The General Managers Big Book of Tech Buyer Behavior 767849 1

New
The Big Book of Technology

Buyer Behavior
Derry Finkeldey
Hank Barnes
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“Customers don’t really want
to buy products, or even
services for that matter. They
want to buy outcomes. Use
cases are inherently
outcome-centric, providing
the antidote to product-
centric thinking.”
Geoffrey Moore on LinkedIn, author of Crossing the Chasm and Zone to Win
2 © 2022 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Gartner is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and its affiliates.
!Buying Has Changed Significantly
in the Last Two Years!
It’s Now Harder to Know Whom to Target
As buyers could come from anywhere in
the organization and more and more “What do “Who is
they want?” actually buying?”
people are involved in making purchase
decisions, it’s become harder to “Who’s involved in “Who has
know whom to target. We’ve cloud purchases?” decision rights?”
observed more than 20 different “What Do

“How do we cut
functions serving as decision makers! through and reach They Need to “Whom should
C-level business Achieve?” we be targeting?”
Whereas before, the offering was the executives?”
starting point, now the clues about where

“Who controls “If we need to target
to engage come from a deeper the money?” businesspeople,
understanding of the broader reason for what do we tell them?”
the technology — that is, the use case. “Is it IT or

businesspeople?”
Understanding the customer’s situation
— for both the purchase reason and
buying decision approach — is what will
drive your ability to engage and convert.
Table of Contents
• B2B Buying Is Gartner has been studying B2B buying

Unavoidably Messy behavior for many years. The data
presented here reflects a wide variety of
studies across both technology and other
• Most Organizations B2B buying — the patterns that appear
Struggle to Buy Effectively are consistent.
In this guide, we present the most recent
• Take Charge of facts about the current state and get to the
bottom of who is buying and who
the Buying Process you need to sell to.
We also look at what needs to change.
• Further Reading
Buying Is Unavoidably Messy
Source: Gartner
But There Are Some Observable Rules
B2B Technology Buying Fundamentals
1. Organizations Buy • Deals of any significance are bought by cross-functional buying teams, not individuals.
• Buying team members represent two roles in the buying process — their functional role
(i.e., marketing, sales, product, IT, etc.) and their role in the buying team (decision
maker, influencer, budget holder, etc.).
• Budget is mostly likely to be shared among multiple functional areas in the organization.
• Organizational practices and perspectives override individual stakeholder preferences.
• Buying teams are their own source of tension — not a singular audience.
2. Organizations Buy for a • Technology purchases signify cost and change.

• Willingness to change is the greatest indicator of likelihood to buy.
Reason and Prioritize Spend • Organizations need a good reason to spend money and unleash change.
Linked to Urgency • Increasingly, a business case showing measurable return or positive impact on process
or stakeholder metrics is a requirement to get a purchase across the line.
• Buyers are open to help to develop the business case — current and/or potential
providers participate in business case development nearly half the time.
3. Value Exists in a Hierarchy • Most initiatives start at the bottom of the hierarchy.
• Perception of value is not always shared below the top of the hierarchy.
• Buyers see initiatives and value through the lens of their functional role.
• Selling to the top of your customer’s value hierarchy can unite buying stakeholders.
Organizations Buy in Teams
Buying teams are tightening up.
• The average significant technology purchase involves around 14 people.
• There is an “active” core buying team.
• The number of participants rises slightly with deal size.
Less Than $1M $1M to $5M $5M+ Active Buying Team Participants
Decision Makers 4 4 5 7
Decision Influencers 5 5 6 Occasional Participants

Interested Parties 7
With No Influence 3 3 4 Decision Maker Influencer Interested Party
on Decision
All n = 1,119
n = 1,119 (respondents with >0 active participants), 1,113 (respondents with >0 occasional participants)
Q: How many of the active/occasional participants are decision makers, decision influencers or interested parties with no decision influence? (Active participants; mean scores shown)
Source: 2022 Gartner Technology Buying Behavior Survey
Two-Thirds of People Involved in Technology-Buying
Decisions Are Not in IT Board of Directors
8%
Other
13%
Sourcing, Procurement,
Vendor Mgmt. CEO/President/
3% Managing Director
18%
Sales
67%
2%
R&D
2%
Operations
5%
Customer Service
Marketing 1%
1%
Finance
Legal 5%
1%
Human Resources
2%
Industry/Product Leaders
6%
IT
33%
Source: All those screened for the 2022 Gartner Technology Buying Behavior Survey; n = 3,400 of 14,221 screened for involvement in technology decisions and planning
The Majority of Purchases Have Multiple Functions Involved …
Technology roles remain extremely important.
BU IT is most likely to be involved
(65%), followed by:
• Security (42%)
Information Technology
Information Technology 66%
• IT management (41%)
C-Level Executives
C-Level Executives 55%
• Project management (40%)
Industry or Product-Specific Leadership Role 39%
Sourcing, Procurement, Vendor Management 35%
Industry or Product-Specific Business Management 34% • C-level executives are involved in
over half of buying teams, likely as
Finance 33% active participants.
Operations 24%
• Most of the time, there is one active
Research and Development 13% C-level exec involved.
Customer Service 13% - Most likely the CEO or president
Legal 12%
- Followed by the CIO
Human Resources 11%
• They are more likely to be involved
Marketing 10% in a new/first-time purchase of a
Sales 7% solution.
n = 1,120; all respondents
Q: Which of the following functional groups participated in the buying process?
… Which Can Be a Good Thing
Buying team effectiveness increases with the number of functions represented, in that the likelihood
of a high-quality deal (HQD) grows with the more groups involved.
HQDs are good for both you and the customer.
Gartner defines an HQD as a situation where

customers feel that they are achieving the
Non
value they expected when they made a
HQD technology purchase, and they:
• Did not compromise on their ambitions for the
HQD
project that the purchase is associated with
• Purchased what they consider to be a
premium solution from a technology and
service provider
119% 2 22%
3 4 32%5 6 33% 7+ 36%
Functional Groups
n = 1,120; all respondents (n varies by group)
Q: Which of the following functional groups participated in the buying process? (The percentages reflect respondents in each segment who indicated that a recent large deal was high-quality.)
HQD = (Customer feels strongly that projects are not failing) AND (they did not compromise ambitions OR they purchased a premium offering from the vendor)
All Roles Are Involved in a Variety of Purchase Types
Top 10 Purchase Types as % of Unique Reviews by Role, Peer Insights Data, Past 12 months
CEOs (n = 1,238) CIOs (n = 1,927) CFOs (n = 287)
Meeting Solutions 8% Endpoint Protection Platforms 9% Cloud Financial Planning and Analysis Solutions 14%
Endpoint Protection Platforms 3% Email Security 4% Meeting Solutions 5%
Analytics and Business Intelligence Platforms 3% Security Awareness Computer-Based Training 3% Cloud Core Financial Management Suites for Midsize,
Large and Global Enterprises 5%
Enterprise Agile Planning Tools 1% SAP S/4HANA Application Services, Worldwide 3%
Cloud ERP for Product-Centric Enterprises 4%
Unified Communications as a Service, Worldwide 5% Hyperconverged Infrastructure Software 3%
Analytics and Business Intelligence Platforms 3%
Robotic Process Automation 1% Unified Communications as a Service, Worldwide 3%
Oracle Cloud Applications Services, Worldwide 3%
Enterprise Backup and Recovery Software 2% Meeting Solutions 2%
Solutions Unified Communications as a Service, Worldwide 3%
Enterprise Wired and Wireless LAN Infrastructure 2%
Email Security 1% SAP S/4HANA Application Services, Worldwide 3%
IT Service Management Tools 2%
IT Service Management Tools 1% Robotic Process Automation 2%
Enterprise Backup and Recovery Software Solutions 2%
Content Collaboration Tools 3% Procure-to-Pay Suites 2%
COOs (n = 351) Procurement, Sourcing, Vendor Mgt. (n = 1,365) Product and R&D (n = 4,020)
CRM Customer Engagement Center 5% Procure-to-Pay Suites 11% Meeting Solutions 8%

Meeting Solutions 5% Meeting Solutions 9% Enterprise Agile Planning Tools 5%
Unified Communications as a Service, Worldwide 4% Contract Life Cycle Management 5% 3%
Analytics and Business Intelligence Platforms
Endpoint Protection Platforms 3% Cloud HCM Suites for 1,000+ Employee Enterprises 4% 3%
Full Life Cycle API Management
Contact Center as a Service 3% IT Vendor Risk Management Tools 4% 3%
Content Collaboration Tools
Analytics and Business Intelligence Platforms 3% Software Asset Management Managed Services 3%
Robotic Process Automation 2%
Cloud HCM Suites for 1,000+ Employee Enterprises 2% Strategic Sourcing Application Suites 3%
Application Security Testing 2%
Warehouse Management Systems 2% Unified Communications as a Service, Worldwide 2%
Product Management and Roadmapping Tools 2%
Managed IoT Connectivity Services, Worldwide 2% Content Services Platforms 2%
Application Performance Monitoring 2%
Ad Tech 2% Secure Web Gateways (Transitioning to Security Service Edge) 2%
Cloud Database Management Systems 2%
Source: Gartner Peer Insights Data by reviewer role. Gartner Peer Insights is a free peer review and ratings platform designed for enterprise software and services decision makers. Reviews are subjected to a strict
validation and moderation process in an effort to ensure they are authentic. Reviews published within the last 12 months (01-Nov-20 to 31-Oct-21) from organizations with revenue of more than $50 million USD are
included in the analysis. All reviews are treated equally in this analysis regardless of vendor, product, demographic or any other characteristics. The analysis is intended to reflect the prevalence of buyers in the
markets in aggregate; specific buyers may have unique needs, and specific vendors may attract different types of buyers. Demographics are self-reported by reviewers.
In the Majority of Buys, There Are Several Budget Holders
Where the budget sits on the books doesn’t indicate priority or decision rights.
Funded by Multiple Business Units or

Departments, Excluding IT
12% Funded Entirely by the
IT Organization
57% 26%
Pooled
Funding
Funded by Multiple
Business Units or
Departments and IT
30%
Funded by a Single
Business Unit or
Department
10%
Special Project
Shared Funding by IT (Funded Outside
and a Single Business Specific Business
Unit or Department Units)
Funding for the purchase 15% 7%
n = 1,119; all respondents, excluding “not sure”
Q: Where did the funding for this purchase come from?
Organizations Buy for a Reason — To Fulfill a Need
The Trigger The Need Hierarchy of Business Needs
• The reason will be triggered by • The need or challenge at the Needs exist in a hierarchy of value:
something. company, BU or initiative/ • Needs often occur at the business
• Triggers can be internal or external. process level arises from the initiative (or process) level.
• Often an event: trigger event. • Needs at the process level can be
– Renewal date • Needs might be achieved expressed as different outcomes by
– New management without technology and are different stakeholder groups.
– New rules or regulation ultimately usually not about • Needs must impact the strategic
– External events (COVID-19) technology in and of organizational level to be considered
– Strategic planning themselves. urgent.
– External advice • The need can be expressed • Urgency determines priority.
• The trigger contributes to the reason as an outcome, which is • The ideal is to align with the
to act now as opposed to later. usually a business goal. organization-level strategic goals as
this is shared among all stakeholders.
69% of Buyers Developed a Quantified Business Case for
Their Tech Purchase
Secured budget prior to engaging deeply with providers 49%

Developed
Developed a business a on
case based business
KPIs (e.g., case
processbased on KPIs
time reduction, NPS
improvement,
(e.g., processetc.)
time reduction, NPS improvement, etc.) 48%
Developed
Developed a financial
a financial business business
case (e.g., case
NPV, TCO, etc.) 43%
(e.g., NPV, TCO, etc.)
Negotiated changes to supplier's standard terms of contract 40%
Conducted a security review 39%
Added products or providers to a short list after it was initially created 39%
Conducted a supplier risk assessment 38%
Sent out a formal RFI/RFP (request for proposal) 35%
Conducted a competition or 'hackathon' style engagement to attract new or different
suppliers 29%
Had the eventual users assess the experience using the product 20%
We did not take any of the steps specified 1%
n = 1,117; all respondents, excluding “not sure”

Q: Which of the following internal activities did you, or someone else on the buying team, take for this technology/service purchase?
Note: Users assessed experience using the product only shown for software and integrated solutions.
Value Exists in a Hierarchy Hierarchy of
Customer Needs
• Value is often expressed as

different outcomes by different Organizational
Strategic Goals
stakeholder groups involved in
the decision.
Business Unit KPIs
• Value must impact the and/or Goals
organization’s strategy to be
considered “urgent.”
Business Initiatives
• Urgency determines priority. and Programs
Individuals Bring Their Own Lens to Decisions, and the
Real Reason for Purchase May Get Lost in the Process
Don’t assume all stakeholders understand the value to the organization.
• Will this make my job easier? • Can we support this • Is this a preferred provider?
technology?
• Will my team use it? • Are they 2nancially viable?
• Does it fit with our
• Do we have to change • Will they expose us to risk?
existing architecture?
our processes?
• Do they add
• Is the code secure?
• Is it compliant with my management cost?
industry rules? • Will this capability make
me less valuable?
• Will we get the outcome
we need?
Buying Efforts Compete With Each Other for Resources
and Attention
ERP More respondents indicated in this
E-Learning CIO
Replacement survey that revisiting past
(LMS)
decisions contributed to delays to
their buying process.
COO
IT Role 69%
53%
Business Role
COO
2019 2022
C-Level CMO Source: Total respondents from the 2019 Gartner End User
CRO Buying Survey (n = 1,464) and 2022 Gartner Technology
Buyer Behavior Survey (n = 1,120)
Q: How did the following activities contribute to the overall
duration of the buying effort?/How, if at all, did the following
activities impact the length of time needed to complete the
Sales Enablement Forecasting
purchase?
(Digital Content (Predictive Sales

Management for Sales) Analytics)
No Shared View of Value
ê
No Consensus = NO BUY
(or post purchase regret)
Most Organizations Struggle to
Buy Effectively
Buying Is Hard, and Most Organizations Are Bad at It
Only 20% of Buyers Achieved a

High-Quality Deal
Many Organizations Haven’t Identified Their Shared Goal

HQD Not an HQD
There were/are many disagreements among the buying
2% 51%
team on the best course of action.
Members of the buying team had very different
5% 50%
and often conflicting objectives for the purchase.
Source: 2022 Gartner Technology Buying Behavior Survey (n = 1,120)
HQD = (Customer feels strongly that projects are not failing) AND (they did not compromise ambitions OR they purchased a premium offering from the vendor)
Note: Respondents indicated strong agreement (top 2 box) with each of the two statements.
A New Chasm Has Emerged — Driven by Decision
Dynamics Moore’s
Chasm
The New
Chasm
Innovators Early Adopters Early Majority Late Majority Laggards
Agile Fast and Disciplined Reluctant Followers and

Leaders (FID) Followers (SCD and SIR) Conflicted Laggards (ACR and FCM)
Ambitious Leaders (ABD) Ambitious Leaders (ABD) Disinterested Laggards (ABM)
Expert Insight Video: Crossing the New Chasm

Organizations Achieving High-Quality Deals Know
Why They’re Buying and They Know How to Buy
Demonstrated understanding of our 47% • They have well-balanced buying teams, with
situation 30%
47% representation from multiple functions (such
Industry knowledge
36% as IT, the business, finance and C-level
40%
Trustworthiness
37% leadership).
Skills of personnel supporting 35%
implementation 33%
Willingness to collaborate with us

30% • IT involvement is senior.
27%
24%
Existing relationship HQD
17%
24%
• They are more likely to develop a clear
Lowest risk
23%
Non business case based on metrics.
15%
Terms and pricing
13%
HQD
Service offering innovations
14% • They are more likely to secure budget prior to
12%
12%
engaging providers.
Social responsibility policies and practices
24%
10%
Cultural fit
20% • They are more likely to use independent
Recommended provider from our product
vendor
6%
18%
advice early in the buying process.
n = 1,106
Q: Which of the following characteristics would you say best differentiated the chosen provider from other providers
you considered? (Note: Base logic might be different for individual options.)
Most companies need A LOT of help
to make good, confident technology
investment decisions — high-quality,
low-regret decisions (HQDs)
Take Charge of the Buying Process
Buyers Need Providers to Take Charge
Understand the How and Why of Buying.

Map the Buying Decision Process.
Have a Plan to Navigate Your Stakeholders to Consensus.
B2B Technology Buying Fundamentals
Traditional go-to-market However, customer focus

approaches focus on the lies on:
“what” and “who,” based
on provider concerns: • Why — Why are they making
this purchase? What is the
• What — What we’ve got to sell business use case or value
(the product category). scenario to which they will use
the product?
• Who — Who we can sell to?
Who has the money? • How — How will they make the
decision? What is the buying
approach they will take?
Increasing the Odds of Winning Good Business
Scope the Define the Describe the

Prioritize
Value Buying Buyer
an Offering Scenario Situation Personas
• Market assessment • Value chain analysis • Identify the ICP • Identify the
functions involved
• Competitive • Use-case • Identify the buying
in the buying
analysis identification team stakeholders
process, and their
and definition
• Segmentation and • Map the decision buying role
targeting • Business value process
determination
Establish the Why: ‘Whole Customer’ Use Cases
Value Scenario
Business Context Owners Triggers & Motivations Needs & Outcomes Sought
• Place in the business process value • Business or functional owner • The decision to take action is • The need or challenge at the
chain. • The person or people who own the triggered by something. company, BU or initiative/process
• It may be an input to the process or an outcome • Triggers can be internal or external. level arises from a trigger event.
intervention to the process (including • Tend to benefit most immediately from the • Triggers are often events: • The need can be expressed as an
entirely outsourcing some or all, or solution • Renewal date outcome.
automating it). • Usually your champion • New management
• New rules or regulation
• External events (COVID-19)
• Strategic planning
• External advice
• The trigger contributes to the reason
to act now as opposed to later.
Use-Case Specifics How is Value/Success Determined? Common Challenges Likely Objections (and source)
• The need or challenge exists in a • Needs and their use cases deliver some • Internal or external challenges or • Perceived risks or losses (including
specific situation in the organization, form of value to be worth pursuing. problems that could prevent the change) that may result from
and will have a defining characteristic • Identification of this is critical for the organization or your champion from engaging your solution:
(aka use case). stakeholders to reach consensus. achieving the outcome they need: • Reputational risk
• This will usually be defined by: • This value typically exists in a hierarchy. • Competing investment priorities • Role redundancy
• Industry-specific process • The ideal is to align with the organization- • Lack of insight into potential • Cost
• Industry-specific outcome level strategic goals as this is shared impact or return • Change aversion
• Corporate-function-specific process or
outcome
among all stakeholders. • Gaining consensus or • Etc.
• There will be critical capabilities sponsorship
required to fulfil the use case. • Lack of perceived urgency or
priority
Outline the How: Assessing the Buying Situation
<Target Use Case>
Ideal Customer Profile Purchase Type (Relationship) Budget and Funding Rules of Engagement
Attributes
• Firmographics • New • Funding model — shared or • Role of procurement
• Technographics • Renegotiation single owner • How will they likely go to
• Psychographics (ETA) • Renewal market (e.g., RFI/RFP,
• Business situation • Replacement panel, direct, other)?
• Business and operating model • Expansion/upsell
• Resources • Cross-sell
Ideal Buying Team Role Involvement Stage(s) Buying Tasks How to Measure Value
Members (role/function) Champion/Advisor/User/Veto Explore/Evaluate/Engage Functional KPIs
• <e.g., CFO> • Outcome owner/champion • <e.g., explore and engage> • <e.g., determine business
need and case>
• <Role Name> • Users/influencers • x
• <Role Name> • Technology experts • x
• <Role Name> • Executive sponsor • x
Ideal Buying Considerations Buying Task Questions to Answer

1. Problem identification
2. Solution exploration
3. Requirements building
4. Supplier selection
5. Validation
6. Consensus creation
Chart the Buying Situation (Map) Across Time
Explore Evaluate Engage
1 Problem Identification
2 Solution Exploration
3 Requirements Building
4 Supplier Selection
5 Validation
6 Consensus Creation
Champion Influencer Veto Tech Expert
Describe the <Buyer> Personas
CFO Functional Role
Title Variant: Head of Finance
What are CFOs’ biggest priorities heading into 2022?

Role Responsibilities:
• Stewardship of the organization's financial activities, including accounting, financial reporting, cash The 2022 Gartner Finance Executive Priorities Poll shows
CFOs’ top two priorities are:
management, capital investment, business strategy, financial planning, risk management, raising capital,
performance management and reporting, and financial and regulatory compliance. 1. Improving flexibility of budgeting and forecasting; and
• In smaller organizations, the CFO frequently is responsible for other business functions, 2. Making capital allocation more responsive to a
most commonly IT and HR. changing business environment
Goals and KPIs: Key Relationships:

• Improving overall financial performance and return to investors • Board and CEO
• Reducing costs • All C-level
• Improving capital structure and cash flow • Business unit leadership
• Improving the speed, accuracy and value of financial reporting and analysis • Corporate governance management, including finance (direct reports),
procurement and risk management
• Central IT can report to CFO
Key Challenges: Related Initiatives:

1. Improving returns from digital investments in 2022 1. Budgeting and capital allocation — financial analytics
2. Lower profitability due to price inflation 2. Increase revenues — pricing analytics
3. Improve operating margins — automation
4. Increase asset utilization — IoT and analytics
Win Consensus by Uniting Organizational
Your Stakeholders Around Strategic Goals
What Is Important to
the Organization Impact here matters to all
Find shared buying group perspective. buying group stakeholders
CIO
BU Leader
Project Manager
Lead Your Customer to Their Best Outcomes Yet
Further Reading
Expert Insight Video: Crossing the New Chasm
Increase Your Odds of Success by Appealing to the Attitudes and
Behaviors of Enterprise Customers
The Enterprise Persona — Defining Your Ideal Customer Profile
Tool: Value Scenario Template
Quick Answer: What Is a Value Scenario, and Why Does It Matter?
Create B2B Personas in the Context of the Extended Buying Team
Focus on Buying Jobs Rather Than the Chaos of Buying Journeys
Survey Analysis: Industry Line-of-Business Buyers, 2021
For information, please contact your Gartner representative.

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New

The Big Book of Technology

observed more than 20 different “What Do

starting point, now the clues about where

the technology — that is, the use case. “Is it IT or

• B2B Buying Is Gartner has been studying B2B buying

2. Organizations Buy for a • Technology purchases signify cost and change.

Decision Influencers 5 5 6 Occasional Participants

HQDs are good for both you and the customer.

Gartner defines an HQD as a situation where

CRM Customer Engagement Center 5% Procure-to-Pay Suites 11% Meeting Solutions 8%

Funded by Multiple Business Units or

The Trigger The Need Hierarchy of Business Needs

Secured budget prior to engaging deeply with providers 49%

n = 1,117; all respondents, excluding “not sure”

• Value is often expressed as

(Digital Content (Predictive Sales

Only 20% of Buyers Achieved a

Many Organizations Haven’t Identified Their Shared Goal

Innovators Early Adopters Early Majority Late Majority Laggards

Agile Fast and Disciplined Reluctant Followers and

Ambitious Leaders (ABD) Ambitious Leaders (ABD) Disinterested Laggards (ABM)

Expert Insight Video: Crossing the New Chasm

Willingness to collaborate with us

Understand the How and Why of Buying.

Traditional go-to-market However, customer focus

Scope the Define the Describe the

Ideal Buying Considerations Buying Task Questions to Answer

Champion Influencer Veto Tech Expert

What are CFOs’ biggest priorities heading into 2022?

Goals and KPIs: Key Relationships:

Key Challenges: Related Initiatives:

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