Literature/202603010944 technical buying journey

• Source: [[@ghanadan2025Not Buying It: The Art of Selling to Scientists, Doctors, and Other Professional Skeptics]]
• Tags: #buying-journey #sales #science-business

There are 3 steps in the typical buying journey:

• Recognition: Where a scientist realizes of their own needs or opportunities. They already exist, but they have not surfaced yet (see: 202603010901 How scientists make purchasing decisions). Expressing a need is powerful, since this triggers the buying journey. Interestingly, the recognition of a need may be triggered by anyone: a publication, a conferences presentation, or marketing material from a different company.
• Exploration: Once there is recognition, the professional will start looking for solutions. They are moving from "Curiosity" into a "Hypothesis" formulation (see: 202603010948 Hypothesis Curiosity Validation Filtering Matrix). This is an objective formulation, at which stage a scientist will engage with information that they deem is factually correct and credible.
• Evaluation: Now they will begin evaluating specific products and services. This is the moment where the hypothesis need to be validated. And this is multi-dimensional. Technically, they will look for performance indicators, quality of results. Subconsciously, they will also judge how it is to make business with this company. How long does it take to answer, to deliver on the promise.

So many traditional sales and marketing efforts fail because they treat technical professionals as subjects to be rendered into submission through the best logical arguments and treat their skepticism as resistance rather than discernment.