How to Get Your Buyers to Contact You First

B2B buying is now defined by a trust gap. Buyers have never had more information, but their confidence in their decisions keeps eroding. Closing that gap starts with establishing a discoverable presence where buying groups conduct anonymous research, before any signal reaches your CRM.

This article provides an in-depth look at creating targeted approaches across different buying groups, ensuring engagement at each stage of the funnel.

Discover how to:

• Utilise account intelligence, including demographics, firmographics, and CRM data to tailor your outreach
• Craft content that frames the value of your solutions while affirming their suitability over competitors, facilitating early-stage buyer engagement.
• Implement nurturing strategies that encourage stakeholders to become brand advocates, reducing consideration of competitors.
• Explore the full guide to empower your team with strategic insights for building effective B2B client journeys.

As uncertainty and buyer scrutiny continue to shape the B2B buying process, organisations must innovate their demand generation tactics to engage the entirety of buying groups and motivate them to take action.

Buying decisions are effectively made before vendors are involved. In fact, 94% of buying groups rank their preferred vendors before first contact, and that pre-contact favourite wins roughly 80% of the time (6sense Buyer Experience Report, 2025). These prospects emerge from the dark funnel without prior warning, with their shortlist already set.

While there is often a primary stakeholder (the prospect who contacts your brand first), they are informed by a wealth of research from both their buying group and their own research efforts. Influencing the buying process at this point is challenging, given the many individuals involved in making the final decision and the length of the B2B buying process.

This highlights the importance of establishing discoverability for demand creation and engaging influential buyers in your buying groups early. Doing so ensures your messaging reaches relevant stakeholders in the buying process and encourages them to prioritise your solution.

This article explores how to engage each decision maker in the dark funnel and provide them with the resources and support needed to enable them to make a buying decision in your favour.

While strong discoverability is essential, it alone is not enough to earn a position on the shortlist. To match buying group preferences, it is important that organisations align being discoverable with addressing the right types of buyer queries.

When buyers evaluate solutions, proven integration with their existing technology environment leads at 47%, followed by evidence of measurable outcomes from current clients at 32%. Transparency about a solution’s capabilities and limitations ranks at 23%, while validation from peers, independent reviews, or third-party sources ranks lowest at 4% (INFUSE Voice of the Buyer AI Reality Check 2026). The findings point to a broader shift in vendor evaluation, with buyers prioritising practical fit, proven outcomes, and credible evidence over external validation alone.

The implication for demand strategy is that integration proof, quantified outcomes, and honest capability descriptions must be discoverable in the dark funnel, not reserved for the sales conversation.

Buying complexity is a structural matter that arises from large buying groups. Aligning all of the internal stakeholders with different priorities is the single largest source of complexity that vendors face (at 35%), followed by budget constraints or approval delays (33%) and procurement, legal, or compliance processes (27%) (INFUSE Voice of the Buyer 2026).

Part of the reason for this complexity is the increase in the size of buying groups whose role is to consider the risk associated with purchasing decisions (often against economic instability and diminished budgets). As a result, the B2B buying process can take up to twelve months (INFUSE Voice of the Buyer 2026).

This is further complicated by the nonlinear nature of buying journeys. The more vendors being considered, the more information is required, increasing the amount of back and forth to reach a decision.

Organisations that help to break this vicious cycle through exceptional experiences, empowering B2B buyers to make decisions, and de-risking their solutions are likely to secure competitive ground.

Providing a frictionless buying experience requires enabling all buying group members with the information they need. As a full funnel approach, demand generation strategies play a vital role in engaging and nurturing buyers in the dark funnel early by making the right content and resources accessible to buyers.

These materials are relevant to specific needs, goals, and preferences, allowing buyers to confidently advocate for your solution within their buying groups.

However, AI is changing the speed of buying. 41% of buyers expect AI to play a growing role while their core evaluation process remains largely the same, compared with just 18% who expect fundamental change (INFUSE Voice of the Buyer AI Reality Check 2026). Buying groups still expand, consensus is still required, and proof points still decide. AI compresses the path to the shortlist rather than removing it.

Each buying group is composed of different members with distinct priorities and needs. Understanding this and how information filters through to the relevant stakeholders involved throughout the B2B buying journey allows you to design a data-driven demand strategy that engages the entirety of the buying group.

Depending on the size of the organisation and the type of purchase, a buying group could include a combination of these members:

• IT professionals
• Marketing professionals
• Security professionals
• Operations professionals
• Finance professionals
• Legal professionals
• Data professionals
• Internal or external subject matter experts (SMEs)

To encourage priority stakeholders to make the first point of contact, you must prepare strategies that engage prospective buyers early in the buying process.

Content is at the core of this approach. Serving as critical information, content should be tailored to each member to enable buying group members to discuss and consider your solution as their needs and requirements change.

This content serves two purposes:

• Value framing: Contextualising the value of your product or solution in terms of how it addresses their goals (for example, solving a problem or increasing performance)
• Affirmation: Validating that the solution is the right fit for their needs versus that of a competitor

Below is an example of a content matrix designed to drive engagement throughout the funnel in these two areas:

The next element is ensuring your content aligns with the needs of multiple members as they progress through their buying journey.

Important note: This engagement should be consistent for all members of the buying group. According to Dentsu’s The Superpowers Index, only 39% of organisations are satisfied with how brands meet their needs during the buying journey, a statistic that directly correlates with how brands engage with individuals within buying groups.

In addition, satisfaction levels were found to differ substantially, with more junior members of buying groups displeased with the experience they received than initiators and C-level executives. This highlights the need to implement strategies that engage the entirety of the buying group to ensure that key members are not neglected.

Below is an example of how needs can change across buying groups:

Explore how to drive demand performance with ABX

Victoria Albert

CMO, INFUSE

“94% of buying groups rank their preferred vendor before first contact, and that vendor wins roughly 80% of the time. Brands that prioritise discoverability and value-led nurturing across the buyer journey are not waiting to be found. They are shaping buyer preference at every touchpoint so that when buying groups are ready to act, first contact is not a cold introduction but the confirmation of a decision already forming.”

Navigating and engaging the entirety of the B2B buying group is complex. Reaching different stakeholders simultaneously, also known as multi-threading, is one tactic to yield higher rates of buy-in.

This is a resource-intensive strategy that can target as many as four to ten members simultaneously. However, the benefits outweigh the effort, as focusing on only one or two buying group members can risk many of your buyers being left unengaged or nurtured.

To reduce the complexity, map similarities you have encountered across buying groups that are also based on your existing buying personas and data records. Enrich these insights with your buyer personas, surveys, and feedback from your sales team to help you understand your buyers and identify patterns for specific buyer roles and organisations.

This will serve as the basis for creating an ideal buyer’s journey from which to shape your buyer engagement strategies, such as tailored content.

Below are examples of the stakeholders that comprise the buying group, including:

• The funnel stages they are involved in
• Their specific focus and needs
• Detailed strategies for engaging them

As the first point of contact with your brand, this stakeholder is actively researching solutions that they will present to their superiors for approval. This may be based on a need they have identified or have been tasked with solving.

Establishing brand awareness, expertise, and your unique value proposition (UVP) at the top of the funnel is key, as this buying group member will be responsible for framing the first impression of your brand, which will be crucial for influencing subsequent members.

This stakeholder is often further ahead than the organisation around them. 35% of buyers rate themselves personally ready to use AI, against 33% for their company and just 26% for their team (INFUSE Voice of the Buyer AI Reality Check 2026). The initiator is frequently the most AI-fluent person in the room and needs material that helps them make the case internally, not education on the technology itself.

Important note: This stakeholder is not the final decision maker but the conduit to the rest of the buying group that you will need to engage and nurture.

Support this process by considering what this buyer will require to make their case in your favour to the next level within the buying group. For example, prepare and provide the information they will likely need when questions arise from other members.

As they are brought into the buying process, managers and department heads will likely review the research presented to them and expand on these findings with their own efforts.

This helps these stakeholders validate what the initiator has shared with them, and assess how each option addresses their needs. Responsible for setting tactical approaches to allow team members to meet operational goals, managers will be looking at available options regarding their ability to support this requirement.

Important note: This stakeholder plays a key role in assessing solutions, often acting as a gatekeeper. Only once they are satisfied, can information travel further up the chain.

Given their intermediary position in the buying group, successfully nurturing this individual will help to support securing buy-in from key stakeholders further along in the process.

Nurture this stakeholder with additional information to counter objections from within the organisation. Lead nurturing content that builds your brand authority such as thought leadership relevant to specific goals or pain points for this individual is particularly effective when combined with social proof.

Managers should continue to receive nurturing throughout the process to encourage them to act as brand advocates (or internal champions). This, of course, relies on the accuracy of lead nurturing strategies.

Drive lead nurturing results with targeted engagement beyond the inbox

Operational members of the buying group can range from department heads, solution architects, IT professionals, security teams, and even procurement officers.

These stakeholders are most concerned with a solution’s practical, technical, and security aspects. As a result, their questions and pain points are most likely unique to their sphere of influence.

Important note: These stakeholders are brought into the buying process to lend their unique expertise, often verifying the viability of the solutions being considered. This, along with including external consultants, has a lasting effect on the impact of the fear of messing up (FOMU) and aversion to risk. Facilitating the process for these buying group members will, therefore, aid in de-risking and securing valuable buy-in for your solution.

Your strategy should cover how your solution benefits end users and the organisation as a whole, and address any practical questions they might have. Include illustrative examples of your solution in action.

C-level stakeholders have limited time to conduct their own research and rely on information gathered in internal proposals from others. Once this is complete, this stakeholder is able to initiate their own process.

At this point, this stakeholder will familiarise themselves with your brand, expertise, and the value of the solutions you offer, as well as their suitability for their organisation, thereby validating the recommendation received by other buying group members you have likely already engaged.

Important note: This is based on the most typical buying journey, however, this can be challenged to encourage C-level stakeholders to be involved earlier by preparing the correct strategies, materials, and promotional strategies.

Focus your messaging on your solution’s impact on how it empowers innovation and business outcomes, as well as how it supports generating revenue. Avoid ambiguity, dense jargon that impacts the authenticity of your message, and false promises.

Learn how to optimise your content strategy for buying groups

CFOs play an important role in the buying journey as their decision is often the deciding factor in implementing new solutions and strategies. They tend to take a critical, disciplined approach, taking their time to review information and measure options against the organisation’s strategic needs.

Important note: While this stakeholder is at the C-suite level, driving engagement requires framing your solution’s value in regard to its financial impact carefully.

Personalised content for this stakeholder should include detailed proposals and an overview of costs in comparison with competitors’ pricing.

Engage buyers with B2B client journeys that drive conversions

Before developing initiatives specific to your buyer personas, enhance the effectiveness of your demand generation strategy by adopting buyer engagement best practices.

This will ensure that you meet the specific needs of B2B buyers and position your brand as a reliable and trusted partner.

Below are four key approaches to support the best outcomes of your demand gen strategy:

Strong client relationships are built through consistent, valuable experiences at every stage of the buyer journey. A client-centric approach means understanding and responding to client needs across each interaction, creating trust and reinforcing the value of the relationship rather than simply focusing on conversion.

Establishing a relationship with your client communicates the value you place on them, fosters trust, and contributes towards a positive brand experience.

A seamless client experience supports a robust client relationship, and when combined with omnichannel nurturing efforts, can result in a higher CLTV, increased word-of-mouth, improved brand reputation, and ultimately a higher ROI.

Support these experiences by investing in omnichannel strategies, including:

• Identifying the channels most suited to your client’s journey
• Creating quality content personalised to their interests and journey
• Ensuring consistent brand value and messaging across all channels
• Including clear call-to-actions (CTAs) to guide next steps
• Presenting content effectively on the channels aligned with your buyer’s journey

Discover how to drive engagement with an omnichannel presence

A strong brand presence where your unique value proposition (UVP) is clear at every touchpoint is the best tool for distinguishing your business from the competition. This full-funnel strategy involves establishing your UVP at every stage of the buying journey and across all of your channels.

Familiarity carries measurable commercial weight. Where buyers declare a preference, established vendors adding AI to products already in use are favoured over AI-native entrants by 25% to 5%, a five-to-one margin, while 61% evaluate both types case by case on the specific business need (INFUSE Voice of the Buyer AI Reality Check 2026).

Brand presence is the risk-reduction shortcut buyers reach for when a category introduces uncertainty.

Below are eight examples of effective measures for supporting your brand value strategy:

Boost your competitive displacement strategies with a compelling UVP

A successful ABM strategy involves creating personalised outreach to specific organisations and key individuals.

However, to engage each member of the buying group, you first need to understand the stakeholders that exist within it and their role in the process.

In the case that there is little information available about the dark funnel buyers in key account buying groups, there will still be commonalities you can utilise to inform your strategy’s next steps.

Utilise account intelligence from existing high-value accounts supported by demand intelligence and psychographics gathered from previous campaigns to inform your strategy. This can help you to theorise approaches and personalise content based on the unique priorities of each individual buyer.

Once you achieve initial engagement, strategies can then be refined and further tailored as necessary.

Examples of account intelligence that will be useful here are:

Demand resources for this strategy:

• How to Drive ROI with Demand Intelligence
• Definitive Guide to Account Based Marketing
• Demand Marketer’s Guide to Intent Activation

During the consideration phase of their journey, prospects are actively researching other providers and comparing solutions. Competitor displacement is a key strategy to motivate prospects to favour your solution, including those who are currently competitor clients.

61% of buyers are evaluating, planning, or have already eliminated SaaS platforms as a direct result of AI, with consolidation outpacing expansion by more than four to one (INFUSE Voice of the Buyer AI Reality Check 2026). Renewal has become the new displacement window, where every recurring contract in your prospect’s stack is being re-justified against the AI capability they could acquire inside an adjacent platform or build internally.

Vendors who cannot demonstrate unique, AI-augmented value at renewal lose the seat, and that seat is available to whoever is already discoverable.

Apply a client-centric lens to your competitor analysis to establish:

• What your competition does well
• What attracts clients to them
• Whether your competitors are doing anything that presents an opportunity for your organisation
• If they have changed any of their service models
• If they have lowered their prices recently
• Whether they are offering new products or services, or entering new markets
• What pain points clients have when working with them

Review sites and social media platforms provide valuable insights into what your competitors’ clients are saying. By identifying and leveraging these pain points, you can formulate a displacement strategy that motivates stakeholders to reach out to you first.

Nurture buyers throughout their journey with B2B content

• B2B buyers contact vendors 61% into the buying journey. Engaging buyers early is crucial to securing opportunities
• Buying groups are large with each stakeholder having their own needs and objections to overcome. Personalise your demand content for multiple personas based on your account intelligence
• Invest in your brand value, building relationships, a seamless experience and competitor displacement to take your buyer enablement to the next level

ATTRACT AND ENGAGE BUYING GROUPS WITH DEMAND STRATEGIES THAT SET YOU APART FROM THE COMPETITION.

INFUSE demand experts are here to craft high performance demand programs that engage entire buying groups and deliver measurable pipeline impact.

Speak with the team to launch your buyer engagement strategy →