Rebekah Carter
Remember when earning a sale in the B2B tech world just meant tracking down the CFO, the CTO – or anyone with the most buying power? Those days are over.
A single executive can’t just greenlight a tech purchase over lunch. Not now that the world is packed with more complicated AI models, sophisticated cloud systems, and revolutionary tools that evolve overnight. According to Gartner, current B2B buying committees are made up of at least 10 people on average – sometimes over 20 for enterprise-level deals.
With so many cooks in the kitchen, decisions take longer, and most of the time, companies just revert to the businesses they’ve already shortlisted. It’s harder than ever to break through the barrier.
The good news? There is an answer. Get to know the inner circle – and you can craft B2B storytelling campaigns that guide them through the journey faster – and more effectively.
Decoding Today’s Tech B2B Buying Committees
Think you’re just targeting high-level execs? Think again. Right now, dozens of different people are involved in tech decisions. It’s not just internal employees either – around 72% of companies hire analysts and consultants to help them make purchasing choices.
Each player comes with their own agenda, KPIs, and concerns to consider.
Initiators: The Initial Spark
These are the people who raise their hands and identify a problem first. It might be a team lead frustrated with a clunky workflow or a department head spotting an opportunity to scale. Maybe it’s just an employee who read an article about AI and sees the benefits.
To win these people over, you need to speak directly to their pain. They don’t want fluff – they want to see solutions to the problems they’re facing. If you can prove that you can make their lives easier – they’ll carry your flag to the rest of the team.
The Users: The Troops on the Ground
If your product becomes part of someone’s daily grind, these folks will feel it first. End-users are the unsung heroes of any buying committee – they’re not always at the strategy table, but their opinion carries real weight – particularly now that companies are listening more to their employees.
Show these people more than what your solution can do for them – convince them of how easy it’s going to be to implement. Make sure they can see you’re going to guide them through the adoption journey – and invest in their success.
The Influencers: The Smartest People in the Room
We’re not talking about the journalists and thought leaders who promote content here – but the experts that have genuine insights to offer. IT architects, system analysts, operations strategists – people who know exactly what you’re looking for, and how it’s going to make an impact.
To earn their attention, and respect, you need to dive deep with your content – create content that informs, educates, and inspires. Experiment with thought leadership pieces that help influencers view you as an authority, and a true category leader.
The Deciders: The Authority Players
These are the people with the real authority to make decisions – the CEOs, CFOs, and CTOs we mentioned earlier that can actually hit the buy button or arrange a sales demo. Although they lead most B2B buying committees, they’re still going to be influenced by everyone else on the team.
You’ll need to shine with big-picture thinking – showing how your solution solves multiple problems, reduces risk, delivers a competitive edge, and checks all the right boxes. Be consultative, collaborative, and position yourself as a partner for long-term success.
The Gatekeepers: The Quiet Powerhouses
Don’t underestimate the power of gatekeepers – they can make or break any deal. If you’re going to convert any committee, you’re going to have to get through these people first. The can control meeting calendars, filter communications, and share or restrict information.
Depending on how you communicate with and support these people, they can either make your deal easier, or cut you off completely. The best strategy is to treat them like VIPs, and listen carefully to any concerns they might have.
Other Major Players in Tech Buying Committees: From Finance to Tech
Virtually every inner circle is going to include all five of the players mentioned above – but there are other people that can get involved too – particularly in a tech decision. Watch out for:
- Financial Decision Makers: The people who thrive on spreadsheets and risk assessments. They’re laser-focused on cost control and ROI, so you’re going to need to show clear evidence that your solution pays off, with case studies and feedback.
- Technical Teams: IT experts and system integrators responsible for actually making your solution work with existing workflows. They’ll instantly shut down a deal if they think your solution is going to be too complex to implement – so give them the specs, the security certifications, the APIs, and the documents they need.
- Legal and Compliance Officers: Particularly important for tech B2B buying committees, legal and compliance officers need to check everything passes the right checks. Highlight privacy policies, regulatory compliance, and security features.
Then there are the external partners we mentioned above, the analysts and consultants that will want to dive into everything you have to offer – from end to end. Be prepared for long, in-depth discussions, and roadblocks.
How to Navigate New Tech B2B Buying Committees
With so many stakeholders involved, aligning priorities and timelines becomes much more challenging. Buying cycles grow longer, and around 86% of purchases end up stalling because of internal disagreements or confusion.
You can’t just bombard your customers with the same messaging anymore – promising them the world or the best new features. You need to really prove your commitment to solving problems, understanding their challenges, and reducing risks. Our top tips:
- Develop Detailed Buyer Personas: Go beyond the basics, transcribe conversations with each member of the team and add their insights to your profiles. Dive into every potential concern, objective, preference, or priority – they’ll be different from one player to the next.
- Double Down on Relevant Content: Create content that appeals to every player on the committee. That means case studies, independent research, product reviews, thought leadership pieces, guides, onboarding information and videos.
- Emphasize Measurable Results: More than half of B2B buyers expect to see a return within three months of purchase. Show them you can deliver. Use real insights from real-world examples. Focus on the metrics and KPIs that matter to them.
- Support Consensus Buying: Provide tools and resources to help align diverse stakeholder priorities in B2B buyer committees. Comparison charts, value matrices, workshops, webinars, and knowledge bases are all helpful.
- Boost Your Reputation: Get multiple players to trust you. Use third-parties to amp up your credibility with journalistic reports, or one-on-one interviews. Share the insights you’ve received from third-party auditors and consultants.
- Be Multi-Channel: Different stakeholders follow different paths. Engage them on social media, through YouTube, on your website, over email, and directly if necessary. Map the buyer journey, and make sure you’re a part of it.
Cracking the Inner Circle: Understanding B2B Buyer Committees
Support from just one stakeholder isn’t going to get you a sale – not anymore.
According to 6Sense, your buyer is already around 69% of the way through their journey before they even consider connecting with you. That means you need to be early to the game, relevant, useful, and connected to every member of the buyer committee.
Understanding each of the major players you’ll encounter, and what matters most to them, is the only way you can prepare the resource you need to move a deal forward – storytelling campaigns, case studies, and genuine thought leadership pieces that drive decisions.
Need help really making sure you can reach and nurture your target audience in 2025? Today Digital is here to help you fine-tune the strategy you need to break through to the inner circle, and turn entire buying committees into your brand champions.
Contact us today, and upgrade your marketing ROI.
