How long does it take for B2B tech to close a deal – from first touch to deal-closed?

The average B2B tech buyers required 62.4 touches on average, across of 3.5 different marketing channels – from first touch to deal-closed

The average B2B technology buyer required 62.4 touches, across an average of 3.5 different channels, to close a deal.

That’s according to benchmarking data analyzed by Dreamdata. The company provides marketing attribution software that analyzes marketing and sales data to provide view into the time and effort it takes to persuade a B2B buyer to purchase a given technology.

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It’s important to note this is not survey data, but behavioral data based on an analysis of 414 B2B companies using the Dreamdata platform.

I’ve previously summarized findings from five different reports on the same topic and these benchmarks seem to be comparable. You can find that piece here: How many touches or interactions does it take to attract and close B2B prospects?

1. First touch to conversion

It takes B2B organizations, on average, 34 days from the first touch to convert a potential buyer into a potential prospect.

2. First touch to sales opportunity

It takes B2B organizations, on average, 84 days from first touch to turn a prospect into a real sales opportunity.

3. First touch to deal-closed

It takes B2B organizations, on average, 192 days from first touch to close a deal.

4. Large organizations move more slowly

Large companies, defined as those with 250 or more employees, require an average of 242 days from first touch to deal-closed. Smaller companies, defined as those with 50 or fewer employees, require an average of 147 days. In other words, the marketing-to-sales progression moves about 61% more slowly in large organizations.

5. European companies move more slowly than U.S.

A similar effect can be seen when looking at the data by geography. European companies take an average of 199 days from first touch to deal-closed – compared to an average of 177 days for U.S.-based companies.

6. Marketing-to-sales progression by channel

The report also offers a look at this cycle based on the channel that first touched a potential buyer.

First touch: review sites. Buyers who first engaged with information about a solution provider on a review site went from converting to a prospect, to deal-closed, on average in 70 days.

First touch: paid media. Buyers who first engaged with information about a solution provider from paid media, when from converting to a prospect, to deal-closed, on average in 87 days.

First touch: social media. Buyers who first engaged with information about a solution provider from social media, when from converting to a prospect, to deal-closed, on average in 222 days.

This is a correlation, and correlation may not be causation. For example, buyers looking for solutions on a review site are likely well into their research phase, so while the average cycle time seems lower, chances are the solution provider was unaware of until the inquiry came in from a review site.

7. Size of the buying committee

B2B organizations have committees that review potential technologies for procurement, and the average buying committee has 6.3 people on it.

About the Dreamdata report

At just eight pages long, full report is a quick read and contains several other useful benchmarks. It’s available for download here: 10 B2B benchmarks you must know.

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