B2B customer journey map template
A B2B customer journey map shows how a business buyer goes from first hearing about a supplier to a signed contract and the first review of results. Unlike most consumer journeys, it involves several people on the buyer's side and can take months. This template follows a typical software or services sale, from the first ad to the business review after about 90 days.
- Message is too product-focused rather than problem-focused
- No clear indication of which industries or company sizes you serve
- Hard to find independent third-party validation
- Homepage is too abstract and feature-heavy
- No case studies from recognisable companies in their sector
- Pricing is completely hidden behind a 'contact us' wall
- Content is too surface-level and doesn't address real business problems
- Gated content requires too many form fields
- No follow-up after downloading — just silence
- No one-page summary suitable for sharing with a busy executive
- ROI is not quantified anywhere on the website
- Pricing model is hard to explain to someone who hasn't seen the product
- Demo is too generic and not tailored to their use case
- Sales rep talks too much and doesn't ask enough questions
- No recording or summary sent after the call
- POC setup requires too much time from the buyer's IT team
- Success criteria were never agreed upfront
- Limited support during the trial period
- No clear differentiation from cheaper alternatives
- Sales team is slow to respond to RFP questions
- References and case studies are hard to find for their specific industry
- Procurement process is slower than expected and no one warned them
- Legal redlines on the contract cause weeks of delay
- Finance asks for a business case that the buyer struggles to build
- Discount approval process is slow and requires multiple internal escalations
- Multi-year commitment is required but the buyer needs flexibility
- SLA terms in the contract do not match what was promised verbally in the demo
- Handover from sales to customer success feels abrupt and poorly briefed
- Implementation timeline is longer than what was quoted during the sales process
- Buyer has to repeat context and requirements to the new team from scratch
- QBR data does not connect to the buyer's original business goals
- No baseline was set at the start to measure progress against
- Meeting feels like a tick-box exercise rather than a strategic conversation
- Lead messaging with the problem you solve, not the product you sell
- Specify ideal customer profile on the website and in ads
- Earn and promote analyst recognition or G2 badges
- Add industry-specific landing pages with relevant case studies
- Show at least pricing tiers or ranges even if custom quotes are needed
- Make the value proposition specific to a named buyer persona
- Create content that addresses specific objections and use cases
- Reduce gated content forms to name, email, and company only
- Trigger a personalised follow-up email sequence after download
- Create a shareable one-pager or executive summary PDF
- Add an ROI calculator to the website
- Provide a short explainer video designed for internal sharing
- Research the account before the demo and tailor the flow
- Train sales reps to spend the first 10 minutes asking discovery questions
- Send a post-demo summary email with key points and next steps
- Define and agree on POC success criteria in a kickoff call
- Assign a dedicated implementation resource during the trial
- Reduce technical setup time with pre-built connectors or templates
- Build a competitive battlecard and train your team on it
- Create a dedicated RFP response team with SLA commitments
- Proactively offer reference calls with customers in their vertical
- Provide a procurement guide and business case template upfront
- Have a pre-approved contract template ready to reduce legal negotiation
- Offer to join a call with the finance team to answer ROI questions directly
- Empower sales reps to approve standard discounts without escalation
- Offer flexible contract lengths with an annual break clause
- Ensure verbal commitments made in demos are reflected in the written contract
- Hold a formal sales-to-CS handover call with the customer included
- Set realistic implementation timelines in the sales process
- Create a shared onboarding document that travels with the deal
- Document the buyer's success metrics at the start of onboarding
- Present QBR data in terms of business outcomes, not product usage
- Use the QBR to co-create goals for the next quarter
Scroll sideways to see every step. “Open this template” gives you this map as your own copy to edit.
At a glance
This template maps a B2B purchase in 5 phases and 11 steps, across 13 touchpoints: LinkedIn ads, industry report, conference, website, webinar, email, internal meeting, video call, product trial, sales team, review sites, contract and customer success. The overall feeling is negative (2.8 out of 5), and 3 of the 11 steps are frustrated or angry. The biggest drop, the first of several of the same size, comes between “Requests a Demo” and “Runs a Proof of Concept”.
- Phases
- 5
- Steps
- 11
- Touchpoints
- 13
- Overall feeling
- Negative
- 2.8 out of 5
- Needs attention
- 3 of 11 steps
- frustrated or angry
- Biggest drop
- 1 point
- Requests a Demo → Runs a Proof of Concept (the first of several equal drops)
The 5 phases of a B2B purchase
1. Awareness
The buyer may not know yet that they are starting a purchase. What they look for is a sign that you understand their problem and work with companies like theirs.
- Encounters Your Brand · 😐 Neutral. A potential buyer sees a LinkedIn ad, reads an industry report, or hears about the product at a conference.
- Visits Website for the First Time · 😐 Neutral. Buyer lands on the website to do initial due diligence.
2. Research
The buyer learns on their own, then has to convince colleagues who have never seen your product. Content they can forward matters as much as content they read.
- Downloads a Resource or Attends a Webinar · 😐 Neutral. Buyer engages with a lead magnet, whitepaper, or webinar to learn more.
- Shares with Internal Stakeholders · 😐 Neutral. Buyer forwards information to a colleague or manager who now needs to be convinced.
3. Evaluation
The demo, the proof of concept and the side-by-side comparison. It's the longest phase, and two of its steps are frustrated: success criteria nobody agreed and slow answers to questions lose deals here.
- Requests a Demo · 😐 Neutral. Buyer books a demo call with a sales representative.
- Runs a Proof of Concept · 😤 Frustrated. Buyer tests the product with a real internal use case before committing.
- Evaluates Competitors Side by Side · 😤 Frustrated. Buyer compares your solution against 2-3 alternatives with a scoring matrix.
4. Decision
Finance, legal and procurement join late, with their own questions. Delays here are rarely about the product, and the buyer is often the one who has to explain them internally.
- Navigates Internal Approval · 😤 Frustrated. Buyer needs sign-off from finance, legal, and senior leadership before proceeding.
- Negotiates Terms · 😐 Neutral. Buyer pushes back on pricing, contract length, or specific clauses.
5. Post-Sale
The handover from sales to the implementation or customer success team decides whether the promises made during the sale feel kept. The first business review is the first real test of value.
- Signs Contract and Hands Over to Implementation · 😊 Happy. Deal closes and the buyer is introduced to a customer success or implementation team.
- First Business Review · 😐 Neutral. Customer success team presents results and value delivered at the 90-day mark.
Where a B2B purchase goes wrong
The 3 steps where the customer is frustrated or angry, with their pain points:
Runs a Proof of Concept
- POC setup requires too much time from the buyer's IT team
- Success criteria were never agreed upfront
- Limited support during the trial period
Evaluates Competitors Side by Side
- No clear differentiation from cheaper alternatives
- Sales team is slow to respond to RFP questions
- References and case studies are hard to find for their specific industry
Navigates Internal Approval
- Procurement process is slower than expected and no one warned them
- Legal redlines on the contract cause weeks of delay
- Finance asks for a business case that the buyer struggles to build
Ideas to fix the low points
Runs a Proof of Concept
- Define and agree on POC success criteria in a kickoff call
- Assign a dedicated implementation resource during the trial
- Reduce technical setup time with pre-built connectors or templates
Evaluates Competitors Side by Side
- Build a competitive battlecard and train your team on it
- Create a dedicated RFP response team with SLA commitments
- Proactively offer reference calls with customers in their vertical
Navigates Internal Approval
- Provide a procurement guide and business case template upfront
- Have a pre-approved contract template ready to reduce legal negotiation
- Offer to join a call with the finance team to answer ROI questions directly
How to adapt this template
- Name the people on the buying side. Write who joins at each step (an IT lead for the trial, procurement for the contract), so the map shows when new people appear.
- Use the dates in your CRM. The time between stages, and where deals stop moving, points to the steps that need more detail.
- Add the steps you don't see from lost-deal reviews and buyer interviews: internal meetings, budget rounds, a competitor's demo.
- Map one type of deal at a time. A self-serve upgrade and a six-month enterprise sale are different journeys.
- Keep the post-sale phase. It's where the promises made during the sale are checked, and where renewals and referrals start.
Who uses this map
Marketing, sales and customer success teams at B2B companies use it to agree where deals slow down and who owns each step. It also helps founders setting up their first sales process, and product marketers deciding which content buyers need in each phase.
Frequently asked questions
What is a B2B customer journey map?
A picture of a business purchase from the buyer's side: the steps, the channels, how each step feels and what slows it down. It shows marketing, sales, legal and customer success as one experience, because that is how the buyer lives it.
How is a B2B customer journey different from a B2C one?
It takes longer, involves several people on the buyer's side, and includes steps the seller doesn't see, such as internal meetings and approvals. This template shows those steps too, so the map isn't only about your own touchpoints.
What are the stages of a B2B customer journey?
This template uses 5 phases: awareness, research, evaluation, decision and post-sale, ending with the first business review after about three months.
Should the map follow one buyer or the whole buying group?
Start with the person who leads the purchase. Where someone else changes the experience, such as finance asking for a business case, add them as their own step rather than drawing a separate map for each person.
Is it free?
Yes, Journey Maps is free. You can open and edit this template without signing up. Your map stays in your browser until you sign in to save it, export a PDF or share a read-only link.
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Related guides
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Open the B2B lead to purchase templateUpdated November 2026