Buying groups in B2B SaaS: who decides and how to reach them
More than most campaigns reach. Forrester's State of Business Buying 2024 reports that, on average, 13 people are involved in a B2B buying decision, and 89% of purchases involve two or more departments. Published ranges for B2B SaaS rise with contract size, from 5 to 8 stakeholders at $25,000 to $100,000 to 10 to 15 at $250,000 to $1M. ABM exists largely to reach that whole group, not one contact.
Forrester's average is 13 people. Published B2B SaaS ranges run from 5 to 8 at smaller contracts to 10 to 15 at $250,000 to $1M.
In an audit of 56 LinkedIn Ads accounts, decision-makers got 33% of budget against a target of 60% or more.
Reaching one champion and calling the account covered. Most of the group never hears from the vendor.
List the roles in the last five closed deals and compare them with the roles the campaigns actually reach.
How many people are in a B2B SaaS buying group?
It depends mostly on contract size. The table puts the two sources side by side.
| Source | Scope | People involved |
|---|---|---|
| Forrester, State of Business Buying 2024 | B2B purchases, all industries | 13 on average |
| Published B2B SaaS ranges | Contracts of $25,000 to $100,000 | 5 to 8 stakeholders |
| Published B2B SaaS ranges | Contracts of $100,000 to $250,000 | 7 to 10 stakeholders |
| Published B2B SaaS ranges | Contracts of $250,000 to $1M | 10 to 15 stakeholders |
The two sources count in different ways and neither states its sample on the pages read, so the figures are not combined. Both point to the same practical conclusion: a B2B SaaS deal of any size involves several people, and the number grows with the contract.
Which roles should be mapped in each account?
The ones that can start, approve or stop the deal. Names differ by company, but the roles repeat.
| Role | What they do in the purchase | What they need to hear |
|---|---|---|
| Champion | Pushes for the purchase internally | How to make the case to others |
| Decision maker | Makes the final call | Business outcome and risk |
| Budget holder | Owns the money | Cost, payback and timing |
| User or evaluator | Tests the product | How it works day to day |
| Technical reviewer | Checks security and integration | Architecture, security and data handling |
| Procurement or legal | Negotiates terms | Contract, compliance and vendor risk |
| Blocker | Can stop the deal | Answers to the objection |
HubSpot records these on the contact as a Buying role property. Its documentation lists Decision Maker, Budget Holder and Blocker among the default values, allows several roles per contact and lets teams add their own. The setup is on the ABM in HubSpot page.
How do buying groups differ by region?
They are larger, and procurement is more often involved, outside the US. These are published ranges with no sample stated, so they show direction rather than precise values.
| Region | Stakeholders | Deals with procurement involved | Sales cycle compared with the US |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | 6 to 11 | 62% to 78% | Baseline |
| UK and Ireland | 7 to 12 | 72% to 85% | 8% to 14% longer |
| EMEA excluding UK | 7 to 13 | 78% to 88% | 12% to 22% longer |
| APAC (Japan, Singapore, Australia) | 8 to 14 | 82% to 92% | 18% to 32% longer |
| India | 9 to 15 | 85% to 94% | 22% to 38% longer |
| LATAM | 7 to 12 | 75% to 86% | 10% to 18% longer |
The same source describes the US as "Faster decisions, smaller committees" and India as "Collective decision-making + cost focus". No Middle East figures are given.
Why do campaigns miss most of the buying group?
Because default ad targeting drifts toward the wrong people. The 2026 audit of 56 LinkedIn Ads accounts found that decision-makers received 33% of budget, against a target of 60% or more.
Three causes accounted for 67% of the wasted spend in that audit.
- Non-buying job functions, 30% of waste. Only about 22% of spend targeted by job function reached the roles in the ideal customer profile.
- Seniority mislabeling, 22%. Individual contributors and entry-level staff took 36% of budget. The report says LinkedIn's "Senior" tier "is read as leadership when it usually means individual contributor."
- Company-size leakage, 15%. 20% of spend reached firms with fewer than 50 employees.
The fixes are on the ABM on LinkedIn page.
How should a team reach the whole group?
By role, through more than one channel, with sales and marketing dividing the work.
- Map the roles in recent wins. The last five to ten closed deals show which roles actually take part. Choosing the accounts comes first, as set out on the target accounts page.
- Fill the gaps in the CRM. Add contacts for missing roles and record their buying role. The method is in how to set up ABM in HubSpot.
- Target by role on LinkedIn. Layer job function and seniority on the company list, and exclude roles that do not buy.
- Give each role its own message. A budget holder and a technical reviewer need different proof.
- Let sales reach the senior roles directly. Ads warm the group. A direct, relevant approach from a seller reaches senior people that ads may not.
Stalled deals are common. Forrester reports that 86% of B2B purchases stall during the buying process.
Frequently asked questions
What is a buying group in B2B?
A buying group, or buying committee, is the set of people inside a company who take part in a purchase decision. It usually includes a champion, a decision maker, a budget holder, users, technical reviewers and procurement. Forrester reports an average of 13 people involved in a B2B buying decision.
Is a buying group the same as a buying committee?
In practice, yes. Both terms describe the people inside a company who influence or approve a purchase. Some writers use buying committee for the formal approvers and buying group for everyone involved, including users and evaluators. ABM programs need to reach both the formal approvers and the wider group.
Do larger B2B SaaS deals involve more people?
Yes, according to published ranges for B2B SaaS that state no sample. They give 5 to 8 stakeholders for contracts of $25,000 to $100,000, 7 to 10 for $100,000 to $250,000, and 10 to 15 for $250,000 to $1M. Sales cycles lengthen over the same bands.
How can HubSpot track buying roles?
HubSpot's ABM tools include a Buying role property on contacts. Default values include Decision Maker, Budget Holder and Blocker, a contact can hold several roles, and teams can add their own. The property is part of the ABM tools on Marketing Hub and Sales Hub Professional and Enterprise.
Why does LinkedIn targeting miss decision-makers?
Default targeting by job function and seniority often reaches the wrong people. In a 2026 audit of 56 LinkedIn Ads accounts, decision-makers received 33% of budget against a target of 60% or more, and individual contributors and entry-level staff took 36%. Exclusions and separate campaigns by seniority help fix it.
Figures on this page come from published studies and platform documentation. Where the numbers come from
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