Five Buying Decisions in Machinery and Enterprise Complex Sales

You'll Never Consistently Win Complex Sales Deals When You Focus on a Technical Decision

Complex sales reps in industries like capital equipment and machinery, enterprise software, and important business services often focus on a decision unrelated to whether a project actually happens. They focus, as they're often trained to do, on the technical features, capabilities, and specifications of their product or service.

They meet with technical buyers whose job is to vet those details - so they're asked questions that they're excited to answer...talking about their stuff.

That's a problem.

Not that they're technical experts. In fact, in certain specialized, scientific, and very technical industries , their counterparts will expect deep technical expertise and hesitate to trust vendors who don't meet that hurdle. It's common in capital equipment sales and conceptual business services to hear buyers who feel that interacting with sales reps just wastes their time.

The problem is that the technical details normally figure in the last, the fifth of the important buying decisions. That fifth decision is the vendor selection. And fighting to win the vendor selection while ignoring the real sales need leads to the epidemic of deals ending in no decision.

Here's the really important thing. The very process of participating meaningfully in the important second and third decisions will not only help win more deals (and avoid deals ending in no decision) but is also the key to meaningfully differentiating your company in a world where most products and services are, let's be honest, good enough.

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Host Ed Marsh Breaks Down Five Critical Complex Sales Buying Decisions and What Most Reps Miss- The Industrial Growth Institute Episode 71

Show Transcript

Episode Recap

Breaking Down Five Critical Buying Decisions

A simplistic sales process sets your team up to fail. Most industrial sales teams never even know who makes the real buying decision!

Want to forecast accurately? You must understand how these five buying decisions shape the buying journey, and your sales process must address them!

Summary

In this episode, Ed Marsh discusses the complexities of B2B industrial sales, emphasizing the importance of understanding the buying process and the critical decisions that influence sales outcomes. He illustrates that in most complex B2B buying decisions, the real decision is made without the reps, or even many influencers, even knowing.

The five buying decisions include:

to commit some resources to evaluating the potential improvement of a change
to request capital
to approve capital
how to select a vendor
vendor selection

And most complex sales teams and manufacturing marketing departments focus on decision number five - vendor selection - with endless talk about what they make and do.

He highlights the challenges faced by sales reps, the need for business acumen, and the significance of engaging with decision-makers early in the sales process.

The conversation outlines five key buying decisions that impact sales success and offers strategies for improving sales effectiveness in a competitive landscape.

Takeaways

Most complex industrial purchases must pass through hurdles of five buying decisions
Decisions 2 & 3 determine whether there is even a purchase, and most reps don't know about it.
Most big-ticket complex B2B industrial sales forecasts are fantasies.
Sales reps often don't understand how business buying decisions are made.
Buying teams typically consist of eight to twelve people.
Sales reps need to bring business acumen to conversations.
Most buyers prefer a sales rep-free experience.
The first vendor contacted often wins the order.
Sales efforts focus too much on vendor selection.
Understanding the five buying decisions is crucial for sales success.
Sales reps must engage with decision-makers early in the process.
Creating projects rather than just finding them is essential for success.

Takeaway Quote from Ed Marsh

"In many cases, the board is going to sign off."

Outline

00:00 Understanding the Flaws in B2B Sales Forecasting
02:46 The Complexity of B2B Sales
05:38 The Five Critical Buying Decisions
08:00 The Role of Sales Reps in Complex Sales
11:19 Navigating Capital Approval Processes
14:10 The Importance of Business Acumen in Sales
17:15 Creating Projects vs. Finding Opportunities
20:05 Conclusion and Call to Action

Finding Sales Reps Who Can Sell All Five Decisions Is Hard!

More resources include:

Is your team selling at decision five?

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

Most complex industrial purchases must clear five separate buying decisions.
Decisions 2 and 3 determine whether a purchase happens at all — and most reps don't know they exist.
Most big-ticket B2B industrial forecasts are fantasies because they ignore those decisions.
Buying teams typically include eight to twelve people.
Reps need business acumen — not just product knowledge — to engage decision-makers early.

Ed Marsh

Ed was going to be an architect because he loved the nexus of engineering and design. That was before was going to be an engineer; before he graduated from Johns Hopkins; before he was an Army Infantry Officer (Airborne Ranger); before he set B2B industrial sales records; before he was partners with a German capital equipment manufacturer; before he founded a distribution/rep company for industrial products in India; until he decided that managing a business and employees wasn’t what he enjoyed. Now that Ed’s got all of that out of his system he runs a consultancy that helps US manufacturing companies grow by applying process excellence to business development – completing the full circle back to an engineering & design combination. His practice is built on a unique methodology which combines powerful digital marketing methodologies (a HubSpot partner) with his extensive international biz dev experience.