08/22/2024 | News release | Archived content
This blog is a guest post from our friends at LeanData.
There's a popular Goldilocks analogy gaining momentum in B2B sales and marketing circles that states:
Leads are too narrow.
Accounts are too broad.
Buying Groups are just right.
After years of Marketing throwing so-called "leads" over the fence to Sales, and account-based marketing (ABM) teams completely missing new buying centers within an account, it's time for a go-to-market (GTM) revolution.
The primary motivator is, for many organizations, the B2B buyer is not one person, but a buying group composed of multiple players.
And, applying lead-centric or legacy ABM processes to members of a buying group results in a longer sales cycle, a poor buying experience, lead leakage and a waste of marketing investment. The better solution is a buying group motion where revenue teams focus on identifying, qualifying and moving opportunities through the sales cycle.
But how do you drive organizational change in systems and processes entrenched in leads?
Well, here's your pitch …
More and more sales and marketing teams are noticing that lead-centric processes are breaking down. Here are the all-too-familiar signs:
Despite these problems, many companies are stuck on a hamster wheel of MQLs that don't convert and don't result in revenue.
Ultimately, MQLs should never be your source of truth or sole KPI. Rather, they are a leading indicator, a data point and a way for companies to identify priority leads. They are a dial to hone your messaging, processes and follow-up approach. By focusing on MQLs - and by-extension, leads - sellers often underestimate all the personas on the full buying committee. Essential context about the group making the buying decision is missing, including relevant buying signals. Simply stated, MQLs alone ignore the signals that matter.
Further, when focusing solely on leads and contacts, sellers can't see the buyer overlap and the influence those disparate opportunities have on the account as a whole.
The answer lies in gathering signals from the entire buying group.
According to Forbes, conventional wisdom believed the buying committee was around six people. In reality, buying committees are 10, 12, 14 people or more.
Buying groups are similar to buying committees found in most ABM initiatives. In the context of GTM motions, a buying group is connected to a particular deal moving through a sales cycle. They have been assembled to solve a particular organizational problem.
Buying groups are made up of multiple departments, roles and personas which include subject matter experts, contributors from a relevant department and other stakeholders or gatekeepers.
While an individual's department and persona are static, their role on the buying committee may change depending on the organizational problem the group is trying to solve.
There are five fundamental building blocks marketing and sales teams need to consider in a buying group motion:
Because of the organizational change involved in adopting a buying group motion, a phased approach is recommended. The timeline can be highly variable, depending on your organization's readiness and motivation.
The first phase in adopting a buying group motion is all about gaining organizational alignment. There must be a logical rationale for making this change and a clear explanation of its financial impact.
In the build phase, processes and technology are set up to capture buying signals, prioritize them, and move existing opportunities forward.
The steps and responsibilities in the orchestrate phrase are divided by the marketing, SDR/BDR and sales teams. Marketing will develop and optimize campaigns to attract and engage with members of the buying groups.
BDRs/SDRs identify buying group members, adding members to a suspect opportunity, and potentially scheduling meetings.
Sales and Marketing will collaborate throughout the entire opportunity cycle to ensure a cohesive approach to engagement.
In the measure phase, companies create reports and dashboards to evaluate the success of their buying group motion. Some suggested metrics include number of engaged buying group members, average buying group members at a qualified stage, or average buying group members who attended a meeting.
Source: LeanDataOn a tactical level, a buying group motion is played out in three basic stages:
LeanData customers who have successfully transitioned to a buying group motion took two primary paths in regards to their tech stack: (1) re-architecting existing systems without adding any new tech and (2) reconfiguring existing systems as well as buying new tech.
Navigating the transition from lead-centric and ABM strategies to a buying group GTM motion is admittedly no simple feat. It will require both a cultural and operational shift to adjust sales and marketing philosophies to make the shift.
On a high level, this transformation requires a thorough internal process evaluation, an understanding of industry best practices and data management strategies, and potentially the adoption of new technologies.LeanData customers using a buying group motion today report the following improvements:
To investigate a buying group motion further, visit the LeanData Buying Groups Resource Center.