Tech Buyers Want To Know the Product Before a Sales Call: Report

The business landscape has rapidly changed, especially since the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. The need for businesses to be digitized almost overnight and evolving consumer expectations changed how business buyers bought technology tools and software. Further, new trends and drivers, such as privacy regulations and the loss of third-party identifiers, continue to shape how technology is bought and what business buyers expect.Â

So, how has business technology buying and selling changed over one year? TrustRadius surveyed nearly 2,200 technology buyers to understand the critical trends in technology buying. The following are a few significant trends and tips for technology sellers from the 2022 B2B Buying Disconnect report.

See more: 5 Considerations for Deploying a Digital B2B Sales Approach

Millennials and Gen Z Lead the Charge

A major finding is that Millennials and Gen Z employees significantly impact the business technology buying journey. They value their personal time and have no tolerance for inconveniences. They also prefer to self-serve â€” doing their own research and comparing their findings with peers before engaging with a vendor’s sales team. Now, older generations, too, have started following this trend. To engage with such buyers, tech vendors must adapt by differentiating themselves and becoming more discoverable. They should also prove their solution’s value to the potential buyer.

Buyers Want To Learn About Products From Trusted Sources

A separate study by IDG showed that 76% of IT leaders consumed content from known and trusted sources, such as technology content sites and whitepapers, before making a purchase decision. Similarly, the TrustRadius study showed that buyers want to learn about the products from trusted sources like review sites, forums, and analyst rankings, before contacting the vendors. The study also found that vendor resource usage declined compared to last year across all segments.

Vendor resources are declining in usage, while third-party ones are increasing

Source: 2022 B2B Buying Disconnect reportOpens a new window

In the company’s 2021 report, about 43% of B2B buyers consulted sales reps from the vendor. This year, it was just about 25%. The decline in vendor resource usage was coupled with an increase in reliance on third-party sources, such as forums, user reviews, and research reports. Of the surveyed respondents, only 23% contacted a sales representative once they had identified a need.

Tip for vendors: As potential buyers rely on third-party sources to gain as much knowledge as possible about a product, you have to be present in places other than your website and social media pages. Further, offer buyers a variety of sources while knowing they may not linearly approach the sources.

Buyer Expectations for Self-service Have Increased

Millennials and Gen Z are accustomed to having information available at their fingertips. They are highly connected and like to seek advice from peers and share their opinions with others. Other generations have also started displaying this trend, and this behavior is now defining the buying process.

Millennials and Gen Z have a strong preference for self-service options. And the strongest desire for self-service includes finding product prices and demos. Beyond pricing and product demo, as part of self-service, buyers also want product specifications, case studies, and messaging/chat facilities to be available.

What buyers want to self-serve

Source: 2022 B2B Buying Disconnect reportOpens a new window

While buyers rely more on third-party resources, it doesn’t mean vendor resources are unimportant. Vendor resources can make finding accurate and up-to-date information about the product easier. Sales reps can also play a consultative role, supporting a buyer’s decision-making process by helping them make sense of all the information they have gathered. They can also be proactive in using customer evidence to confirm their claims.

Tip: Use your website and resources to help buyers through clear messaging, easy-to-find information, and use cases. Then use your sales reps in a consultative role.

Business Buyers Want To Try Before Buying

After gaining all the knowledge from available sources, buyers still want to experience the product/service before buying it. That means demos and free trials become important to them. About 59% of respondents said they used product demos during the evaluation process. The use of free trials, too, rose from 41% last year to 56% this year. In fact, the top three most impactful resources were various forms of personal experience: demos (71%), free trial/account (67%), and prior experience (67%).

Buyers also expect vendors to enable these first-hand experiences automatically. About 70% of buyers said options to access a free trial or demo were among the top three things vendors can do to drive them toward a purchase.

Tip: Instead of cold outreach (calls and emails) try a personalized outreach that correlates to where the person is in the buyer’s journey. For example, you can send bottom-funnel content to prospects already showing high interest in the product. Make it easier for them to experience the product.

Technology Buyers Want Product Pricing To Be Easily Found and Transparent

According to the studyOpens a new window , pricing information is on the top of the list of buyer expectations, with 81% wanting to find it on their own. Buyers don’t want to learn about the product pricing by sifting through the slide deck. They do not even consider booking a call if they are unsure if the product will meet their requirements within their preferred price range. Instead, most of them want to self-educate, including the pricing information. About 54% looked for the pricing information during their initial search. About 16% even said they would cross the vendor off the list if they couldn’t find the pricing information. Vendors usually hide their pricing list due to various reasons. But buyers want to see the pricing information upfront to avoid wasting time.

Collaboration Amongst Decision Makers Has Increased and Is Fragmented

Events traditionally made it possible for vendors to showcase their products and features and collect prospect information for a sales call. However, the pandemic changed it. While there are still a few in-person events, many events have become hybrid or virtual. Further, more people in an organization have the freedom to do their research and provide input. All these have made the buying process more collaborative. About 33% of respondents said collaboration among decision-makers had increased since the pandemic.

However, the way information is organized and shared between the decision-makers is fragmented. They use different channels, from email to Slack, to organize and communicate their findings during the buying process.

Tip: Think about how you can support the buying committee as they use disparate tools to collaborate. Further, consider providing tools buyers can easily use across collaboration channels as well as content they can easily share with the buying committee.Â

See more: 76% of IT Decision-Makers Consume Content From Trusted Brands

Adapt to the Age of Self-serve Buyer

It is clear from the study that technology buyers, irrespective of their generation, want to do their own research, including finding out the product features, reviews, and pricing, before calling the vendor. They also want to experience the product before purchasing it.

Vendors who understand what the buyer wants and can provide this information have a clear advantage over their competitors. Vendors still stuck in old-school selling methods will find buyers moving toward those who are innovative and support self-service.Â

Savvy vendors also realize that the role of sales reps is evolving from being gatekeepers of information to becoming consultative advisors. They will embrace this opportunity. Hence, now is the time to shift your mindset and meet your buyers where they are in their customer journey. That is what will grant you a competitive edge and loyal customers.

What steps have you taken to support today’s self-service technology buyers? Let us know on FacebookOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , and LinkedInOpens a new window .