Closing The Evidence Gap: Here's how to fix the sales and marketing disconnect by capturing proof points that win buyer trust.
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How to Build Trust With the Most Skeptical B2B Buyers

TL;DR

When B2B marketers buy a product or service, pipeline is at stake. But for those in cybersecurity, data and people’s livelihoods are on the line.

It’s no surprise, then, that they tread carefully when making purchase decisions, which can make your job as a marketer difficult. The good news is that you can win them over—it just takes the right approach.

Key Topics: 

  • Why cybersecurity buyers are wired to be skeptical 
  • How to partner with your Sales team to uncover what skeptical buyers need to be convinced
  • Turning those conversations into ROI-backed evidence that breaks down barriers
  • Tips on distributing customer evidence across your go-to-market (GTM) motions 
  • Why addressing the skepticism is essential for your long-term success

People naturally question things in life—miracle diets, get-rich-quick schemes, car dealerships, anything with “secret” in the name. And the skepticism is perfectly justified. 

Whether they’ve been burned in the past, seen others pay the price for believing in false guarantees, or simply learned to challenge something that seems too good to pass up, it’s become safer to ask, “What’s the catch?” than to say, “Yes, I’ll take it.”   

It’s not surprising that this skepticism bleeds into how we buy tech in B2B. 

We did some original research last year about The Evidence Gap, and we found that the skepticism is showing up in sneaky ways in the buying cycle. 

Buying groups are bigger than ever, with 54% of buyers reported that over five internal stakeholders are involved in purchase decisions. And 46% said their due diligence requirements have increased over the past three years.

So if people in general are naturally skeptical, and buyers are doubling down on that inherent skepticism in their purchasing decisions…are we as marketers doomed? Is there any way to overcome this skepticism and win trust?

What better place to find some answers to this million (let’s be real…billion) dollar question than the industry with the most notoriously skeptical buyers on the planet, cybersecurity.

I sat down with a handful of the best cyber marketers (truly, check their creds) to get their insights and tips for overcoming skeptical buyers in the biggest trust crisis B2B has ever seen. And–I won’t spoil it–but their insights deliver some of the most tactical advice I’ve ever gotten. 

Seeing the world through the eyes of skeptical cybersecurity buyers

As Sam Langrock, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Recorded Future, puts it, “When cybersecurity professionals make purchases, their ass is on the line. That’s a lot different than those in other industries.” 

The pressure is real. It’s our job to replace their doubt with the confidence they need to sign the dotted line, knowing they didn’t just make a safe move but a smart one. 

You can do that with customer evidence (and the expert advice we packed in this article).

Marketers love a good two-step around tricky topics. Attribution. Third-party cookies (although we kind of side-stepped that one). Vanity metrics. 

That’s totally fine with me.

Sure, these topics deserve attention, but they’re not prerequisites for success. For example, your demand generation function can still hum without a flawless attribution model. The same goes for third-party cookies. If they ever do go away, the world will keep spinning. 

But if there’s one thing we can’t afford to dance around: buyer skepticism—because that’s not going away. Ever.

There are a lot of layers here, but the moral of the story is this: These buyers aren’t spending $24.99 on a sushi buffet; they’re making purchases that come with real-world consequences if things go awry. 

As Sam points out when comparing the stakes for cybersecurity and martech buyers, “Pipeline drives a lot of martech purchases, but in cybersecurity, people’s lives and data are on the line.” 

Nav Singh, Vice President of Marketing – Network Security at Palo Alto Networks, echoes the gravity: “I’ve talked to many buyers who’ve been burned before. As one said, ‘The day the first legitimate package is dropped will be the last day of my job.’”

This pressure raises the bar, especially when deals land on the desks of procurement teams and CFOs. The only way forward is to tackle skepticism head-on with verified ROI and real-life stories from customers who’ve been there. 

As Kaitlin Pettersen, Head of Customer Engagement at Vanta, says: “What others say about you carries far more weight than anything you can ever say about yourself.” 

That’s the key to overcoming the doubt that keeps many buyers in cybersecurity awake at night. 

Harnessing customer voices (and convos with your sales team) to put skeptical buyers at ease 

It’s easy to raise an eyebrow when a company’s leadership, Sales, or Marketing team says, “Our product is the best.” What else are they going to say?

The skepticism extends to analysts, too. How impartial is their endorsement? What went into the decision? Did the vendor pay? Were other vendors considered? There’s just no transparency. 

For buyers in cybersecurity, the skepticism runs deeper because there’s so much more on the line. They need to know, without a shadow of a doubt, that they’re making a smart and safe investment. 

The validation simply can’t come from someone who works for the company, either directly or indirectly. It can only come straight from the customer through account-level stories, testimonials, proof points, and ROI. We’re talking about verified customer evidence

Kaitlin said it best: “We can talk about our products, services, and brand all day long, but what truly matters and resonates with cybersecurity buyers is hearing it straight from other customers.” 

But how do you know what those customers should say or what kinds of customer stories you need to create to lessen that skepticism? It’s all about talking to the people on the frontline who hear the skepticism directly. 

1. First, talk to your Sales team

“It all starts with your Sales team,” Kaitlin explains. “I was recently at a dinner and intentionally sat next to a Sales rep because I wanted to talk to them directly.”

Start by asking the big questions, like: 

  • What’s working? 
  • What’s not? 
  • Where can we improve?

Their feedback is a goldmine, but you don’t have to meet face-to-face to source valuable nuggets of wisdom. A quick Zoom call works, too. Or, as Kaitlin does at Vanta, send a survey with a mix of questions, like: What type of evidence helps the most during sales calls? 

You can also bring open-ended questions into the mix, like: What’s an example of customer evidence you used recently that worked well? 

Kaitlin emphasizes that collaboration with other teams can unlock even more insights. “I recently circled up with our Web team to pull data on our customer page to see which assets were getting the most traffic and clicks,” she explains. 

“You need qualitative and quantitative data from these folks,” she adds, “to truly understand what’s helping—or not helping—in customer conversations.”

2. Then, turn those convos into value-packed evidence

Your Sales team can help you flag the gaps, but it’s up to you to fill them with evidence, like industry proof points, feature-specific validation, and quantifiable ROI that speaks your buyers’ language. 

The secret to making these assets truly resonate? Problem selling, which Jen Allen-Knuth, founder of DemandJen and a seller with 18 years of enterprise sales experience, breaks down like this:

  • Focus on the problem, not the vertical: While vertical alignment has its place, what hits home, according to Jen, are shared problems and needs. Why? Because people are more likely to engage with evidence—or any marketing asset—directly related to a problem or pain point that’s actively dealing with.  
  • Aim for the end user and champion: Building trust with technical and end users is equally important as winning over above-the-line decision-makers. Mary Yang, Chief Marketing Officer at Syxsense, an Absolute Security Company, agrees: “We sell to the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), but I’m not sure that’s the ultimate goal,” she explains. “The top-down selling works in some industries, but it’s often the people in the trenches you need to win over.” They’re the ones you need to convince.
  • Give sellers a story to tell: Don’t just hand out random evidence to your teams. Instead, mold the assets into cohesive narratives your sellers can own and communicate to the skeptics. But the best customer evidence isn’t just about proof—it’s about empowering your Sales team to speak your buyer’s language. As Sam says, customer evidence is like a window into your customer’s world and gives your Sellers the ability to communicate in the same language.

But creating for the sake of creating isn’t the goal; you also need a plan to ensure the evidence reaches the right people and is used correctly. 

You have your customer evidence…now what? 

“We create case studies, user evidence, and other assets for two main reasons,” Kaitlin explains. “Building awareness and driving conversions.” 

She adds: “Having great stories and assets across your website, ads, and marketing materials is crucial to reinforcing your brand. But just as important, if not more so, is how customer evidence can impact conversions and revenue.” 

But what else can you do to make customer evidence work across your GTM motions? 

Here are some ideas: 

  • Make it easy for Sales: Equip your Sales team with instant access to evidence by integrating everything into sales enablement tools and training platforms like Seismic or Highspot. To simplify further, keep your evidence organized and up-to-date by centralizing it in an evidence library or microsite. 
  • Extend beyond sales: Customer evidence isn’t just for closing deals with skeptical buyers. It can also empower your Demand Generation, Customer Success, and Social teams to amplify workflows. For example, your Demand Generation team could use the evidence in paid ads, while your Customer Success team can highlight it during QBRs to reinforce value with existing customers. 
  • Repurpose content: Not everyone wants to read a full case study. So break down larger assets into different lengths—like social posts, blog articles, and short videos—to extend reach and meet your audience where they are. 

Sam nails this last strategy: “One of our customers shared their experience before using Recorded Future—an asset that was extremely valuable on its own. But we then repurposed that story across different formats, like a webinar, Q&A blog post, and as a key narrative at a conference, to increase reach and impact.” 

Turning existing customers into champions 

Integrating customer evidence into your GTM strategy is also a golden opportunity to nurture relationships with existing customers and transform them into advocates who’ll do the selling for you.

How do you engage your customers? 

Ask them. Seriously, it’s that simple.

Proactive surveys at key moments, like after a big win or once a customer has used your product for 90 days, can surface customers who not only love your product but may also have the stats to prove it. 

Cara Peterson, Customer Advocacy Program Manager at HackerOne leaned into this strategy: “We sent the survey to some customers that we didn’t talk to regularly,” she shared. “And from that, we got some hand-raisers willing to participate in other advocacy actions.”

Sam uses a similar approach. “We built a roster of engaged customers by simply adding a question at the end of surveys asking if they’d be open to participating in additional activities.”

The lesson here? Your existing customers already trust you. Use that to your advantage and transform them into advocates who organically share their stories and become a powerhouse extension of your GTM team.

As Kaitlin puts it: “Investing in customer partnerships pays off both in the short and long term. By creating programs that offer a safe, supportive space for customers to learn, grow, and connect to your brand and team, you deliver significant value for everyone involved.”

What are the implications of not winning over the skeptics? 

In one word: Everything.

*End of article*

Okay, just kidding. Sort of. 

We’d love to drop the mic there because failing to address buyer skepticism is a huge deal. But let’s unpack why: 

  • Deals stall: Without resolving pain points with evidence, buyers remain skeptical, and deals stall
  • You fall behind the competition: When you fail to show value, you’re opening the door for the competition to prove theirs.
  • Trust erodes: In industries like cybersecurity, trust is everything. Buyers see everything, including when you fail to back up your claims. If you can’t back up your claims, doubt creeps in, and trust wanes. 

The fix? 

Meet the skeptics head-on with clear, ROI-backed evidence that builds trust—trust that becomes the foundation of every win, every conversion, and every good night’s sleep for buyers.

Want to learn more about how UserEvidence can help you win over skeptical B2B buyers? Take a ride at the demo ranch, or book a demo today.

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