Over the last three years, KnowledgeStorm and The Artemis Group have conducted multiple studies into the purchasing behavior of enterprise technology buyers and the sales and marketing practices of major enterprise technology vendors. The most recent research focused on evaluating and scoring Web leads, and was an extensive survey of more than 15,000 Web leads and 49,000 lead follow-up calls conducted in 2005.

Findings of the Web Lead Evaluation and Scoring Study suggest companies using the Internet to generate leads might discover that focusing on the C-suite is not the fastest route to improved lead-to-close ratios. These are early cycle leads where the team is defining requirements and building their initial list of vendors. The C-level is rarely involved in vendor discussions at this early stage.

Executives typically help define the project and set goals. Depending upon the company, they may (or may not) leave vendor selection to their subordinates. So while it is important to build a relationship with the C-level decision maker, you don't want to discount the other players early on. This paper will help you understand why our suggestion is to focus on the "recommenders" - people involved in the purchasing decision but who do not authorize the final purchase.