Fazley RabbiA B2B buyer persona is a short, research-based description of a person who takes part in buying what you sell: their role, what they are responsible for, what worries them and how they judge a supplier. Your ideal customer profile tells you which companies to target. Personas tell you who inside those companies you are really talking to, and what each of them needs to hear before they say yes.
One company, several people
In a small shop, the owner often decides alone. In most business purchases, several people have a say, even if only one of them signs. These are the roles you will meet most often.
The decision-maker
Usually an owner, director or senior manager. Cares about results, risk and whether the purchase fits the bigger plan. Has little time and wants the point quickly.
The user
The person or team who will use your product or service every day: the accounts officer, the factory supervisor, the clinic receptionist. Cares about whether it makes their work easier or harder. Can quietly stall a deal if they feel ignored.
The technical evaluator
An IT person, engineer or specialist who checks whether your solution works with what the company already has. Cares about details, compatibility and support after the sale.
The finance or purchase person
Checks price, payment terms, contracts and supplier paperwork. Cares about value, predictability and following internal rules.
The gatekeeper
A personal assistant, front desk or office manager who controls access. Not an enemy by nature. Treat them with respect and they may tell you who really decides.
One person can hold several roles. In a family business in a district town, the owner may be the decision-maker, the finance person and the evaluator at once, while a younger relative handles daily use.
What a useful persona includes
Keep each persona to a single page. A useful one answers:
- Role and responsibilities: what are they judged on?
- Their main goals at the moment
- Worries and frustrations related to what you sell
- What they fear about changing supplier or trying something new
- Where they get information: colleagues, Facebook groups, LinkedIn, trade associations, other suppliers
- How they prefer to be contacted: email, phone, WhatsApp or a visit
- Typical questions and objections
- The words they use to describe the problem
Leave out details that do not change how you sell, such as invented hobbies. Personal details like age or family rarely matter in B2B.
Research, don't guess
A persona built in a meeting room from assumptions can do more harm than good, because it gives false confidence. Base it on real conversations:
- Interview a few customers in each role. Ask what they were trying to fix, who else was involved and what nearly stopped them.
- Ask your sales and support staff which questions come up again and again.
- Read old emails and chat threads with past buyers, and notice the exact words they use.
- Study lost deals. Who said no, and why?
- Mark guesses as guesses, and check them in your next conversations.
How personas change your messages
The same offer sounds different to different roles. Imagine a hypothetical stock-management system offered to a pharmacy chain:
| Persona | What they want to hear about |
|---|---|
| Owner | Fewer stock-outs and less money tied up in expired medicine |
| Branch manager | Less time counting stock and fewer calls to head office |
| Accounts | Reports that match the books |
| IT person | How data is backed up and who provides support |
Writing to the owner about database backups, or to the accountant about long-term strategy, usually gets ignored. Writing to each person about their own concerns earns attention. Finding these people's names and contact details is a separate task; see finding the actual decision-makers.
Pitfalls
- Too many personas. Two to four are enough for most small and medium businesses.
- Stereotypes instead of evidence. "Factory owners don't read email" may be true of some and wrong about others.
- Personas that stay in a slide deck and never reach the people who write emails or make calls.
- Never updating them. People change jobs and priorities shift; review personas when your market changes.
Start here
Pick your last three won deals. For each one, write down who was involved, what each person cared about and what finally convinced them. Patterns will appear quickly, and those patterns are the start of your personas. To understand how these people reach a decision together, read how B2B buying decisions are made. If you would like help turning this into outreach, you can get in touch.