Traditional lead-based marketing is dead weight
B2B marketers have been trained to chase leads. A prospect fills out a form, downloads a white paper, or attends a webinar, and suddenly they’re treated like the key to unlocking a six- or seven-figure deal. That’s just wrong.
In reality, B2B purchases are team decisions. Depending on the complexity of the deal, you might be dealing with five, ten, or even twenty stakeholders. A lead might open the door, but they rarely have the power to sign a contract. If you only focus on them, you’re missing the bigger picture.
Even worse, most CRM systems, especially Salesforce, are built around leads. That means marketing and sales teams are working with incomplete data. You end up optimizing campaigns for a single person while ignoring the actual group making the decision.
Salesforce’s lead-object structure is broken. It forces marketers to operate in a system that doesn’t align with reality. The result? Inefficient campaigns, wasted budgets, and missed deals.
The problem with Account-Based Marketing (ABM)
So, if lead-based marketing is flawed, what about Account-Based Marketing (ABM)? Well, ABM is better, but still not good enough.
The idea behind ABM is smart: Instead of focusing on individual leads, you treat an entire company as a target. You craft personalized campaigns for specific businesses and try to engage multiple stakeholders. Sounds logical, right?
“The problem? Companies don’t act as a single unit. In large enterprises, different departments, teams, and even regional offices often have conflicting goals and priorities.”
Imagine selling software to a multinational company. The North American division might love your product, but the European team refuses to adopt it. Or an engineering team wants your solution, but procurement is blocking the deal. If you treat the company as one account, you’ll miss these internal conflicts and lose deals as a result.
ABM gets you closer to reality than lead-based marketing, but it’s still too broad. You need a model that’s even more precise.
Buying-group marketing
This is where buying-group marketing comes in. Instead of chasing individual leads or treating an entire company as one big account, you target the actual decision-making groups inside an organization.
Here’s how it works:
Every major B2B purchase is made by a buying committee, a group of people with different roles in the decision process. Some initiate the purchase, others evaluate options, and some hold the final approval power.
A typical buying group includes:
- Initiators: Spot the need and start the search for a solution.
- Influencers: Provide technical or business insights that sway the decision.
- Gatekeepers: Control access to key decision-makers.
- Approvers: Give the final “yes” or “no” on the deal.
- End users: The people who will actually use the product or service.
Buying-group marketing works because it reflects reality. Instead of trying to convert one person, you engage the entire committee, addressing their unique concerns and priorities.
This approach is more precise, more effective, and more profitable. You stop wasting time on individuals who can’t make decisions, and you start influencing the real power players.
Mapping buying groups = smarter marketing
Most companies don’t buy like consumers. There’s no impulse buying in B2B. Deals take months, sometimes years, to close. And every step of the way, different people have different concerns.
That’s why mapping buying groups is invaluable.
A CFO cares about cost, ROI, and risk. A CTO focuses on security, integration, and scalability. An operations leader wants easy implementation and minimal disruption. If your marketing speaks only to one of them, the deal falls apart when the others weigh in.
Instead, you need to map out the key players and craft messaging that resonates with each of them. The technical lead gets a white paper. The CFO gets a cost-benefit breakdown. The operations team gets a case study showing how easy implementation is.
This is how B2B deals actually happen. If your marketing isn’t aligned with the buying committee’s decision process, you’re leaving money on the table.
The biggest roadblock? Outdated CRMs
So, if buying-group marketing is so effective, why isn’t everyone doing it? The biggest problem? CRM systems are stuck in the past.
Most CRMs, including Salesforce, are still built around individual leads. That means sales and marketing teams don’t have the tools to track relationships between stakeholders inside an account. They can’t see how influence spreads within an organization.
Think about it: You could have three strong champions inside a company, but if your CRM doesn’t connect them, your sales team might still treat them as separate deals. Worse, if your data is siloed, marketing can’t run campaigns that target the full buying group.
This needs to change. The best companies are already adapting, using AI and better data models to track buying groups instead of individual leads. If your CRM can’t handle this, you’re already behind.
Buying-group marketing is easier than you think
If this all sounds complex, don’t worry, it’s actually pretty simple.
Most sales teams already know how their customers make decisions. They understand which departments drive purchases and who the real influencers are. The problem is that traditional marketing doesn’t leverage that knowledge effectively.
Switching to a buying-group model doesn’t mean overhauling everything. You can start with:
- Better CRM data: Track and connect key stakeholders inside each account.
- Persona-based campaigns: Target messaging to specific roles, not generic “accounts.”
- Aligned sales & marketing: Make sure both teams focus on buying groups, not individual leads.
The “Goldilocks” zone
Here’s the bottom line: You need to get targeting just right.
- Lead-based marketing? Too narrow. You’re missing key influencers.
- Account-based marketing? Too broad. Companies aren’t monolithic.
- Buying-group marketing? Just right. It mirrors how real decisions are made.
If you’re still stuck in lead-based marketing, you’re living in the past. If you’ve moved to ABM, you’re on the right track but it’s not enough. The companies that win will be the ones that embrace buying-group marketing.
Want to close more deals? Stop marketing to individuals. Stop treating companies as single units. Start marketing to buying groups.
Key executive takeaways
- Rethink targeting: Traditional lead-based marketing misses the mark, B2B deals require engaging entire buying groups instead of isolated individuals.
- Account-based limitations: Treating entire companies as a single entity oversimplifies internal decision processes; recognizing diverse stakeholder roles is key.
- Tailored messaging: Mapping and segmenting buying committees enables personalized campaigns that address distinct needs, boosting conversion potential.
- Modernize systems: Outdated CRM structures hinder effective buying-group marketing, updating technology to track group dynamics is key for a competitive advantage.
