Buyer Enablement
Playbook #15: How to Map, Analyze, and Improve Your Buyer Journey
Playbook #15: How to Map, Analyze, and Improve Your Buyer Journey
Playbook #15: How to Map, Analyze, and Improve Your Buyer Journey
A step-by-step playbook to turn your buyer journey from guesswork into a living system.
You’ll map real buyer behavior, overlay it with your sales/CS funnel, and use conversion and stage-duration data to spot where deals stall. Then, you’ll prioritize high-impact buyer-enablement fixes to cut “no decision” outcomes and shorten sales cycles.
Introduction
How easy is it to buy your product? If you asked a customer, what do you think they’d say?
Chances are, it’s worse than you think. And that’s a problem, because when buyers are faced with uncertainty, doubt, and confusion, they often fallback to the easiest choice. Doing NOTHING.
This playbook will give you a simple and straightforward way to improve your Buyer Enablement. You’ll learn how to map, analyze, and improve your buyer journey in a way that gives prospects and customers more confidence 💪
You’ll learn how to:
Turn fuzzy assumptions into a clear map of the real journey
Spot friction points that slow down deals or cause drop-off
Find opportunities to make the buying experience smoother and more empowering
Even if you’ve already built personas or done discovery interviews, this process will help you use that information to spot opportunities that you can act on right away.
What is Buyer Enablement and Why Does it Matter?
If you’re a seasoned PMM, you know that Enablement is one of the 4 core pillars of product marketing. Take a look at the Founding PMM Flywheel shown below:
How easy is it to buy your product? If you asked a customer, what do you think they’d say?
Chances are, it’s worse than you think. And that’s a problem, because when buyers are faced with uncertainty, doubt, and confusion, they often fallback to the easiest choice. Doing NOTHING.
This playbook will give you a simple and straightforward way to improve your Buyer Enablement. You’ll learn how to map, analyze, and improve your buyer journey in a way that gives prospects and customers more confidence 💪
You’ll learn how to:
Turn fuzzy assumptions into a clear map of the real journey
Spot friction points that slow down deals or cause drop-off
Find opportunities to make the buying experience smoother and more empowering
Even if you’ve already built personas or done discovery interviews, this process will help you use that information to spot opportunities that you can act on right away.
What is Buyer Enablement and Why Does it Matter?
If you’re a seasoned PMM, you know that Enablement is one of the 4 core pillars of product marketing. Take a look at the Founding PMM Flywheel shown below:
How easy is it to buy your product? If you asked a customer, what do you think they’d say?
Chances are, it’s worse than you think. And that’s a problem, because when buyers are faced with uncertainty, doubt, and confusion, they often fallback to the easiest choice. Doing NOTHING.
This playbook will give you a simple and straightforward way to improve your Buyer Enablement. You’ll learn how to map, analyze, and improve your buyer journey in a way that gives prospects and customers more confidence 💪
You’ll learn how to:
Turn fuzzy assumptions into a clear map of the real journey
Spot friction points that slow down deals or cause drop-off
Find opportunities to make the buying experience smoother and more empowering
Even if you’ve already built personas or done discovery interviews, this process will help you use that information to spot opportunities that you can act on right away.
What is Buyer Enablement and Why Does it Matter?
If you’re a seasoned PMM, you know that Enablement is one of the 4 core pillars of product marketing. Take a look at the Founding PMM Flywheel shown below:
But here’s the thing — enablement is a big (often scary) word that can mean many different things.
To most PMMs, it means Sales Enablement, which centers around giving your sales team the content, training, and tools they need to sell your product with confidence.
And while that’s important, it’s only part of the story, maybe less. And honestly, if you’re only focusing on that side, you might actually be making the buying experience worse. 😱
Buyer Enablement is all about making your buyer feel more confident in purchasing and using your product, so they’re less likely to hesitate or back out.
Because let's face it, as you can see in the famous Gartner graphic below, buying a B2B product can be a scary, overwhelming process.
But here’s the thing — enablement is a big (often scary) word that can mean many different things.
To most PMMs, it means Sales Enablement, which centers around giving your sales team the content, training, and tools they need to sell your product with confidence.
And while that’s important, it’s only part of the story, maybe less. And honestly, if you’re only focusing on that side, you might actually be making the buying experience worse. 😱
Buyer Enablement is all about making your buyer feel more confident in purchasing and using your product, so they’re less likely to hesitate or back out.
Because let's face it, as you can see in the famous Gartner graphic below, buying a B2B product can be a scary, overwhelming process.
But here’s the thing — enablement is a big (often scary) word that can mean many different things.
To most PMMs, it means Sales Enablement, which centers around giving your sales team the content, training, and tools they need to sell your product with confidence.
And while that’s important, it’s only part of the story, maybe less. And honestly, if you’re only focusing on that side, you might actually be making the buying experience worse. 😱
Buyer Enablement is all about making your buyer feel more confident in purchasing and using your product, so they’re less likely to hesitate or back out.
Because let's face it, as you can see in the famous Gartner graphic below, buying a B2B product can be a scary, overwhelming process.
I’ve got a pretty eye-opening stat for you: 40-60% of deals end without a decision.
Why? Mainly because buyers decide it’s easier and less risky to stick with what they know. They’re afraid of making the wrong choice!
So, if you want more buyers to say “yes,” you need to make the process as simple and confidence-boosting as possible.
In practice, making buying easier looks like:
Stripping out unnecessary steps in the buying process
Making it super easy to find information about your product and pricing
Clearly laying out your implementation process so everyone knows what’s next
Not hiding or gating important info behind a sales rep
Sharing clear, consistent product messaging
Providing real customer stories and proof points that build trust
When you get these pieces right, you can build a journey so effortless that buyers choose you for that reason alone.
Get it wrong, and you’ll continue to see bad conversion rates, poor adoption, and churn.
So if you’re ready for the good stuff, keep reading.
Where most companies get it wrong
Having a clear buyer journey map is one of the most valuable tools in product marketing. But honestly, it’s pretty rare to find one. All because no one agrees on how real buyers actually move from awareness to decision to advocacy.
Most companies end up creating their own “sales process” and then try to force that onto buyers.
Even the content and collateral you create for customers often isn’t focused on them. For example, have you ever made a one-pager based solely on the specs from a sales rep? Or written a product page just for SEO?
Chances are, those resonated about as well as a webinar on a Friday at 4 p.m.
I’ve got a pretty eye-opening stat for you: 40-60% of deals end without a decision.
Why? Mainly because buyers decide it’s easier and less risky to stick with what they know. They’re afraid of making the wrong choice!
So, if you want more buyers to say “yes,” you need to make the process as simple and confidence-boosting as possible.
In practice, making buying easier looks like:
Stripping out unnecessary steps in the buying process
Making it super easy to find information about your product and pricing
Clearly laying out your implementation process so everyone knows what’s next
Not hiding or gating important info behind a sales rep
Sharing clear, consistent product messaging
Providing real customer stories and proof points that build trust
When you get these pieces right, you can build a journey so effortless that buyers choose you for that reason alone.
Get it wrong, and you’ll continue to see bad conversion rates, poor adoption, and churn.
So if you’re ready for the good stuff, keep reading.
Where most companies get it wrong
Having a clear buyer journey map is one of the most valuable tools in product marketing. But honestly, it’s pretty rare to find one. All because no one agrees on how real buyers actually move from awareness to decision to advocacy.
Most companies end up creating their own “sales process” and then try to force that onto buyers.
Even the content and collateral you create for customers often isn’t focused on them. For example, have you ever made a one-pager based solely on the specs from a sales rep? Or written a product page just for SEO?
Chances are, those resonated about as well as a webinar on a Friday at 4 p.m.
I’ve got a pretty eye-opening stat for you: 40-60% of deals end without a decision.
Why? Mainly because buyers decide it’s easier and less risky to stick with what they know. They’re afraid of making the wrong choice!
So, if you want more buyers to say “yes,” you need to make the process as simple and confidence-boosting as possible.
In practice, making buying easier looks like:
Stripping out unnecessary steps in the buying process
Making it super easy to find information about your product and pricing
Clearly laying out your implementation process so everyone knows what’s next
Not hiding or gating important info behind a sales rep
Sharing clear, consistent product messaging
Providing real customer stories and proof points that build trust
When you get these pieces right, you can build a journey so effortless that buyers choose you for that reason alone.
Get it wrong, and you’ll continue to see bad conversion rates, poor adoption, and churn.
So if you’re ready for the good stuff, keep reading.
Where most companies get it wrong
Having a clear buyer journey map is one of the most valuable tools in product marketing. But honestly, it’s pretty rare to find one. All because no one agrees on how real buyers actually move from awareness to decision to advocacy.
Most companies end up creating their own “sales process” and then try to force that onto buyers.
Even the content and collateral you create for customers often isn’t focused on them. For example, have you ever made a one-pager based solely on the specs from a sales rep? Or written a product page just for SEO?
Chances are, those resonated about as well as a webinar on a Friday at 4 p.m.
Let’s get into how to design a buyer journey map that actually reflects your buyer.
The Buyer Journey Mapping Framework
The Buyer Enablement Discovery Framework breaks down the process of improving your buyer enablement into 5 simple steps:
Gather: Collect all the data, insights, and feedback you can about your buyers.
Map: Visualize what the journey actually looks like for your target buyers, including their triggers, actions, feelings, and objections.
Analyze: Measure the conversion rates between each stage and identify the biggest drop-offs, friction points, and areas where buyers feel most unsure
Recommend: Identify opportunities to improve your buyer enablement and fill the gaps you’ve uncovered.
Implement: Put your solutions into action, measure what’s working, and keep the cycle going.
Think of it as a loop, not a one-time artifact. Every new deal or piece of customer feedback helps refine your map and make it even better.
Let’s get into how to design a buyer journey map that actually reflects your buyer.
The Buyer Journey Mapping Framework
The Buyer Enablement Discovery Framework breaks down the process of improving your buyer enablement into 5 simple steps:
Gather: Collect all the data, insights, and feedback you can about your buyers.
Map: Visualize what the journey actually looks like for your target buyers, including their triggers, actions, feelings, and objections.
Analyze: Measure the conversion rates between each stage and identify the biggest drop-offs, friction points, and areas where buyers feel most unsure
Recommend: Identify opportunities to improve your buyer enablement and fill the gaps you’ve uncovered.
Implement: Put your solutions into action, measure what’s working, and keep the cycle going.
Think of it as a loop, not a one-time artifact. Every new deal or piece of customer feedback helps refine your map and make it even better.
Let’s get into how to design a buyer journey map that actually reflects your buyer.
The Buyer Journey Mapping Framework
The Buyer Enablement Discovery Framework breaks down the process of improving your buyer enablement into 5 simple steps:
Gather: Collect all the data, insights, and feedback you can about your buyers.
Map: Visualize what the journey actually looks like for your target buyers, including their triggers, actions, feelings, and objections.
Analyze: Measure the conversion rates between each stage and identify the biggest drop-offs, friction points, and areas where buyers feel most unsure
Recommend: Identify opportunities to improve your buyer enablement and fill the gaps you’ve uncovered.
Implement: Put your solutions into action, measure what’s working, and keep the cycle going.
Think of it as a loop, not a one-time artifact. Every new deal or piece of customer feedback helps refine your map and make it even better.
Pro tip: Treat your buyer journey as a living system, not a static document. Schedule a review as part of your quarterly planning to keep it fresh and useful.
Pro tip: Treat your buyer journey as a living system, not a static document. Schedule a review as part of your quarterly planning to keep it fresh and useful.
Pro tip: Treat your buyer journey as a living system, not a static document. Schedule a review as part of your quarterly planning to keep it fresh and useful.
How to Use The Framework Step-by-Step
Step 1: Gather Real Buyer Insights
Before you start mapping your buyer journey, you need real customer insights. It’s impossible to map accurately if you’re relying on assumptions, and you can’t design a smooth journey if you don’t really know what it’s like for your buyers to walk through it.
Take Target, for example. When they expanded to Canada, they opened over 100 stores in a rapid rollout. They assumed Canadian shoppers were “just like” U.S. ones and would accept similar pricing, product mix, and experience. Stores suffered from empty shelves, higher perceived pricing, disappointing product selection, and major losses. Target pulled out within two years, with more than US $2 billion in losses.
How to Use The Framework Step-by-Step
Step 1: Gather Real Buyer Insights
Before you start mapping your buyer journey, you need real customer insights. It’s impossible to map accurately if you’re relying on assumptions, and you can’t design a smooth journey if you don’t really know what it’s like for your buyers to walk through it.
Take Target, for example. When they expanded to Canada, they opened over 100 stores in a rapid rollout. They assumed Canadian shoppers were “just like” U.S. ones and would accept similar pricing, product mix, and experience. Stores suffered from empty shelves, higher perceived pricing, disappointing product selection, and major losses. Target pulled out within two years, with more than US $2 billion in losses.
How to Use The Framework Step-by-Step
Step 1: Gather Real Buyer Insights
Before you start mapping your buyer journey, you need real customer insights. It’s impossible to map accurately if you’re relying on assumptions, and you can’t design a smooth journey if you don’t really know what it’s like for your buyers to walk through it.
Take Target, for example. When they expanded to Canada, they opened over 100 stores in a rapid rollout. They assumed Canadian shoppers were “just like” U.S. ones and would accept similar pricing, product mix, and experience. Stores suffered from empty shelves, higher perceived pricing, disappointing product selection, and major losses. Target pulled out within two years, with more than US $2 billion in losses.
Examples like these really highlight why talking to, and understanding your customers is so important. The Jetpack has a whole playbook we did in partnership with Shoshana Kordova, all about how to operationalize and gather customer insights. So definitely go check that out.
Examples like these really highlight why talking to, and understanding your customers is so important. The Jetpack has a whole playbook we did in partnership with Shoshana Kordova, all about how to operationalize and gather customer insights. So definitely go check that out.
Examples like these really highlight why talking to, and understanding your customers is so important. The Jetpack has a whole playbook we did in partnership with Shoshana Kordova, all about how to operationalize and gather customer insights. So definitely go check that out.
But in a nutshell, here’s what you need to do:
Interview recent buyers (won and lost deals)
Review CRM notes, Gong calls, and chat transcripts, etc.
Look for “moments of truth” — key points where buyers progressed or got stuck
Step 2: Map the Journey
Now comes the fun part. Turning those insights into a visual map that captures what buyers actually do and think when evaluating, choosing, and using your product.
We’ve put together a template to help you get started quickly, and I’ll walk you through it step-by-step. But don’t feel boxed in; every product and buyer journey is different, so feel free to personalize it!
But in a nutshell, here’s what you need to do:
Interview recent buyers (won and lost deals)
Review CRM notes, Gong calls, and chat transcripts, etc.
Look for “moments of truth” — key points where buyers progressed or got stuck
Step 2: Map the Journey
Now comes the fun part. Turning those insights into a visual map that captures what buyers actually do and think when evaluating, choosing, and using your product.
We’ve put together a template to help you get started quickly, and I’ll walk you through it step-by-step. But don’t feel boxed in; every product and buyer journey is different, so feel free to personalize it!
But in a nutshell, here’s what you need to do:
Interview recent buyers (won and lost deals)
Review CRM notes, Gong calls, and chat transcripts, etc.
Look for “moments of truth” — key points where buyers progressed or got stuck
Step 2: Map the Journey
Now comes the fun part. Turning those insights into a visual map that captures what buyers actually do and think when evaluating, choosing, and using your product.
We’ve put together a template to help you get started quickly, and I’ll walk you through it step-by-step. But don’t feel boxed in; every product and buyer journey is different, so feel free to personalize it!
The Buyer Journey Map is a standard matrix with buying stages across the top, each broken down by different characteristics on the left.
Buying Stages
A common buyer journey framework goes like this: Awareness > Consideration > Purchase > Onboarding > Advocacy
The Buyer Journey Map is a standard matrix with buying stages across the top, each broken down by different characteristics on the left.
Buying Stages
A common buyer journey framework goes like this: Awareness > Consideration > Purchase > Onboarding > Advocacy
The Buyer Journey Map is a standard matrix with buying stages across the top, each broken down by different characteristics on the left.
Buying Stages
A common buyer journey framework goes like this: Awareness > Consideration > Purchase > Onboarding > Advocacy
Here’s what those stages generally mean:
Awareness: When a potential buyer first realizes they have a problem or need and starts searching for info or solutions.
Consideration: The buyer is actively exploring different options, and comparing products or vendors that could solve their problem.
Purchase: The decision point. The buyer chooses a solution, gets internal buy-in if needed, and completes the purchase.
Onboarding: After buying, the customer starts using the product, setting it up, and learning how to get value from it.
Advocacy: The customer is happy with their experience and begins promoting or recommending the product to others (e.g., through reviews, referrals, or case studies).
Sales/CS Stages
Now, this may sound hypocritical, but the next step is to map your internal process to the buyers’ process. This is an important step because it gives you context around what your company is doing (and what your goals are) at each stage of the buyers’ journey.
Also, since this likely how you structure your reporting in your CRM, it’s going to allow you to track conversion rates and spot problem areas in your funnel.
As you map the stages of your funnel, gather two vital metrics:
Conversion Rate: The percentage of buyers that successfully move from one stage to the next.
Duration: The number of days it takes to move a buyer from one stage to the next.
Those two metrics ☝️ are going to be your secret weapon in spotting where to enable buyers better and ultimately grow revenue.
Here’s what those stages generally mean:
Awareness: When a potential buyer first realizes they have a problem or need and starts searching for info or solutions.
Consideration: The buyer is actively exploring different options, and comparing products or vendors that could solve their problem.
Purchase: The decision point. The buyer chooses a solution, gets internal buy-in if needed, and completes the purchase.
Onboarding: After buying, the customer starts using the product, setting it up, and learning how to get value from it.
Advocacy: The customer is happy with their experience and begins promoting or recommending the product to others (e.g., through reviews, referrals, or case studies).
Sales/CS Stages
Now, this may sound hypocritical, but the next step is to map your internal process to the buyers’ process. This is an important step because it gives you context around what your company is doing (and what your goals are) at each stage of the buyers’ journey.
Also, since this likely how you structure your reporting in your CRM, it’s going to allow you to track conversion rates and spot problem areas in your funnel.
As you map the stages of your funnel, gather two vital metrics:
Conversion Rate: The percentage of buyers that successfully move from one stage to the next.
Duration: The number of days it takes to move a buyer from one stage to the next.
Those two metrics ☝️ are going to be your secret weapon in spotting where to enable buyers better and ultimately grow revenue.
Here’s what those stages generally mean:
Awareness: When a potential buyer first realizes they have a problem or need and starts searching for info or solutions.
Consideration: The buyer is actively exploring different options, and comparing products or vendors that could solve their problem.
Purchase: The decision point. The buyer chooses a solution, gets internal buy-in if needed, and completes the purchase.
Onboarding: After buying, the customer starts using the product, setting it up, and learning how to get value from it.
Advocacy: The customer is happy with their experience and begins promoting or recommending the product to others (e.g., through reviews, referrals, or case studies).
Sales/CS Stages
Now, this may sound hypocritical, but the next step is to map your internal process to the buyers’ process. This is an important step because it gives you context around what your company is doing (and what your goals are) at each stage of the buyers’ journey.
Also, since this likely how you structure your reporting in your CRM, it’s going to allow you to track conversion rates and spot problem areas in your funnel.
As you map the stages of your funnel, gather two vital metrics:
Conversion Rate: The percentage of buyers that successfully move from one stage to the next.
Duration: The number of days it takes to move a buyer from one stage to the next.
Those two metrics ☝️ are going to be your secret weapon in spotting where to enable buyers better and ultimately grow revenue.
Pro tip: In the Buyer Journey Mapping Template you’ll see a generic process to start with, but you’ll want to tailor these stage names to map directly to your internal process. Schedule an hour with a member of your revenue operations team so they can help you map it out accurately and gather the right metrics!
Pro tip: In the Buyer Journey Mapping Template you’ll see a generic process to start with, but you’ll want to tailor these stage names to map directly to your internal process. Schedule an hour with a member of your revenue operations team so they can help you map it out accurately and gather the right metrics!
Pro tip: In the Buyer Journey Mapping Template you’ll see a generic process to start with, but you’ll want to tailor these stage names to map directly to your internal process. Schedule an hour with a member of your revenue operations team so they can help you map it out accurately and gather the right metrics!
Buyer Touchpoints
These are all the interactions you have with the buyer along their journey: meetings, emails, visits to your website, resource downloads, etc. For example, at the consideration stage, touchpoints might include a discovery call, a product demo, or follow-up emails. They might also be browsing your website or reading case studies.
Buyer Touchpoints
These are all the interactions you have with the buyer along their journey: meetings, emails, visits to your website, resource downloads, etc. For example, at the consideration stage, touchpoints might include a discovery call, a product demo, or follow-up emails. They might also be browsing your website or reading case studies.
Buyer Touchpoints
These are all the interactions you have with the buyer along their journey: meetings, emails, visits to your website, resource downloads, etc. For example, at the consideration stage, touchpoints might include a discovery call, a product demo, or follow-up emails. They might also be browsing your website or reading case studies.
Pro tip: Watch out for touchpoints that may be causing friction; either too many unnecessary steps, or missing key moments that could help the buyer move forward.
Pro tip: Watch out for touchpoints that may be causing friction; either too many unnecessary steps, or missing key moments that could help the buyer move forward.
Pro tip: Watch out for touchpoints that may be causing friction; either too many unnecessary steps, or missing key moments that could help the buyer move forward.
Buyer’s Objective
This is about stepping into your buyer’s shoes. What are they trying to accomplish at this stage of the process? This could as simple as trying to schedule a demonstration, or more complicated like trying to present an internal business case for budget approval.
Buyer’s Objective
This is about stepping into your buyer’s shoes. What are they trying to accomplish at this stage of the process? This could as simple as trying to schedule a demonstration, or more complicated like trying to present an internal business case for budget approval.
Buyer’s Objective
This is about stepping into your buyer’s shoes. What are they trying to accomplish at this stage of the process? This could as simple as trying to schedule a demonstration, or more complicated like trying to present an internal business case for budget approval.
Pro tip: Remember not to confuse this with your own internal motivations. Those don’t matter here. You’re trying put yourself in the shoes of your buyer, so keep their perspective front and center.
Pro tip: Remember not to confuse this with your own internal motivations. Those don’t matter here. You’re trying put yourself in the shoes of your buyer, so keep their perspective front and center.
Pro tip: Remember not to confuse this with your own internal motivations. Those don’t matter here. You’re trying put yourself in the shoes of your buyer, so keep their perspective front and center.
Struggles and Objections
This part is gold for finding ways to improve your buyer enablement. For this section, you are looking to identify all of the things that confuse, frustrate, or scare your buyers. These could be questions they ask or objections they raise on calls, but also things that often go unsaid and only come out later in win-loss conversations. Things that ultimately lead to fear and doubt that keeps them from buying.
Struggles and Objections
This part is gold for finding ways to improve your buyer enablement. For this section, you are looking to identify all of the things that confuse, frustrate, or scare your buyers. These could be questions they ask or objections they raise on calls, but also things that often go unsaid and only come out later in win-loss conversations. Things that ultimately lead to fear and doubt that keeps them from buying.
Struggles and Objections
This part is gold for finding ways to improve your buyer enablement. For this section, you are looking to identify all of the things that confuse, frustrate, or scare your buyers. These could be questions they ask or objections they raise on calls, but also things that often go unsaid and only come out later in win-loss conversations. Things that ultimately lead to fear and doubt that keeps them from buying.
Pro tip: This is not a section you’ll be able to complete on your own. Up-front customer research is critical here, but you can also get a lot from interviewing your sales and CS reps. Even consider scheduling time to complete this part of the map with them.
Pro tip: This is not a section you’ll be able to complete on your own. Up-front customer research is critical here, but you can also get a lot from interviewing your sales and CS reps. Even consider scheduling time to complete this part of the map with them.
Pro tip: This is not a section you’ll be able to complete on your own. Up-front customer research is critical here, but you can also get a lot from interviewing your sales and CS reps. Even consider scheduling time to complete this part of the map with them.
Stakeholders
Research shows that most buying decisions involve 6-10 stakeholders. So assuming that every stage only involves your one champion is a mistake. Use this section as an opportunity to identify all of the other stakeholders that come into the picture as they move through the buyer journey.
Stakeholders
Research shows that most buying decisions involve 6-10 stakeholders. So assuming that every stage only involves your one champion is a mistake. Use this section as an opportunity to identify all of the other stakeholders that come into the picture as they move through the buyer journey.
Stakeholders
Research shows that most buying decisions involve 6-10 stakeholders. So assuming that every stage only involves your one champion is a mistake. Use this section as an opportunity to identify all of the other stakeholders that come into the picture as they move through the buyer journey.
Pro tip: For each stakeholder ask yourself: “Is this person someone we interact with directly, or will my champion need to convince separately.”
Pro tip: For each stakeholder ask yourself: “Is this person someone we interact with directly, or will my champion need to convince separately.”
Pro tip: For each stakeholder ask yourself: “Is this person someone we interact with directly, or will my champion need to convince separately.”
Current Assets
This is where you list all of the resources, content, and tools you offer buyers at each stage of their journey. Examples could include things like ROI calculators, pitch decks, interactive demos, implementation guides, YOUR WEBSITE!
Current Assets
This is where you list all of the resources, content, and tools you offer buyers at each stage of their journey. Examples could include things like ROI calculators, pitch decks, interactive demos, implementation guides, YOUR WEBSITE!
Current Assets
This is where you list all of the resources, content, and tools you offer buyers at each stage of their journey. Examples could include things like ROI calculators, pitch decks, interactive demos, implementation guides, YOUR WEBSITE!
Pro tip: When you’re writing website copy, remember that it’s a massive buyer enablement asset. It’s where the majority of your buyers go first to learn about your product. So make it clear, useful, and easy to navigate.
Pro tip: When you’re writing website copy, remember that it’s a massive buyer enablement asset. It’s where the majority of your buyers go first to learn about your product. So make it clear, useful, and easy to navigate.
Pro tip: When you’re writing website copy, remember that it’s a massive buyer enablement asset. It’s where the majority of your buyers go first to learn about your product. So make it clear, useful, and easy to navigate.
Step 3: Analyze Conversion Rates and Spot the Gaps
Time to put on your investigator hat 🕵️ and identify where things are breaking in your funnel. Start by taking time on your own to review each stage and the information you’ve gathered, and prioritize stages where you feel there are the biggest problems.
The best places to look are:
Stages with low-performing conversion rates
Stages that take way longer than they should
Struggles and objections that you aren’t addressing
Stakeholders that you aren’t influencing enough
Once you’ve made your initial assessment, bring in other team members like leadership, sales, customer success, and marketing. Doing a quick workshop can lead to great insights and help align everyone. Your goal here should be to prioritize your top problem areas that, if improved, will drive the most meaningful impact for your business.
Step 3: Analyze Conversion Rates and Spot the Gaps
Time to put on your investigator hat 🕵️ and identify where things are breaking in your funnel. Start by taking time on your own to review each stage and the information you’ve gathered, and prioritize stages where you feel there are the biggest problems.
The best places to look are:
Stages with low-performing conversion rates
Stages that take way longer than they should
Struggles and objections that you aren’t addressing
Stakeholders that you aren’t influencing enough
Once you’ve made your initial assessment, bring in other team members like leadership, sales, customer success, and marketing. Doing a quick workshop can lead to great insights and help align everyone. Your goal here should be to prioritize your top problem areas that, if improved, will drive the most meaningful impact for your business.
Step 3: Analyze Conversion Rates and Spot the Gaps
Time to put on your investigator hat 🕵️ and identify where things are breaking in your funnel. Start by taking time on your own to review each stage and the information you’ve gathered, and prioritize stages where you feel there are the biggest problems.
The best places to look are:
Stages with low-performing conversion rates
Stages that take way longer than they should
Struggles and objections that you aren’t addressing
Stakeholders that you aren’t influencing enough
Once you’ve made your initial assessment, bring in other team members like leadership, sales, customer success, and marketing. Doing a quick workshop can lead to great insights and help align everyone. Your goal here should be to prioritize your top problem areas that, if improved, will drive the most meaningful impact for your business.
Pro tip: Prioritization everything here. It’s tempting to want to fix everything, but your real value comes from identifying and tackling the most critical issues. To highlight them, try circling these key problem areas with a big red marker ⭕️ on your journey map.
Pro tip: Prioritization everything here. It’s tempting to want to fix everything, but your real value comes from identifying and tackling the most critical issues. To highlight them, try circling these key problem areas with a big red marker ⭕️ on your journey map.
Pro tip: Prioritization everything here. It’s tempting to want to fix everything, but your real value comes from identifying and tackling the most critical issues. To highlight them, try circling these key problem areas with a big red marker ⭕️ on your journey map.
Step 4: Recommend Improvements
Now we’re at the fun part: brainstorming and prioritizing how to fix those biggest pain points in your buyer journey. This is where you jot down ideas for changes that can make a real difference— ideally, with minimal effort. The goal here is to find initiatives that deliver the biggest impact without overcomplicating things.
Step 4: Recommend Improvements
Now we’re at the fun part: brainstorming and prioritizing how to fix those biggest pain points in your buyer journey. This is where you jot down ideas for changes that can make a real difference— ideally, with minimal effort. The goal here is to find initiatives that deliver the biggest impact without overcomplicating things.
Step 4: Recommend Improvements
Now we’re at the fun part: brainstorming and prioritizing how to fix those biggest pain points in your buyer journey. This is where you jot down ideas for changes that can make a real difference— ideally, with minimal effort. The goal here is to find initiatives that deliver the biggest impact without overcomplicating things.
Pro tip: It’s best to do this as a team, in a workshop or small brainstorming session, so you can get diverse perspectives and come up with the best ideas.
Pro tip: It’s best to do this as a team, in a workshop or small brainstorming session, so you can get diverse perspectives and come up with the best ideas.
Pro tip: It’s best to do this as a team, in a workshop or small brainstorming session, so you can get diverse perspectives and come up with the best ideas.
Step 5: Implement
This where the rubber meets the road. You’ve mapped your buyer journey, pinpointed the problem areas, and prioritized how to fix them. Now it’s time to take action.
Since every business is different, I can't tell you what your potential opportunities will be, or the changes you'll implement, but here are a number of example scenarios to hopefully get your wheels turning.
Example 1: Stuck in IT Review
After interviewing 10 prospects, the PMM discovered that most buyers got stuck in “IT review” because the product security documentation wasn’t public.
✅ Fix: They published a transparent security FAQ and SOC 2 summary.
📈 Result: Sales cycle time dropped 18%, and fewer deals stalled in procurement.
Example 2: Hidden Pricing
The team learned that buyers consistently asked for pricing before scheduling demos, but the website hid it.
✅ Fix: They added a “starting at” tier on the homepage and built a demo that highlighted ROI.
📈 Result: Demo conversion rate increased by 25%.
Example 3: Smoother Trial Conversion
After mapping the buyer journey, the PMM saw most trials stalled because users didn’t know what success looked like in the first week.
✅ Fix: They added a “Day 1–7 checklist” and in-app milestone prompts.
📈 Result: Trial-to-paid conversion went up by 22%.
Example 4: Reducing Demo Drop-Offs
The team found that half of buyers left demo requests incomplete after hitting a long form.
✅ Fix: They cut the form from 8 fields to 3 and added an instant self-guided demo option.
📈 Result: Demo completions rose 40%, and lead-to-meeting rate doubled.
Example 5: Surfacing Product Differentiators Earlier
Mapping showed buyers only learned the company’s biggest differentiator halfway through sales calls.
✅ Fix: The PMM updated website copy and intro decks to feature the differentiator upfront.
📈 Result: Win rate improved by 12% against main competitor.
Example 6: Removing Hidden Friction in Procurement
Buyers said their legal teams delayed sign-off due to missing compliance docs.
✅ Fix: The PMM published a “Security & Compliance Center” with downloadable PDFs.
📈 Result: Average contract cycle shortened by 10 days.
Example 7: Fixing the Content Gap Between Awareness and Evaluation
Analysis revealed a big drop between top-of-funnel blog traffic and demo requests.
✅ Fix: They created mid-funnel comparison guides and ROI calculators tied to blog CTAs.
📈 Result: MQL-to-SQL conversion rate increased from 14% to 26%.
Example 8: Aligning Sales Follow-Up Timing
Journey data showed reps followed up too late — buyers had already gone cold after the demo.
✅ Fix: PMM worked with RevOps to automate same-day follow-ups with tailored content.
📈 Result: Second-meeting booking rate jumped 35%.
Example 9: Highlighting Integration Proof Early
Buyers kept hesitating because they weren’t sure integrations would work with their stack.
✅ Fix: Added an “Integrations” section with GIFs and one-click setup videos on the homepage.
📈 Result: Demo requests mentioning “integration” concerns dropped 60%.
Example 10: Improving Post-Trial Nurture
Many users went inactive right after their free trial ended.
✅ Fix: The PMM built a three-email sequence showcasing success stories and time-sensitive upgrade offers.
📈 Result: Reactivation rate improved by 50%, and churn during trial-to-paid fell sharply.
Wrap-Up
Buyer Enablement isn’t a campaign or a one-time initiative. It’s the ongoing effort of removing doubt and making your buyers feel confident.
In this playbook, you’ve put together a simple, repeatable system: Gather → Map → Analyze → Recommend → Implement. When you run this cycle regularly, you’ll uncover real friction points, and make changes that boost conversions and shorten sales cycles.
If you only do one thing next, make it Step 1: talk to five recent buyers and capture what triggered their actions, what confused or scared them, and what ultimately drove their decision. Then update your map, circle the top two bottlenecks, and ship one improvement in the next two weeks.
You don’t need perfect. You need momentum. Start small, measure what happens, and iterate. Your buyers will feel the difference, and so will your pipeline.
Step 5: Implement
This where the rubber meets the road. You’ve mapped your buyer journey, pinpointed the problem areas, and prioritized how to fix them. Now it’s time to take action.
Since every business is different, I can't tell you what your potential opportunities will be, or the changes you'll implement, but here are a number of example scenarios to hopefully get your wheels turning.
Example 1: Stuck in IT Review
After interviewing 10 prospects, the PMM discovered that most buyers got stuck in “IT review” because the product security documentation wasn’t public.
✅ Fix: They published a transparent security FAQ and SOC 2 summary.
📈 Result: Sales cycle time dropped 18%, and fewer deals stalled in procurement.
Example 2: Hidden Pricing
The team learned that buyers consistently asked for pricing before scheduling demos, but the website hid it.
✅ Fix: They added a “starting at” tier on the homepage and built a demo that highlighted ROI.
📈 Result: Demo conversion rate increased by 25%.
Example 3: Smoother Trial Conversion
After mapping the buyer journey, the PMM saw most trials stalled because users didn’t know what success looked like in the first week.
✅ Fix: They added a “Day 1–7 checklist” and in-app milestone prompts.
📈 Result: Trial-to-paid conversion went up by 22%.
Example 4: Reducing Demo Drop-Offs
The team found that half of buyers left demo requests incomplete after hitting a long form.
✅ Fix: They cut the form from 8 fields to 3 and added an instant self-guided demo option.
📈 Result: Demo completions rose 40%, and lead-to-meeting rate doubled.
Example 5: Surfacing Product Differentiators Earlier
Mapping showed buyers only learned the company’s biggest differentiator halfway through sales calls.
✅ Fix: The PMM updated website copy and intro decks to feature the differentiator upfront.
📈 Result: Win rate improved by 12% against main competitor.
Example 6: Removing Hidden Friction in Procurement
Buyers said their legal teams delayed sign-off due to missing compliance docs.
✅ Fix: The PMM published a “Security & Compliance Center” with downloadable PDFs.
📈 Result: Average contract cycle shortened by 10 days.
Example 7: Fixing the Content Gap Between Awareness and Evaluation
Analysis revealed a big drop between top-of-funnel blog traffic and demo requests.
✅ Fix: They created mid-funnel comparison guides and ROI calculators tied to blog CTAs.
📈 Result: MQL-to-SQL conversion rate increased from 14% to 26%.
Example 8: Aligning Sales Follow-Up Timing
Journey data showed reps followed up too late — buyers had already gone cold after the demo.
✅ Fix: PMM worked with RevOps to automate same-day follow-ups with tailored content.
📈 Result: Second-meeting booking rate jumped 35%.
Example 9: Highlighting Integration Proof Early
Buyers kept hesitating because they weren’t sure integrations would work with their stack.
✅ Fix: Added an “Integrations” section with GIFs and one-click setup videos on the homepage.
📈 Result: Demo requests mentioning “integration” concerns dropped 60%.
Example 10: Improving Post-Trial Nurture
Many users went inactive right after their free trial ended.
✅ Fix: The PMM built a three-email sequence showcasing success stories and time-sensitive upgrade offers.
📈 Result: Reactivation rate improved by 50%, and churn during trial-to-paid fell sharply.
Wrap-Up
Buyer Enablement isn’t a campaign or a one-time initiative. It’s the ongoing effort of removing doubt and making your buyers feel confident.
In this playbook, you’ve put together a simple, repeatable system: Gather → Map → Analyze → Recommend → Implement. When you run this cycle regularly, you’ll uncover real friction points, and make changes that boost conversions and shorten sales cycles.
If you only do one thing next, make it Step 1: talk to five recent buyers and capture what triggered their actions, what confused or scared them, and what ultimately drove their decision. Then update your map, circle the top two bottlenecks, and ship one improvement in the next two weeks.
You don’t need perfect. You need momentum. Start small, measure what happens, and iterate. Your buyers will feel the difference, and so will your pipeline.
Step 5: Implement
This where the rubber meets the road. You’ve mapped your buyer journey, pinpointed the problem areas, and prioritized how to fix them. Now it’s time to take action.
Since every business is different, I can't tell you what your potential opportunities will be, or the changes you'll implement, but here are a number of example scenarios to hopefully get your wheels turning.
Example 1: Stuck in IT Review
After interviewing 10 prospects, the PMM discovered that most buyers got stuck in “IT review” because the product security documentation wasn’t public.
✅ Fix: They published a transparent security FAQ and SOC 2 summary.
📈 Result: Sales cycle time dropped 18%, and fewer deals stalled in procurement.
Example 2: Hidden Pricing
The team learned that buyers consistently asked for pricing before scheduling demos, but the website hid it.
✅ Fix: They added a “starting at” tier on the homepage and built a demo that highlighted ROI.
📈 Result: Demo conversion rate increased by 25%.
Example 3: Smoother Trial Conversion
After mapping the buyer journey, the PMM saw most trials stalled because users didn’t know what success looked like in the first week.
✅ Fix: They added a “Day 1–7 checklist” and in-app milestone prompts.
📈 Result: Trial-to-paid conversion went up by 22%.
Example 4: Reducing Demo Drop-Offs
The team found that half of buyers left demo requests incomplete after hitting a long form.
✅ Fix: They cut the form from 8 fields to 3 and added an instant self-guided demo option.
📈 Result: Demo completions rose 40%, and lead-to-meeting rate doubled.
Example 5: Surfacing Product Differentiators Earlier
Mapping showed buyers only learned the company’s biggest differentiator halfway through sales calls.
✅ Fix: The PMM updated website copy and intro decks to feature the differentiator upfront.
📈 Result: Win rate improved by 12% against main competitor.
Example 6: Removing Hidden Friction in Procurement
Buyers said their legal teams delayed sign-off due to missing compliance docs.
✅ Fix: The PMM published a “Security & Compliance Center” with downloadable PDFs.
📈 Result: Average contract cycle shortened by 10 days.
Example 7: Fixing the Content Gap Between Awareness and Evaluation
Analysis revealed a big drop between top-of-funnel blog traffic and demo requests.
✅ Fix: They created mid-funnel comparison guides and ROI calculators tied to blog CTAs.
📈 Result: MQL-to-SQL conversion rate increased from 14% to 26%.
Example 8: Aligning Sales Follow-Up Timing
Journey data showed reps followed up too late — buyers had already gone cold after the demo.
✅ Fix: PMM worked with RevOps to automate same-day follow-ups with tailored content.
📈 Result: Second-meeting booking rate jumped 35%.
Example 9: Highlighting Integration Proof Early
Buyers kept hesitating because they weren’t sure integrations would work with their stack.
✅ Fix: Added an “Integrations” section with GIFs and one-click setup videos on the homepage.
📈 Result: Demo requests mentioning “integration” concerns dropped 60%.
Example 10: Improving Post-Trial Nurture
Many users went inactive right after their free trial ended.
✅ Fix: The PMM built a three-email sequence showcasing success stories and time-sensitive upgrade offers.
📈 Result: Reactivation rate improved by 50%, and churn during trial-to-paid fell sharply.
Wrap-Up
Buyer Enablement isn’t a campaign or a one-time initiative. It’s the ongoing effort of removing doubt and making your buyers feel confident.
In this playbook, you’ve put together a simple, repeatable system: Gather → Map → Analyze → Recommend → Implement. When you run this cycle regularly, you’ll uncover real friction points, and make changes that boost conversions and shorten sales cycles.
If you only do one thing next, make it Step 1: talk to five recent buyers and capture what triggered their actions, what confused or scared them, and what ultimately drove their decision. Then update your map, circle the top two bottlenecks, and ship one improvement in the next two weeks.
You don’t need perfect. You need momentum. Start small, measure what happens, and iterate. Your buyers will feel the difference, and so will your pipeline.
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Copyright © 2024 Productive PMM Inc.
Copyright © 2024 Productive PMM Inc.
Copyright © 2024 Productive PMM Inc.