1. Things Every Entrepreneur
Should Know about B2B
Customers’ Decisions to Buy
Tom Walker

2. B2B customers make buying
decisions that are in their own best
interest, based on some rationale.
In well-managed companies “best interest” will be defined through a 360
lens, taking a broad view that considers all participants.
To achieve any B2B sale, entrepreneurs need to dive deep to
understand potential customer’s true decision criteria.
Even though it might feel otherwise, B2B buying decisions are never random.

3. 0
Timingmatters. Timing may not be everything, but it can be a huge
part of getting a B2B customer to buy.
In B2B purchasing decisions, timing is often
determined by budgets. Budget cuts can postpone or
cancel purchasing decisions. Budget surpluses,
especially at the end of a quarter or a year can
accelerate decisions to buy.
The lesson is to understand the customer’s budgeting
process—and to be in the know when budgets go up
or down.

4. In every B2B transaction, there are multiple
humans who influence every decision to buy.
Some influencers are visible and obvious on the organizational
chart—executives and senior functional managers
Other influencers may be more behind
the scenes–people who are likely to use
your solution to do their daily jobs.
There are many more people who have informal and influential
input into B2B decisions than just the executives who own the
P&Ls.

5. Value will trump price
almost every time.
Almost.Startups don’t succeed by selling commodity solutions.

6. In most companies, functional managers and executives make
decisions based on justification models that tie solution costs to
anticipated benefits.
The mission of most purchasing departments is just the
opposite—find ways to lower total costs and to deal with
fewer vendors.
If a purchasing department is setting the rules of the game, think
long and hard before you sign up to play.

7. Sometimes “non-decision”
is more formidable than the real world
alternatives from your competitors.
If your customer
doesn’t believe that
there is a real cost to a
non-decision or a
delay, the process of
deciding to buy hasn’t
even started yet.
In most situations where a
startup is unsuccessful in
closing a B2B sale (and
in every situation where the
startup is surprised that this
turns out to be the case), the
entrepreneur doesn’t
completely understand the
way the potential customer
makes decisions to buy.