The Shift - From Selling to Buyer Facilitation and a New Era in Sales

Executive Summary

Modern B2B sales require a fundamental shift from traditional selling to buyer facilitation. Organisations that implement this approach have seen up to a 30% reduction in sales cycles and a 50% increase in win rates. This article, extracted from my forthcoming book The Shift: From Selling to Facilitating the Buying Process, outlines how companies can operationalise this transition to drive scalable revenue growth and enhanced customer lifetime value.

Disclosure: Shift90 is an Aligned Buyer Enablement platform partner and advocate.

This post was first published on LinkedIn.

The Evolution of B2B Buying

Today's B2B buying landscape has fundamentally changed. With decision-making teams averaging 6-11 stakeholders and typical enterprise sales cycles requiring 15-20 or more stakeholder meetings over 12-18 months, traditional sales approaches are no longer effective. Research shows that 40-60% of deals fail to close due to decision team paralysis, directly impacting revenue predictability and growth metrics.

Aligning with Modern Buyer Expectations

Modern B2B buyers, influenced by their B2C experiences, now expect seamless, personalised, and efficient interactions. Accustomed to intuitive and interconnected services in their personal lives, they seek similar experiences in professional settings. However, the current B2B landscape often falls short of these expectations. Buyers encounter complex purchasing processes, lack of transparency, and limited self-service options, which contrast sharply with the user-friendly interfaces and immediate gratification found in B2C transactions. This disparity leads to frustration and can impede decision-making.

The Cost of Traditional Selling

1. Average customer acquisition costs (CAC) increase 25-35% when using traditional sales methods.
2. Sales cycles extend by 3-4 months due to stakeholder misalignment
3. Customer lifetime value (LTV) decreases due to poor buying and customer success experiences

How Companies Buy: A Jobs-to-be-Done Perspective

The Jobs-to-Be-Done (JTBD) framework, popularised by Clayton Christensen and advanced by Bob Moesta in Demand Side Sales 101, focuses on understanding the progress buyers are trying to make rather than just selling products or services. It recognises that customers “hire” products or services to get specific jobs done in their personal or professional lives.

Key Concepts of JTBD

1. Struggling Moments – Buyers experience pain points or challenges that create the desire for change.
2. Jobs Framework – Customers don’t buy products; they hire them to achieve outcomes. For example, someone buying accounting software isn’t purchasing features but is hiring the software to simplify financial management and ensure compliance.
3. Context Matters – Jobs are defined by the context in which buyers operate. Buyers’ needs may shift depending on priorities, timelines, and external pressures.

The JTBD Buying Timeline

JTBD highlights a predictable process buyers follow:

1. First Thought/Struggling Moment – Recognising a problem or inefficiency that demands attention.
2. Passive Looking – Conducting informal research to explore solutions, often through online searches and peer discussions.
3. Active Looking – Engaging vendors and evaluating solutions through demos, reviews, and recommendations.
4. Deciding Phase – Weighing trade-offs, building consensus, and finalising decisions.
5. Adopting Phase – Implementing the solution and tracking initial results.
6. Reinforcing Phase – Evaluating outcomes, validating success, and advocating solutions within their organisation.

Applying JTBD in Sales

Sales teams can leverage JTBD insights to:

• Craft messaging that resonates with buyers’ desired outcomes
• Create resources that support decision-making at each stage of the timeline
• Focus on understanding and addressing specific struggling moments rather than pushing product features

By adopting the JTBD framework, sellers shift from pushing products to enabling buyer progress and building trust and value.

Reframing Sales as Buyer Facilitation

Successful modern sellers don't sell—they facilitate buying. This approach transforms key metrics:

• Reduced sales cycle time by up to 30% (Aligned customer)
• Increased win rates by up to 15% (Aligned customer)
• Enhanced customer retention rates and expansions that seem like logical next steps
• Improved sales team productivity and customer advocacy

Buyer Enablement Platforms: The Digital Infrastructure

I prefer the term “buyer enablement platform” or “buyer facilitation platform” to “digital sales room” – no one wants to be sold and will use it henceforth. Modern buyer enablement platforms provide the technological foundation for scaling this approach. These systems deliver:

Centralised Collaboration:

• Single digital workspace for all stakeholders
• Centralised document management and communication
• Real-time analytics and engagement tracking
• Average 40% reduction in administrative tasks

Actionable Insights:

• Engagement analytics by stakeholder
• Risk assessment frameworks
• ROI calculators and business case templates
• Predictive analytics for deal health

By operationalising buyer facilitation, these platforms make it easier for skilled sellers to build trust, reduce friction, and accelerate decision-making.

Mutual Action Plans: Driving Predictable Outcomes

For complex transactions valued at $250K+, Mutual Action Plans (MAPs) provide a structured approach to decision-making. A MAP segments the buying process into manageable stages with clearly defined milestones, responsibilities, and exit criteria.

Quantifiable Results:

• Shortened sales cycles through faster stakeholder alignment, access 68% more stakeholders (Aligned)
• 10-month CAC Payback (Aligned)
• Reduction in "no decision" outcomes: 95% of buying activity occurs outside direct seller interactions; customers using buyer enablement are 3X more likely to make a high-quality purchase (Gartner)
• Mutual action plans and buying stage exit alignment improve forecast accuracy

Implementation Framework:

• Collaborative development with stakeholders
• Clear milestones and exit criteria
• Risk mitigation strategies
• Progress metrics and tracking for both parties

MAPs foster alignment and maintain momentum, even in highly complex sales environments.

Risk Mitigation: Building Buyer Confidence

Strategic Approach

1. Proactive Risk Assessment

• Early identification of potential roadblocks
• Stakeholder engagement tracking
• Regular health checks and intervention points

2. Confidence Building

• ROI validation framework
• Reference program integration
• Implementation readiness assessment

Case Study: Aligned

Initial State: Q1.23: 75-day sales cycle, win rate 25%

• Q3.24: 23-day sales cycle, a 68% reduction
• 35% win rate
• 44% increase in ACV
  

Implementing and Scaling the Approach

Implementing buyer enablement represents a fundamental transformation of how organisations engage with customers, not merely a technology deployment.

Success demands visible CEO sponsorship and a strategic approach that aligns technology, people, and processes. Without executive-driven change management and clear accountability for outcomes, organisations risk surface-level adoption that fails to deliver the promised value. Here are the critical resource requirements that need executive attention and investment:

Resource Requirements

1. Technology Stack
   • Buyer enablement platform
   • Integration with existing CRM
   • Analytics and reporting tools
2. Team Structure
   • Sales facilitator roles
   • Customer success alignment
   • Implementation support
3. Process Framework
   • Standardised buyer journey mapping
   • Risk assessment protocols
   • Success metrics and tracking

Key Takeaways

Buyer facilitation differentiates how you sell and drives measurable improvements in key metrics. Late adopters will be severely disadvantaged.

1. Implementation requires a systematic approach and technology support.
2. ROI is typically realised within 6-9 months.
3. The approach scales effectively from startups to enterprise sales organisations.

Next Steps

To learn more about implementing buyer facilitation in your organisation:

1. Schedule a consultation to assess your organisation's readiness to make The Shift.
2. Get a Free Trial of Aligned.

Coming Next: Part 2 of this series will examine the technology stack and implementation framework for buyer facilitation in depth.