If you’re running a B2B sales team, you already know the old playbook isn’t enough. Buyers want answers, not sales pitches. They want to move on their timeline, not yours. That’s where automation comes in. But let’s be real: most “automated buyer journeys” are either too rigid, way too complex, or just a series of annoying drip emails no one wants.
This guide is for B2B sales folks who want to use Buyerassist to actually help buyers move forward—without drowning in busywork or forcing buyers through a cookie-cutter funnel.
Let’s get you set up with automated buyer journeys that actually work, don’t annoy your prospects, and don’t require a PhD in marketing tech.
Step 1: Get Clear on Your Real-World Buying Stages
Before you log into anything, do this: map out your real buying process. Not your internal sales stages; the actual steps your buyers go through to make a decision.
Why bother? Because if you automate the wrong journey, you’ll just speed up confusion.
How to do it: - Talk to your reps. Ask: “What do buyers actually ask for at each step? Where do deals die?” - Write down the typical sequence, e.g.: - Discovery / Qualification - Solution Fit - Security & Legal Review - Executive Buy-in - Final Decision - Jot down what buyers need at each stage (not what you wish they’d do).
Pro tip: Don’t overcomplicate. Most B2B deals have 4–6 real steps. If you have 12, you’re making work for yourself.
Step 2: Set Up Buyerassist and Connect Your CRM
Now, log into Buyerassist. If you haven’t done this yet, get your admin to invite you or sign up for a trial. You’ll want to connect your CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, whatever you use).
What’s worth doing: - Connect your CRM: This is non-negotiable. Otherwise, you’ll be double-entering data. - Sync contacts and deals: Make sure Buyerassist can pull in deal data and company info. - Test the sync: Move a test deal through a couple of stages and see if it updates in both places.
What you can skip: - Fancy integrations with marketing automation (at first). Focus on getting sales data right.
Step 3: Build Out Your Buyer Journey Templates
Here’s where you define the actual journey. In Buyerassist, you’ll build a template for each buyer journey (usually by deal type, segment, or product line).
How to do it: 1. Create a new journey template. - Give it a name your team will understand (“Mid-Market SaaS New Logo” is clearer than “Funnel 2.0”). 2. Add the stages from Step 1. - Each should map to a real buyer milestone, not just sales admin steps. 3. Attach tasks and content to each stage. - Example: - Security Review stage: - Task: “Send security questionnaire” - Resource: Link to your security docs, DPA, etc. - Executive Buy-in stage: - Task: “Schedule exec alignment call” - Resource: Deck or one-pager for execs
Tips: - Make it easy for your reps to tweak the journey per deal—no two buyers are identical. - Avoid “required” tasks unless they’re truly required. Forced checkboxes get ignored.
Step 4: Automate the Right Stuff (Don’t Overdo It)
Buyerassist lets you automate actions based on journey stage changes. This is where most people go overboard. Resist the urge.
What’s actually useful to automate: - Stage-based reminders: Nudge reps (and optionally buyers) when a deal stalls at a stage for too long. - Standard content sharing: Auto-send the right doc or link when a stage is reached (e.g. case studies after “Solution Fit”). - Internal alerts: Ping legal or security teams when a deal hits the relevant stage.
What to avoid: - Blast emails to buyers after every stage: Buyers hate this. Only automate emails if they genuinely help move things forward. - Overly rigid stage progression: Let reps skip or rearrange steps as needed. Real deals are messy.
Pro tip: Start with just a couple of automations. Add more only when you see bottlenecks.
Step 5: Customize for Different Buyer Types
Not every deal is the same. Enterprise buyers care about different things than SMBs. If you sell multiple products, the journey changes too.
How to handle it: - Clone and tweak templates: Use Buyerassist’s template feature to copy journeys and adjust for each segment. - Segment by persona or product: Create separate journeys for technical buyers, business buyers, or by product line. - Don’t get lost in the weeds: If you’re spending hours tweaking minor steps, you’re missing the big picture. Focus on what changes outcomes.
Step 6: Roll It Out (and Don’t Force It)
You’ve built your journeys. Time to launch—but don’t just dump it on your sales team and expect magic.
How to launch: - Pilot first: Pick 2–3 reps who are process-minded. Have them run 5–10 deals using the new buyer journeys. - Gather feedback: What’s helpful? What’s annoying? What do buyers ignore? - Tweak, then roll out wider: Adjust anything that’s slowing things down. Only then push it to the whole team.
Stuff to ignore: - Mandating 100% compliance: There will always be exceptions. Let reps use judgment. - Obsessing over reports early: Focus on actual deal progress, not vanity metrics.
Step 7: Measure, Learn, and Iterate
The real point of automating buyer journeys is to help buyers buy—not to impress your CRO with dashboards.
What to track: - Stage duration: Where do deals actually get stuck? - Buyer engagement: Are they opening shared resources? Do they respond faster? - Deal outcomes: Is the win rate improving? Are sales cycles shorter?
How to learn: - Talk to your team: Are the automations making life easier, or just adding noise? - Ask buyers (when you can): Did the process help? Was it confusing? - Nix what doesn’t work: If an automation gets ignored, kill it. If a resource is never used, drop it.
Real Talk: What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Skip
What Works
- Mapping to actual buyer behavior, not just your sales steps.
- Automating repetitive, admin-heavy tasks (sharing docs, nudging reps).
- Giving reps flexibility to adapt the journey.
What Doesn’t
- Overly prescriptive journeys that ignore how buyers actually buy.
- Spamming buyers with automated emails at every step.
- Trying to automate “relationship building.” That still needs a human.
What to Skip
- Fancy “AI-powered” suggestions until you’ve nailed the basics.
- Overbuilding for edge cases—get the 80% right first.
- Forcing every deal through the same rigid process.
Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Don’t Believe the Hype
Automated buyer journeys in Buyerassist can save your team hours and help buyers move faster—but only if you keep it grounded in reality. Start simple, automate the stuff that actually helps, and listen to your team and your buyers. Ignore the fancy features until you’ve got the basics working smoothly.
Remember: the best automation is invisible. If your buyers and reps barely notice it, you’re probably doing it right.