The Power of Buying Committees and the Playbook from Driving 270% Greater Revenue

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Covered today:

• The power of buying committees and the playbook from driving 270% greater revenue with them.

• More on GTM for your eardrums.

• More on GTM for your eyeballs.

• Startups to watch.

• Hottest GTM jobs of the week.

• GTM industry events.

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The Power of Buying Committees and Stytch’s Playbook

Success hinges on more than just having a great product – something that GTMfund is premised around. It’s about how you go-to-market and a big part of that is understanding the multifaceted dynamics of the purchasing process. One proven strategy that has driven significant results is the implementation of buying committee playbooks. At Stytch, this approach led to a 270% increase in revenue, doubled win rates, and a drastic reduction in forecasted misses.

Let’s get into it.

Buying committees

The Impact: Implementing buying committee playbooks at Stytch increased revenue by 270%, doubled win rates, and reduced forecasted misses.

The Reality: No person is an island in B2B sales. According to the Harvard Business Review, software purchases over $100k involve an average of eight stakeholders. Navigating these group dynamics is even more crucial in a challenging macroeconomic environment, where only about half of the projects get funded, and roughly 30% more deals require C-Suite approval than during ‘boom times’.

The Concept: A “Buying Committee” helps sellers understand the personas involved in purchasing software, their roles, and their individual requirements. Unlike an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), which focuses on the product’s fit, a buying committee centers on how purchasing decisions are made.

The end-to-end steps of getting to a playbook

1. Deep Understanding: Understanding your buying committee and employing this knowledge in sales playbooks can unblock deals, prioritize resources, and create mutual close plans. Failure to do so leads to faulty forecasts, wasted efforts, and missed targets.

2. Beyond ICP: An ICP definition helps identify best-fit customers but doesn’t consider their purchasing decision process. Clarity on how a customer buys and aligning with their journey is crucial, especially in complex sales involving multiple stakeholders.

3. Buying Committee Roles: Typically, a B2B buying committee includes:

• Functional User: Hands-on with the product, ensuring it meets practical needs. Examples: Software Engineer, Product Manager.

• Functional Leader: Department head who secures funds. Examples: VP of Engineering, Director of Marketing.

• Executive Approver: Top executive who authorizes significant expenditures. Examples: CTO, CFO.

4. Investigate and Optimize: Start by analyzing top won and lost deals to identify common stakeholder titles at each stage. Interview salespeople to gain insights into deal dynamics. Regularly share findings with the go-to-market team and incorporate this knowledge into sales plays and forecasting.

5. Building a Playbook: Develop actionable insights for customer-facing teams, creating materials that address the needs of each persona in the buying committee. Regularly update sales and marketing collateral to reflect these insights, and ensure in-flight deals are aligned with the new findings.

How buying committees boosted sales at Stytch

Initially, Stytch struggled with forecasting and low win rates. An investigation revealed that engaging technical buyers early led to higher win rates. By focusing on technical buyers in sales plays and adjusting enablement and content strategies, Stytch saw a 270% revenue increase, doubled win rates, and more accurate forecasting.

Defining and understanding your buying committee is essential for repeatable and consistent sales success. This process, like defining an ICP, is ongoing. Regularly iterate on this information to stay ahead of changes in your buyer’s journey.

In summary:

• A buying committee focuses on stakeholders involved in evaluating and purchasing your product.

• Deep understanding of the buying committee enables better targeting, positioning, and forecasting.

• Neglecting this can lead to missed forecasts and opportunities.

• Continually update your go-to-market and product strategies based on evolving buying committee insights.

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• GTM Summit: October 14 – 16 (Austin, TX)

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Took some time off this week but as Newton’s first law goes, “an object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by an external force.” The momentum behind what we’re building is unbelievable. Grateful to you for being part of it.

Barker

This newsletter was entirely written and edited by myself (Scott Barker), Sophie Buonassisi and Pete Prowitt.

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