Navigating Enterprise Sales: Understanding Buyer Shortlists

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Guest: Kerry Cunningham, Research & Thought Leadership at 6sense -- 

85% of buyers initiate the first conversation with vendors—on their terms. If your marketing still revolves around capturing leads and pushing outbound sales, you're already behind. 

Kerry Cunningham, Head of Research at 6Sense, shares insights from their Buyer Experience Report 2024, revealing how today’s B2B buyers operate—and why most SaaS companies are out of sync. 

Buyers come into the process knowing who they’ll evaluate, and 90% of the time, they buy from their initial shortlist. If you’re not on it, no amount of sales effort will save you.

🔍 So, what’s the playbook for modern marketing? Kerry explains why demand creation—not just demand capture—is the key to winning future deals. Marketers must move beyond gated content, outbound cadences, and “hunting” leads. Instead, they need to build brand presence early, engage in buyer communities, and ensure their company is top-of-mind long before a purchase is in motion.

Key Takeaways:

✅ Only 1-3% of your ICP is in-market at any given time. Most SaaS companies waste time on buyers who simply aren’t ready.
✅ Buyers ignore cold outreach until they decide to engage. 50% receive calls and emails for weeks (even months) before responding.
✅ Analysts and consultants influence over 80% of SaaS deals. If analyst relations aren’t part of your strategy, you’re missing a major growth lever.

💡 The companies winning today aren’t chasing buyers—they’re positioning themselves as the obvious choice before a buying cycle even starts. Kerry shares how 6Sense does this and how your team can apply these insights to future-proof your marketing.

🎧 Listen now to learn how to shift your strategy for today’s B2B buyer.

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