Why do B2B sales cycles take so long?

Because buyers have so many questions to evaluate. The rule I have heard (Google's 7-11-4) says buyers spend about seven hours with your content, across four platforms, over 11 touch points. Long-form video answering their real questions is an efficient way to get there.

Quick Answer

• B2B buyers have a lot of questions to evaluate before they buy.
• The 7-11-4 rule: about 7 hours with your content, on 4 platforms, over 11 touch points.
• Long-form video gets you to seven hours efficiently. Think seven hour-long videos that answer the main questions.
• Answer the questions buyers actually search, in their words, not the ones you think they need.

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Seven hours, four platforms, 11 touch points

This is why B2B sales takes so long. There are so many questions buyers have to evaluate. The rule I have heard is the Google 7-4-11 rule, or maybe it is 7-11-4. The point is that buyers spend seven hours with your content, on four different platforms, over 11 different touch points.

Long-form video is a great way to get to seven hours efficiently. Imagine seven hour-long videos where you go deep and answer most of the main questions a buyer could possibly have. Then you have them at the 80% mark, ready for a sales conversation.

Answer their questions, not yours

The goal is to be the best answer to the specific questions buyers are asking. Not the ones you think they need to know. The ones they are actually searching for when they type into AI search, in the words they use.

"You've done a really good job of being the best answer to their specific questions that they're asking, not the ones that you think that they need to know." Dane Frederiksen

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the 7-11-4 rule in B2B marketing?

The rule Dane Frederiksen has heard, attributed to Google, is that buyers spend about seven hours with your content, across four platforms, over 11 touch points before they buy.

How can video shorten a B2B sales cycle?

Long-form video is an efficient way to give buyers those seven hours. Videos that answer most of their main questions get them about 80% of the way to the sale.

Which questions should B2B videos answer?

The ones buyers are actually searching for, in the words they type into AI search, not the ones you think they need to know.

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Most teams don't get this right on the first try. Here's how we approached it for a real team. Curious what it'd look like for you? Let's talk it through.

Full Clip Transcript

This is why B2B sales takes so long. There's so many questions they have to evaluate. And so the rule that I've heard is the Google 7, 4, 11 rule, or maybe it's 7, 11, 4. The point is they've got to spend seven hours with your content on four different platforms over 11 different touch points. And so long form video, what a great way to get to seven hours efficiently, right? So imagine that there's seven hour long videos where you go deep dive and you've answered like most of the main questions they could possibly have. Then you got them. You got them to the 80% mark. You've done a really good job of being the best answer to their specific questions that they're asking, not the ones that you think that they need to know, the ones they're actually searching for when they go to type in an AI search. The words they use.

Full Transcript

The real cost of answer engine optimization has a lot to do with how fast you want to move. You can do an aggressive approach or you can do a more moderate approach. My recommendation is to spend about 90 minutes per video for one person on your team. And I'll show you exactly how we're gonna spend that. And I'm gonna show you exactly how to work through this entire process and what the trade-offs are. And then I'm gonna have a checklist for you at the end that you can download for free to keep you on track with your answer engine optimization plans.

So let's get right into it. So this 90 minutes I mentioned, I'll show you how we're gonna spend that. We're gonna come up with some goals together and pick your biggest buyer questions that they're asking right now, the most important ones. We're gonna spend about 30 minutes on that. And then we're gonna create a plan based on what's possible for you and what's realistic. And then we're gonna approve that plan and then go into production.

So we're gonna spend 30 minutes here and then 30 minutes over here. And then we're gonna spend 15 minutes at the most recording video. So we're gonna start with those buyer questions that they're asking. We're gonna come up with the answers for how you're gonna answer those questions. Then we're gonna post those, analyze the results, and then rinse and repeat. So for 90 minutes, we can get all these steps and get one video answer for your buyer questions.

So that's gonna be, this is their buyer funnel right here. There's buyer journey. They're moving towards the sale. We're gonna spend 90 minutes on that question and we're gonna answer these other questions in a similar fashion. And once they have enough of their questions answered, we're gonna just sort of check those off. These are all video answers we've done.

And once they have all their main questions answered, it's like 80% of the way they are towards the sale. Then they're gonna be ready to take a sales call. So that's the big idea is we're trying to help them self-educate by giving them the video material that they really need to self-educate. And so what is gonna happen if the strategy fails? Well, it's sort of designed to fail as we go because what's gonna happen is your buyers are gonna have different questions as the marketplace changes, right? So we're gonna just rinse and repeat.

So built into this process is the idea of optimization, right? We're gonna be looking at what's working and what's not. And we're gonna revise and then improve upon what we've already put out there. So the strategy works, but it's gonna change every time. The way, if we see that it's like failing, the way we're gonna know that is, are people clicking on the video to watch it? Are they watching it most of the way through?

We're looking for 70% because if you do get 70%, Google's gonna promote that video like 3X is the figure I'm familiar with. Because you're resonating with the right people. And so the other thing that's gonna happen is these people because they're educating most of the way through the journey, by the time they talk to sales at that 80% mark, they're really, really qualified. They've done their due diligence. They've figured out that you're already the right fit. So those leads will convert at like 3X the amount because they're better leads.

They're highly qualified. So what happens if you do nothing? Well, what's gonna happen is your competitors are gonna figure this out. They're gonna start making video answers to buyer questions and they're gonna show up instead of you. And that's not good because on the buyer journey, as they move down and they get educated, the person who's helping them is building that trust. They're being helpful.

They're showing them, helping them evaluate what a good decision for their unique situation is. And so the more time we can spend with them, the more they're gonna trust us. This is why B2B sales takes so long. There's so many questions they have to evaluate. And so the rule that I've heard is the Google 7-4-11 rule or maybe it's 7-11-4, the point is they've got to spend seven hours with your content on four different platforms over 11 different touch points. And so long form video, what a great way to get to seven hours efficiently, right?

So imagine that there's seven hour long videos where you go deep dive and you've answered like most of the main questions they could possibly have, then you got them. You got them to the 80% mark. You've done a really good job of being the best answer to their specific questions that they're asking, not the ones that you think that they need to know, the ones they're actually searching for when they go to type in an AI search, the words they use and the solutions to the problems that they've identified, that's where the intel comes in, is we're pulling that directly from buyer questions that they have from the sales transcripts. And this is a key part of it, is this is really about them, it's not about you, and we're gonna help them and they're gonna appreciate it. And then you're gonna be able to close more at like 3X the amount. So the link to the checklist for your AEO plan is in the description.

If you want some help with this, just reach out, this is what I do and I'm happy to help. All right, good luck.