What is the B2B buying process?

Why it matters when you sell B2B

Sellers think in their own pipeline stages. Buyers move through their own steps, and the two rarely line up. Selling well means knowing which step the buyer is really on.

Each step brings in different people from the buying committee, and the economic buyer often appears only at approval.

A worked example

Here are the steps for one invented software purchase.

Much of steps 1 and 2 happens before any vendor hears from the buyer, in the dark funnel. That is why a seller who reaches the buyer at step 1, with something useful, has an advantage over one who waits for a demo request at step 4.

Common mistakes

• 1Pitching step 4 to a buyer at step 1. A demo for someone still deciding whether the problem is real feels pushy.
• 2Ignoring whoever writes the requirements. If IT writes a requirement you cannot meet, you lose before the comparison starts.
• 3Forgetting approval and paperwork. Plenty of chosen suppliers wait months in procurement.
• 4Assuming a straight line. Buyers go back a step when a new person joins or the budget changes.
• 5Counting "no decision" as a loss to a rival. Many deals end with the buyer doing nothing. Plan for that as the main competitor.

Find the buyer's step on a first call

1. Ask what started this.
2. Ask who else is involved.
3. Ask whether there is a requirements list yet.
4. Ask who else they are looking at.
5. Ask how purchases like this get approved.

Related terms

• Buying committee
• Buyer journey
• Economic buyer
• Dark funnel
• MEDDPICC