and tailor follow-ups based on specific buyer interests.
  • Focus on Thought Leadership: Ensure your company is visible in the spaces buyers trust—whether that’s analyst reports, reviews, or forums. When buyers are ready to engage, they should already perceive you as a trusted leader.
  • Align with Buyer’s Research: Respect the buyer’s self-research process by offering insights when the timing feels appropriate, rather than pushing for early engagement.

By combining these insights with a clear understanding of buyer behavior, BDRs can elevate their role from transactional salespeople to trusted partners who support the buying journey.

By focusing on these topics, your team can further tailor their approaches to better align with buyer expectations and behaviors, ultimately improving win rates and deal velocity.

2. Vendor Personnel Perception:

  • Buyers perceive senior leadership and subject matter experts from vendor organizations as the most helpful, while business development representatives (BDRs) are viewed as the least helpful, particularly in EMEA.

How BDRs Can Leverage relationships:

Even though BDRs are rated lower in terms of perceived helpfulness, they still play a crucial role in early engagement and nurturing buyer relationships. Here’s how BDRs can improve their impact:

  1. Understand Buyer Needs Early:
    • Tip: Before reaching out, BDRs should research the prospect’s industry, pain points, and goals. Leveraging CRM data or tools like 6sense can help BDRs gain insights into where the buyer is in the journey. This level of preparation allows BDRs to add value by addressing specific challenges instead of generalizing their pitch.
  2. Position as Educators, Not Sellers:
    • Tip: Buyers are often in research mode and don’t want to be pushed into a decision. BDRs should approach conversations from an educational standpoint. Share relevant, value-packed content like industry reports or case studies or our community. Helping prospects understand the landscape can improve perception and establish trust.
  3. Collaborate with SMEs:
    • Buyers value subject matter expertise more than generic sales outreach. BDRs can involve technical experts early in the discussion to answer detailed questions or dive into complex topics.
    • Tip: Position SMEs as trusted advisors by bringing them into key discussions when appropriate. This creates a seamless transition from prospecting to solution-building.
  4. Follow Up on Buyer Behavior:
    • Tip: Monitor buyer engagement signals (downloads, webinar attendance, etc.) and time follow-ups around these activities. When BDRs show awareness of the buyer’s journey, it feels more like support and less like a hard sell.
  5. Ask for the Shortlist Status:

Tip: Since buyers often have a preferred vendor by the time they engage with sales, BDRs should ask early on where the vendor stands in the buyer’s evaluation process. Politely inquire: "Where do we currently stand in your evaluation? How can we best support your decision-making?".

Hope you liked and once again would love to understand what are your thoughts and what will you make with this!!

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