How to Write to your B2B's Buying Committee Without Losing Half the Room
- Vivien
- Sep 15, 2025
- 7 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
If your B2B messaging gets treated like background noise, chances are you wrote it with a B2C brain.
In B2C, one person decides.
In B2B, 7–10 people read the same message… and each sees something different.
The Classic Mistake: Messaging for One Persona
When you write to one “ideal customer,” your message becomes either:
too generic, or
weirdly too specific.
Trying to please that 1 person, will result in your message being ignored by the other 9 people in the room.
Here's what's happening:
The CFO doesn’t care about your Demo.
The User doesn’t care about your Risk Compliance
And Legal sees vague claims sounding risky.
A single, catch-all message rarely survives the committee split.
Why Messages Fall Apart in Committees
When a message enters a multi-audience environment, let's say a buying committee, it stops being a simple transmission of information. It becomes a social object. Every person who touches it isn’t asking, “What does this say?”
They’re asking a far more personal, political, and risk-sensitive question:
“What does this mean for me, my work, my priorities, and my reputation?”
This is the foundation of everything in B2B psychologie-led messaging.
They look for implications of:
Threats (“Will this make my job harder?”)
Workload (“Does this create more training? more work?”)
Politics (“Will Legal block this? Will Operations freak out?”)
Cost ripple effects (“Who do I need to get involved now?”)
Credibility (“Can I defend this to my boss?”)
That’s the B2B challenge: The 10 Minds Problem
While every company is different, most buying decisions will involve a familiar cast — each filtering your message through their own lens. By aligning the multi-audience with the key players in the buying committee, you can start to map how they filter your message through their own priorities:
THE INITIATOR:
Managers, Operations,
“Will my team perform better?”
THE (END) USER:
Frontline Staff, Department Users, Executives, Sales
“Will this make my workday easier?”
THE INFLUENCER (INTERNAL & EXTERNAL):
Industry Advisors
“Will this position us as leaders?”
THE EXPERT:
IT Manager, CTO, Security
“Show me the proof this will work here”
THE GATEKEEPER:
Procurement, Executive Assistants
“Is this worth our shortlist?”
THE CHAMPION:
Head of Innovation
“If we don’t adopt it now, will we regret it later?”
THE DECISION MAKER:
CEO
“Is this going to move the business forward faster than our competitors?”
THE BUDGET HOLDER:
CFO, Head of Purchasing, Finance Director
“What’s the ROI?”
THE AUDITOR:
Legal Advisors
“Is it secure? Is it compliant?”
THE APPROVER:
IT, Board Members
“Does this align with strategy?”
The next step is to identify who exactly you are targeting with your message (there will be more than one)
And then begin to Layer your Messaging (You can do it yourself — or ask me.)
This is the part most teams miss.
You don’t write more messages.
You write one story with the essential layers, so each target audience finds what they need — without breaking your narrative.
Think of it as a chocolate cake: Same core. Different slices.
Here are the four main layers:
FRAME IT: The Clarity Layer
What is the purpose of your message?
Are you initiating a change, announcing a new product line?
Make your Key message instantly understandable.
This doesn't have to be your opening line, but if someone has to summarise who you are and what you do, would they get it right?
Your clarity line should be:
repeatable
simple
defensible
trustworthy
Minimal interpretation required
I call it a Key insight or soundbite that people will remember and repeat in hallways.
ALIGN IT: Human Layer
Show how the message is valuable to them.
Each audience member will filter your messages through their own functional biases and read the same sentence differently:
IT sees technical debt.
Finance sees allocations.
Legal sees risk exposure.
HR sees change strain.
Operations sees disruption.
Leadership sees political visibility.
Anchor your message in shared organisational wins.
Answer what's in it for them.
Your audience isn't interested in how you do what you do - they just want to know you can help them achieve their goals.
Don't just talk about your features, make it about them and show their business outcomes and benefits.
Examples:
“Directly supports this year’s priority to reduce inefficiencies and accelerate delivery.”
“Keeps teams aligned without adding new processes or approvals.”
“Designed to strengthen cross-functional coordination.”
SIMPLIFY IT: Risk Layer
Remove any barriers or objections and use their language.
If you don’t address a risk, they assume the worst.
You didn’t mention compliance → must be risky
You didn’t mention rollout effort → must be difficult
You didn’t mention integration → must be a nightmare
You didn’t mention timelines → must be long
You didn’t mention ROI → must be weak
Don’t hide the things that will worry them.
Use phrases like:
“Designed to reduce…”
“Built to remove…”
“Gives teams breathing room by…”
“Requires minimal…”
“Keeps existing workflows intact.”
Examples:
“Built to meet existing compliance and data standards.”
“Fits cleanly into current governance processes.”
This layer lowers the friction that kills deals quietly.
Cut out the generic jargon claims and show specific numbers and case studies.
What your messaging should give them:
Examples of how their day gets easier
Clear time savings
Proof that their input shaped the solution
Fewer steps, not more
Language that validates their experience
Example: “Fits naturally into current workflows.”
“Designed with frontline teams.”
“Removes repetitive tasks.”
TRAVEL IT: Filter Layer
Give your audience a reason to pass your message up the chain.
You want your message to travel up the buying committee. This is where psychology leads. Look for their hidden emotional needs:
People want:
to feel seen
to keep the workload manageable
to maintain familiar workflows
to be recognised for their expertise
So add real, human-centred value:
When people feel understood, they stop resisting and start moving.
Give them clear next steps.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Example in Action: You're selling a Cloud Security Software
The Common One-person message: “Upgrade today to protect your business from threats.”
It might sound great internally, but your buying committee just rolled their collective eyes.
Let's layer it:
First
Map your audience.
Don’t guess.
Identify the top 4-5 committee members who will be involved in the buying decisions.
For this example, we will write for The Initiator, The User, The Champion, The Gatekeeper, The Approver and The Decision Maker.
List their top concerns and desired outcomes,
for example,
The User: wants a product that will make their day easier without complex training.
The Decision Maker: wants an easy-to-roll-out solution that streamlines their operations, and something their team won't complain about in the next six months.
Stack any emotional, shared pain moment.
For Example:
End user: “No more late nights on repetitive tasks. Free up time for your higher-value work.” (“Make my day easier without complex training.”)
Tech Expert: “Our Solution securely integrates with your existing systems, 92% of users reported no downtime required.”
Budget Holder: “Cut manual processing costs by 30% in the first 6 months. Get immediate, trackable savings you can take straight into your next board meeting.”
Decision Maker: “Protect critical operations without disruption so the business can grow without adding operational risk or slowing down innovation.”
Auditor: “Full GDPR, HIPAA, and ISO 27001 compliance reduces liability from day one, removing legal friction and keeping audits clean and predictable.”
Approver: “Predictable pricing with multi-year savings, no hidden fees — making approval straightforward, defensible, and budget-friendly.”
Gatekeeper: “Recognised by Gartner as a Leader in Cloud Security 2025, giving you a trusted shortlist option without the usual research rabbit hole.”
Champion: “Endorsed by leading cybersecurity analysts you can trust."
Initiators: “Automated reporting improves response speed by 40%, helping your team show quick wins and build momentum early.”
Create Your Layers: F.A.S.T
Start with the shared problem, identify the pain everyone recognises that unites the room. This could be a common pain point, villain, internal or external struggle.
Frame It: “Protect your critical operations without adding complexity.”
Align It: “Supports your 2025 goals to reduce inefficiencies and accelerate delivery.”
Simplify It: “Built to meet GDPR, HIPAA, and ISO 27001 without disrupting existing systems.”
Travel It: “Cuts repetitive security tasks so teams can focus on higher-value work.”
Structure your content so each person can find what's relevant to them, and for the next person who will hear the message. You are not just writing for the first person who reads your message.
Simple subheadings can help draw them to relevant messaging.
Just 2 Hours to Set Up
"Securely integrates with your existing systems, 92% of users reported no downtime required.”
Endorsed by leading cybersecurity analysts you can trust."
The long-term results.
“Cut manual processing costs by 30% in the first six months.” Get immediate, trackable savings you can take straight into your next board meeting.”
“Protect critical operations without disruption so the business can grow without adding operational risk or slowing down innovation.”
That’s what modular, layered messaging looks like.
Each person finds their layer.
No one loses context.
No one blocks.
Same message.
Same product.
Different entry points for different minds.
That’s modular messaging.
The Key Takeaway
B2B isn’t about finding the one perfect message for one perfect person.
It’s not about writing ten different messages either.
It’s about designing one story with layers that gives each person a reason to say yes.
3 questions to ask your Communication Team
Which members of the buying committee must this message satisfy, and what does each one care about most?
What’s the one core insight everyone in the room can repeat?
How have we layered the message so each person finds their reason to push it forward?
If your messaging is getting stuck, I can help you build one that creates movement.
🎯 Hi, I'm Vivien,
I work with Heads of Communications, CMOs, and B2B internal and external comms teams who desperately need messaging that:
Sticks
Travels accurately
Gets repeated and remembered
Ticks internal alignment
Creates momentum in buying committees
And moves decisions forward
