About the Session
This session is the inaugural episode of the “Science of B2B” series led by Kerry Cunningham, Head of 6sense Research and Thought Leadership. The series aims to present and discuss various research findings related to B2B marketing and selling. This session introduces the “Reality of B2B” series, focusing on the buyer experience and the concept of the 70% constant in the B2B buying journey.
Agenda
The session started with an introduction to the series, followed by an overview of the “6sense Buyer Experience Report.” The discussion centered on the findings that 70% of a buying journey is completed before buyers talk to sellers, and the implications of this timing on the buying process. Future episodes will delve deeper into these findings and explore related topics such as intent, attribution, and revenue generation in B2B.
Takeaways
Takeaway 1: Buyers complete 70% of their buying journey before engaging with sellers.
Kerry Cunningham explained that 70% of the buying journey is over before buyers talk to sellers. This consistent finding highlights that buyers are largely in control of their buying journey and choose when to initiate contact with sellers.
Takeaway 2: Buyers often initiate the first contact with sellers.
Cunningham revealed that 83% of the time, buyers initiate the first contact with sellers. This shows that buyers are deliberate about when and whom they engage with during their buying process.
Takeaway 3: The first vendor contacted often wins the business.
According to the report, 84% of the time, the first vendor contacted by buyers is the one that ultimately wins the business. This suggests that buyers pick a winner in their decision-making before engaging with sellers
Takeaway 4: Buyers set their requirements before engaging with sellers.
Cunningham shared that 78% of buyers had already set their requirements by the time they had their first conversation with a seller. This indicates that buyers have a clear understanding of their needs and preferences prior to talking to sellers.
Insights Surfaced
- 70% of a buying journey is completed before buyers talk to sellers.
- Buyers initiate the first contact with sellers 83% of the time.
- The first vendor contacted is the one that wins the business 84% of the time.
- Buyers have set their requirements by the time they first engage with sellers 78% of the time.
- The buying journey can take up to eleven months, with the first seller contact happening around the eighth month.
Key Quotes
“One of the things that we learned in this report is that 70% of a buying journey is over before buyers talk to sellers.”
“Eighty three percent of the time, buyers said that they initiated that contact.”
“Eighty four percent of the time, buyers said that that first conversation was with the vendor that ultimately won the business.”
“Seventy eight percent of the time, buyers told us that they had already completely or mostly set their requirements by the time they had that first conversation with a seller.”
Future Topics
Kerry outlined plans for future webinars and research, promising to delve deeper into the reasons behind the 70% constant in the buying journey. Upcoming episodes will also explore the role of form fills, the number of interactions buyers have throughout their journey, and the “Intent Series” focusing on demythologizing intent and addressing common misconceptions.
Next time, the series will focus on the 70% constant, exploring why it takes that long for buyers to engage with sellers and what happens during that time. Further episodes will continue to provide actionable insights and strategies to help marketers and sellers optimize their approach based on research findings.
