FINAL _ DB x Forrester x Workday Webinar Buying Groups July 2025 (1).pptx
- 2. The B2B buyer is a Buying Group
- 3. © Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. © Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Processes, systems and metrics built for this Individual
- 4. © Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. © Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. But B2B buying happens like this Users Champion Decision- maker Influencer
- 5. © Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. The average B2B buying cycle 3 considered vendors 4 separate departments 13 people in the buying group 9 people outside the buyer’s company Note: Base size varies by statements Base: 9,835 to 11,352 global purchase influencers Source: Forrester’s Buyers’ Journey Survey, 2024
- 7. Persona or role based engagement ensures relevance and alignment with each stakeholder’s needs. Why Buying Groups? Improve conversion rates Sellers need to satisfy the requirements of each buying group member. Marketing can add visibility. Enable Sales Building consensus among stakeholders leads to more efficient progression through the journey. Accelerate deal cycles
- 8. © Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Recognizing the issue: MQL myths Several myths about MQLs affect an organization’s readiness to transition to buying groups and opportunities. MQL myth • An MQL is the buyer • An MQL is “qualified” • An MQL is a strong indicator of propensity to buy • The first MQL from an account is all that’s needed • One MQL represents one deal • MQL volume and marketing sourced pipeline is a good basis for measurement Reality • B2B buying decisions are made by a buying group • At best, an MQL is an indication of interest • There is no correlation between individual MQL engagement and propensity to buy • Buying groups provide better insight and propensity • Multiple people are in the buying group • Lift from buying group engagement and interactions requires a change of focus 8 © Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 9. ● Leads are signal of interest but too narrow in focus on their own ● Lack of connection between leads and actual decision-makers ● Results in wasted resources and disjointed sales efforts Where Leads Don’t Cut It
- 10. Where accounts are too broad Accounts treat entire organizations as singular entities Lack of fidelity in accounts where multiple buying groups exist Risk of overly broad messaging and being irrelevant to individual needs
- 11. Where should you aim? A GTM strategy continuum
- 13. © Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. © Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. 13 Misperception: People aren’t important “Kill the MQL” Radical Key soundbite: Goodbye MQLs Hello Buying Groups What people heard: “People aren’t important”!! What I meant: People are critical – we will always be engaging with people and we need to: • Understand their needs/pains • Be relevant and engaging However… • Delivering a single individual to BDR or sales MUST NOT be marketing’s end goal • MQL is an engagement/scoring threshold but can be used as a signal for a highly engaged buying group member • Can act as signal trigger other processes for buying group expansion • Handoff to BDR/Sales should be insight about multiple people in the buying group
- 14. © Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. © Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. 14 Why Buying Group Approach Not Adopted – Reasons over Time % of respondents Reasons for not adopting buying groups Too Hard Sales won’t go for it Marketing won’t go for it Culture
- 15. How do we operationalize a Buying Group?
- 16. The problem for B2B marketers and sellers Marketers What metrics will help us understand the impact of a buying group motion? What’s the difference between a persona and a role? How do we decide how to package our buying groups? Sales We’ve been multithreading for a long time. How is this any different? What will this do to my lead volume? Do I have enough engagement and support across all decision makers to win this opportunity?
- 17. © Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. © Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. 17 Key Aspects of Buying Group Operationalization Listen for Signals • Named engagement • Anonymous engagement Understand Context • Who (Account, Individual) • Interest (Solution) Score/ Package for RDR • Related Potential Contacts • Potential Buying Group Sales Process • Sales Receives Verified Group • Normal sales process RDR Qualifies Group and Delivers to Sales • BG Membership Verified • Role Identified Champion Influencer User
- 18. © Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. © Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Common signals in marketing and sales Individuals at lead score Named individual s Anonymous website visitors Anonymous third party (in market) Aligning on the Opportunity to Share Insight
- 19. © Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. © Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Aligning on the Opportunity to Share Insight Insight from Signals Insight is gathered from signals B2B Revenue Waterfall And the opportunity is tracked (and shared) via the B2B Revenue Waterfall Opportunity Entity Context And the context is analyzed to link to the relevant opportunity • Who • What
- 20. Ignoring Signals Introduces Waste!!! Individuals at lead score Named individuals Anonymous website visitors Anonymous third party (in market) Buying group signals Individual Lead focus dramatically limits insights Individuals at lead score Waste 20 © Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 21. The business impact of Buying Groups
- 22. © Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. © Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Buying Group Business Impact: 2 Ways New Opportunities Change scoring to find related people from better use of signals Efficiency in Process Send sales buying group of 3 people Demand is no longer a tradeoff of quality versus quantity
- 23. © Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. © Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. 23 Examples of Business Impact of Buying Groups Example Business Impact from buying group and signal adoption 17X Conversion improvement – discovery meeting to vetted pipeline 2.3X Increased deal size 4X Win rate improvement – discovery meeting to win 25 to 35% Increase in booked discover meeting Example success data from Forrester clients who adopted buying groups. 2024 and 2025
- 24. What can we do today?
- 25. © Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. © Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. • Pilot Goal: Prove that passing sales a vetted buying group has positive impact on sales • Volume of Discovery Meetings booked • Discovery to pipeline improvement • Discovery to win improvement • Leverage Minimum Viable Pilot • Existing tech stack • Manual process (short term) • Focused (solution/market/team) • 90 day pilot target • Automate to scale after pilot success A Common Pilot Scenario Identify MQL RDR Research added people Package Qualify Group Pass Buying Group to Sales Sell
Editor's Notes
- #15: From Forrester - Buying Groups Manifesto - Without Buying Groups - Nothing In B2B Makes Sense: The Forrester Buying Groups Manifesto: Without Buying Groups, Nothing In B2B Makes Sense