Industrial buyer and tender
How industry decides and why the tender is the finish line, not the start: buyer journey, the false comfort of price, pre-RFP stage, trigger events and the buying committee.
The industrial sales cycle does not shorten with pressure. It shortens when the customer recognises their pain
The duration of the industrial commercial conversation depends less on the supplier's diligence than on the clarity with which the customer perceives their own problem. Reframing the debate changes both the commercial strategy and the marketing system.
The false consolation of losing tenders on price
When an industrial sales team loses an opportunity, the most frequent and most comfortable explanation is to attribute it to price. Buyers' post-sale evidence tells a different story, and it is worth listening to.
The industrial buying committee: six to ten decision-makers and the mechanics of arming the internal sponsor
The relevant industrial purchase is no longer signed by one person. It is signed by a committee of six to ten people, each with their own research. The quality of the supplier's work depends on how it arms the interlocutor who will defend the proposal within that committee.
Trigger events of the industrial buyer: the moments that set the search in motion
71 per cent of B2B buying processes begin with an internal trigger event at the customer. Recognising those events, anticipating them and being present when they occur is an under-exploited commercial capability.
By the time the buyer arrives at the first meeting, 70 per cent has been decided
Industrial commercial processes are designed assuming that the conversation begins at the meeting. The data show that, by that date, the most important decision has already been made.
The tender as point of arrival: why the match is played out in the engineering phase
By the time the industrial buyer publishes the tender, most technical decisions have already been made. Competing from outside that phase places the supplier at a systematic disadvantage.