Everyone owns the top of the funnel. It’s an old expression that needs a new definition for a buyer journey that has become 70% digital and self-directed.

Let’s take a look at recent research from Salesloft and the Bridge Group to see how this new buyer journey is impacting marketing and sales roles.

One overwhelming conclusion is that marketing teams are spending way too much time chasing buyers who have not demonstrated interest in their product.

SalesLoft’s review of several research studies suggests Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC) have doubled in the last 5 years, now taking 4+ years to breakeven.

This is creating a need for a focus on in-market buyers with demonstrated intent.  Within this need for a focus on in-market buyers, three observations stand out.

AE Self-Generated Opportunities:  For Account Executives (AEs) nothing has really changed in terms of top-of-funnel ownership.  The Bridge Group’s SaaS AE Report shows that AEs are generating 25-30% of their own leads. 

This focus on owning a quarter of their early pipeline is equally true across all deal sizes, from under-average contract value (ACV) of $5K to over $100K.  

What is new for AEs is the focus on intent.  Buyers were rarely interested in having their patterns interrupted, and are even less tolerant now.  They want to hear how your product or service can help with their specific initiatives and goals. According to a report from LinkedIn, salespeople who conduct deep research on their prospects are 2x more likely to hit their goals. The expectation for personalization in outreach is now ubiquitous.

SDR vs. Marketing:  One significant shift is variability in the use of SDRs, particularly for companies with an ACV under $25K ACV. 

The high costs associated with SDRs — often over $100K in costs per SDR for salary, incentive comp, and benefits — have led to increased marketing involvement.  Rather than using expensive human labor, marketing workflows focused on automating content and drip sequences to nudge buyers towards agreeing to a demo or other sales interaction

Focus on In-Market Buyers:  Finally, the explosion in Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC), which have more than doubled over the past five years. This necessitates a tactical shift to focus on prospects with real intent. Marketing teams need to be increasingly selective and aiming for precision is crucial to prevent further spikes in CAC and extend profitability.

Some marketing teams are investing in intent platforms, like 6Sense, Rollworks, and Bombara, but that is not cheap.  As important is going beyond lead scoring to focus on intent scoring by measuring bursts of engagement with your website, content, and events.

In conclusion, buyers have become more discerning and respond when they are ready.  This requires marketing and sales teams to rethink their processes and roles for opportunity creation.