Why Both Buyer and Seller Need to Understand the Selling and Buying Journey

Buyers usually purchase a solution like ours once every few years. Sellers go through the process every day. That gap in experience makes the buying journey (opens in a new tab) harder than it needs to be. In presales, it is our job to guide buyers and make sure they understand each step. An informed buyer is more confident and more likely to decide in line with their real needs.

Why the Process Matters for Both Parties

The sales journey can overwhelm a buyer who doesn't know how solution evaluations, product demonstrations and decisions usually run. They're not experts in buying, but you are. That gap leads to misalignment, confusion and missed opportunities. Both sides need to be on the same page.

What does this mean for you as a presales professional?

Communicate clearly at every stage. Make sure you and the buyer both know what happens next and why.

Set expectations early. Buyers may not know what a solution needs in integration work, time or resources. Explain it upfront and there are fewer surprises later.

Help the buyer take part. The best buyers are informed ones. Explain the process and involve them as partners.

Providing Guidance: The Key to Buyer Confidence

Our job in presales includes more than answering technical questions. We guide buyers through each phase so they can decide with confidence. Because they make these purchases so rarely, they depend on the seller's experience to show the way.

Here is how you can give that guidance.

Lead Through Discovery

In discovery it's tempting to jump straight into the technical details of your product. Take the time to help buyers understand their own needs first. Help them name their pain points and describe what success looks like for them. When you guide them instead of only supplying a product, you build trust.

Pro Tip: Use the Functional & Technical Discovery (FTD) (opens in a new tab) framework to steer the conversation and make sure you solve the right problem for them. The buyer should feel understood and supported while you qualify the lead.

Demonstrate with Relevance

Product demonstrations are important moments in the buying journey, and a generic demo wastes one. Tailor each demo to the specific needs and goals you uncovered in earlier conversations.

Actionable Insight: Personalization shows that you're listening. It also helps buyers picture themselves using your solution successfully. Ask for feedback during the demo to check you are still aligned. (Click here to learn more) (opens in a new tab)

Clarify Pricing and Offer Transparency

"Ballpark pricing" early on gives a general sense of cost and helps manage expectations. Buyers often don't know what drives the price, though. Explain customization options, implementation timelines and possible service add-ons clearly.

Then there are no surprises in the negotiation phase. A buyer who understands the value and the work involved pushes back less on price.

Guide Post-Demo Next Steps

After the demo, keep the momentum going. The buyer may not know what the next steps are, so this is where your guidance comes in. Map out the path forward yourself. That can be a technical validation, an introduction to the delivery team, or a talk about ballpark pricing.

Pro Tip: End every demo with a clear action plan, so neither side is confused. Summarize the key points and agree on the next steps before you end the call.

Buyer Personas: Identifying Key Players and Their Influence on the Buying Journey

One of your most important tasks is to identify all the key players in the decision. From operations to IT, each stakeholder has their own priorities and concerns. When you understand their roles, you can address the right pain points at the right time.

If you miss a key persona early on, even a strong pitch can fail. Finance, IT and operations all have different concerns. Knowing how much each person influences the decision often decides whether a deal is good or great.

Identifying these personas early puts you in a leading position. Here are the ones I see most often.

Key Buyer Personas and Their Impact on the Journey

Finance

• Goal: Make sure the proposed solution fits the company's financial goals.
• Influence: High, especially on budget and ROI (opens in a new tab) evaluation.
• Strategy: Present a clear ROI, cost savings and financial benefits early. If finance sees that the numbers work, their support can make or break the deal.

Legal

• Goal: Make sure contracts and solutions comply with relevant laws and regulations.
• Influence: Legal usually steps in toward the end to check contracts and compliance.
• Strategy: Involve legal early to clear concerns and ease the approval later. Have compliance certifications and data security details ready to avoid delays.

IT Security

• Goal: Protect the company from cybersecurity threats.
• Influence: IT security can block a deal if they think the solution is not secure enough.
• Strategy: Show your solution's security credentials and provide relevant certifications (such as ISO or SOC). When the IT security team trusts you, approval goes more smoothly.

IT

• Goal: Make sure the solution integrates cleanly with existing technology.
• Influence: They decide on technical feasibility, and you need their buy-in.
• Strategy: Demonstrate integration capabilities and share case studies of clients who integrated your solution successfully. Raise possible technical concerns yourself, upfront.

Operations

• Goal: Understand how the solution affects day-to-day operations.
• Influence: They assess how the solution will change workflows and productivity.
• Strategy: Offer hands-on demos and pilot programs that show how the solution improves daily tasks. Focus on efficiency gains and ease of use.

Purchasing

• Goal: Negotiate the best terms and conditions for the company.
• Influence: Strong in the final negotiations, where they set the financial and contractual terms.
• Strategy: Be transparent about pricing from the start and stay flexible on terms. Pricing options with clear reasons reduce friction.

The Member (End User)

• Goal: Get tangible benefits for their daily work.
• Influence: Their feedback can strongly sway the decision-makers.
• Strategy: Show value through use cases, demos and testimonials that relate directly to their daily work.

The Sponsor

• Goal: Find solutions that fit the company's long-term goals.
• Influence: The sponsor drives initiatives that serve strategic objectives.
• Strategy: Use storytelling to describe the long-term change, and show how your solution helps the company get there.

The Champion (opens in a new tab)

• Goal: Argue for your solution inside the organization.
• Influence: Champions are your internal advocates. Without their support, the deal rarely moves forward.
• Strategy: Give them detailed information, data and talking points to support your solution internally. Stay in close contact throughout.

The Detractor

• Goal: Raise objections and point out weaknesses in your solution.
• Influence: Detractors can slow or stop a deal. If you address their concerns, they can become supporters.
• Strategy: Talk openly to understand their concerns, and answer with clear evidence. Winning over a detractor strengthens your position in the organization.

The Gatekeeper

• Goal: Make sure the purchase follows company rules and procedures.
• Influence: Gatekeepers check that all internal processes and protocols are followed.
• Strategy: Focus on compliance, procurement procedures and documentation. Keep your communication with them simple and open to avoid needless delays.

How This Puts You in a Leading Position

When you identify and involve each persona early, you become a trusted partner instead of one more vendor. You know each persona's goals and concerns. So you can tailor your messages, your demos and even your negotiation to what matters most to each decision-maker.

The sales journey runs more smoothly. Each stakeholder feels heard and goes into the decision with confidence.

Sharing the Selling/Buying Journey Early: Transparency and Long-Term Success

One of the most effective things you can do is to share the selling and buying journey early. Lay out the steps, timelines and key milestones at the start. A complex B2B sale has many moving parts, and a buyer who does this every few years easily feels lost. With the roadmap in hand, there are no surprises along the way.

Sharing the journey early pays off in several ways:

• Clear expectations: Both sides know what happens at each stage, which lowers anxiety and builds trust.
• Better planning: With timelines and milestones, the buyer can plan internal evaluations, budget and resources.
• More confidence: Buyers who know what's next feel in control and take a more active part.
• Fewer late objections: A buyer who knows the process raises fewer last-minute objections, so decisions come faster.
• Focus on the goal: The buyer keeps in mind why they're talking to you in the first place, which is the outcome they want. Remind them of it, so minor details don't sidetrack the decision.

Adding Value Through the Journey

Use each stage of the journey to show value:

1. Early Discovery Alignment: From the first conversation, frame the discussion around the buyer's goals. What are their pain points? What solution do they have in mind? Link their needs to the stages of your process, so they can picture success.
2. Providing Roadmaps: Give a clear roadmap with every stage: discovery, demos, technical validations, pricing discussions and so on. The buyer can then plan their internal steps.
3. Milestone Checkpoints: At each key stage, repeat the value your solution provides. After a demo, for example, tie what they saw back to their goals and their specific problems.
4. Clear End-to-End Visibility: Show from the start what the final stage looks like, whether that is onboarding, training or go-live. When buyers can see the end point, they invest their time and resources more willingly.

So, Why Does All of This Matter?

Buyers who understand the process are less likely to drop out and more likely to make informed, confident decisions. In presales, we are well placed to give them that clarity throughout the journey.

The buyer's lack of buying experience is your chance to act as a trusted advisor. Selling matters less here than helping the buyer reach a confident "yes."

Best Practice Takeaways:

• Communicate clearly and set expectations early in the process.
• Use discovery to understand the buyer's true needs.
• Personalize demos and engage buyers actively throughout.
• Clarify pricing structures and technical complexities.
• Always provide a clear action plan after demos or meetings.

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