Most system integrators believe that the bigger the buying committee, the slower and harder the sale. Forrester's State of Business Buying, 2026 found the opposite. Among buyers in groups of six or more, 94% said the larger group actually helped offering more perspectives, an easier time getting budget approved, and a better chance of a yes.
So why do big committees still feel so hard? The problem isn't the committee. It's the content. A typical buying decision now involves about 22 people, and they all care about different things. Meanwhile, most marketing teams are still building one general slide deck for a single "decision-maker" who doesn't really exist anymore.
The salesperson can't be in every conversation. So whatever marketing creates has to do the selling in the rooms the rep never gets into. Here are five ways to make that happen.
1. Build a Champion Kit Your Buyer Can Forward
In a big opportunity, the most important person isn't the salesperson, it's the internal champion who's making the case in meetings the rep will never attend. Most of the time, that champion is just forwarding a sales deck that makes no sense without someone there to explain it.
Give them something better: a one-page summary of the problem and the payoff, a simple ROI sheet they can plug their own numbers into, a short list of likely objections with clear answers, and a few slides they can present as their own.
For a physical security integrator pitching new cameras and access control, the champion is usually the facilities or security director. Give them a one-pager that turns "camera and system upgrade" into the things their boss actually worries about: faster response to incidents, less liability, and the risk of running old equipment that no longer gets updates.
For an A/V integrator pitching standardized conference rooms, the champion is usually someone in IT or workplace experience who has to explain to a CFO why every room needs new gear. Hand them a simple before-and-after: fewer support tickets, fewer meetings that start late.
The test for any of these: give it to someone with no background on the project. If it still makes sense, it's ready.
2. Build Content for Each Type of Buyer
A CFO, a security lead, an everyday user, and a procurement manager all look at the same opportunity differently. Send them all the same deck, and most of them are reading something that wasn't written for them.
You don't need 22 custom decks. You need a set of smaller, reusable pieces, one for each type of buyer that reps can mix and match as needed.
For a security integrator, that might mean a risk-and-cost summary for the budget owner, a clear explanation of how everything connects to the network for the technical reviewer, a "what a normal day looks like" story for the people actually using the system, and a compliance summary for the security and risk folks.
For an A/V integrator, it might mean a cost-and-space summary for the budget owner, an integration overview for the technical reviewer, a training-and-adoption story for end users, and an accessibility summary for the risk team. Each piece stands on its own and can be reused without starting over.
3. Get Procurement Materials Ready Before You Need Them
Forrester found procurement is a decision-maker in more than half of buying decisions, gets involved early, and looks at far more than price. Procurement isn't a last-minute hurdle anymore — but most SIs still make their reps scramble to put these materials together on the fly.
Build a procurement pack ahead of time: a clear total-cost breakdown, solid reference and service-level documentation, answers to the security and compliance questions you always get asked, and a simple explanation of why you're the better choice on value, not just price.
For a security integrator, the cost breakdown has to go beyond hardware to include things like license renewals, cloud storage, monitoring, and the cost of running different systems at every site. For an A/V integrator, it should cover equipment replacement over time, ongoing remote support, and the hidden cost of fixing things one emergency at a time instead of having a service agreement.
Give the pack an owner and a date, and keep it current. Outdated procurement materials do more damage than no materials at all, because they hurt your credibility with the one group you most need to trust you.
4. Back Up Your Claims With Outside Proof
Buyers often start their research with AI search tools. But Forrester found those tools frequently give incomplete or unreliable answers, which makes buyers skeptical — so they go looking for proof from sources that aren't you. By the time you show up, your buyer has already heard something about you from an AI, doesn't fully trust it, and wants real evidence.
Make that evidence easy to find and share: a library of customer references sorted by industry and size, third-party validation packaged so it's easy to forward internally, and customer stories built on real, specific results.
For a security integrator, the strongest proof isn't "we install cameras" — it's a similar customer who cut theft or false alarms by a real, measurable amount after consolidating their systems. For an A/V integrator, it's a comparable company that got conference-room time back or cut down on late meeting starts after standardizing. Every claim your sales team makes should have proof sitting behind it.
5. Give the Group Tools to Decide Together
The first four ideas are content the group reads. This one is about content the group uses together. Since big groups are more likely to approve when they can get on the same page, build tools, not just handouts: an ROI calculator the group fills in with their own numbers (camera and site counts for security; room counts and usage for A/V), a simple project plan with owners and milestones for a phased rollout, and a pitch the champion can customize without going back to the rep. Something the group can use and adjust beats something polished they just look at.
The System Behind the Five
None of this works as a pile of one-off documents. To support big buying groups, you need a system with three parts:
- A set of small, reusable pieces that can be mixed and matched for different people and stages.
- Clear ownership so procurement, security, and proof materials stay accurate and current.
- A regular feedback loop where reps report what they're using, what's working, and what's missing.
If building all five at once feels like too much, start with the Champion Kit. It's the piece that travels furthest without a salesperson and does the most work in conversations you'll never be part of.
In a 22-person buying world, marketing's job changes too. It's no longer just about creating awareness and handing leads to sales. It's about building the content that helps a large group reach its own decision with confidence. Forrester's research shows these groups already lean toward yes — your job is to give them the clarity and proof to get there.
The bottom line: build your content for the real committee in the room, not for one ideal decision-maker who isn't.
Ready to build a sales and marketing engine designed for how buying groups actually decide?
Vector Firm works specifically with system integrators in security and A/V to align marketing with the realities of complex, multi-stakeholder selling. If you'd like help turning these five ideas into a system for your team, contact a Vector Firm consultant to start the conversation.
