Mar 16, 2023 · 29m · saastr
What's Holding Up Buyers?: Top Obstacles to Making Software Decisions with G2's VP - Asia Pacific
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
Chris Perrine, Vice President of Asia-Pacific at G2, analyzes key findings from G2's Global Buyer Behavior Study, examining how macroeconomic pressures, content gaps, and shortened ROI expectations affect software procurement. He provides actionable vendor strategies to establish buyer trust, streamline contract workflows, and navigate complex enterprise sales cycles.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. How this is scored →
Jason as informed peer 0.0 Guest teaching 0.2 Guest disagreement 0.1 Jason pushing back 0.0
speaking balance: gold is Jason, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 22:10 Rejecting the idea of a quick fix for OpEx positioning
Chris directly tempers the audience member's expectation by stating he would be lying if he claimed content alone would instantly solve procurement hurdles.
Hardest push from Jason ▶ 21:47 Audience question on regional cultural frictionAn audience member presses on how to challenge regional CFOs without violating cultural deference, probing beyond standard SaaS playbooks.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 25:45 Educating on APAC sales patienceChris explains his long-standing rule that Western SaaS vendors must grow slow to grow fast when expanding into Asia-Pacific.
Jason holds their own ▶ 28:15 Candid self-critique of review platformsChris demonstrates deep category mastery by critiquing G2's current catalog model as an outdated library needing AI personalization.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | Jason as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | Jason pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State of the SaaS Market and the Economic Hangover Analogy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Solo presentation opening detailing SaaS market trends and comparing current market conditions to past economic hangovers. The host does not participate. | |
| Modern Buyer Priorities and Accelerated ROI Expectations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Monologue detailing G2 data on the condensation of ROI expectations down to six months and buyer difficulty with vendor volume. The host does not speak. | |
| Stakeholder Proliferation, Leadership Turnover, and Short-Term Contracts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Presentation segment covering stakeholder turnover, contract shortening, and regional data variations. Host is absent. | |
| Alternative Procurement Channels and Credit Card Adoption | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Monologue breaking down credit card transactions and the rise of cloud marketplaces across APAC. The host is not involved. | |
| Vendor Strategies: Mastering the Content Trinity and Proving ROI | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Monologue on the Trinity of Content and building credible ROI proof points for prospective buyers. No host participation. | |
| Vendor Strategies: Finance Collaboration and Alternative Channel Growth | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Monologue detailing internal collaboration with finance teams and leveraging agencies/VARs to close larger enterprise deals. | |
| Presentation Summary and Key Takeaways | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Monologue concluding the formal presentation with core takeaways before opening up to the floor for audience questions. | |
| Q&A: Deal Size Ranges and Account Executive Impact | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Audience members ask practical questions about deal sizes, AE influence, OpEx versus CapEx, and APAC cultural dynamics. Chris provides collaborative, nuanced answers. | |
| Q&A: The Future of G2 and Personalized Buyer Recommendations | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Audience inquiry regarding future industry evolution and G2's roadmap toward personalized, AI-driven recommendations. |
Statements from this episode (17)
G2: Average Mid-Sized Company's SaaS Apps Will Rise to 119
“From G-II's data, we've seen that the average mid-sized company last year had a 111 SAS applications, and we're estimating that by next quarter, that's gonna rise to a 119.”
G2: Implementation, Fast ROI, and Usability Drive Software Purchases
“I need software that's easy to implement, I need to get a quick ROI, and I need it to be easy to use. And this has been pretty consistent in our buyer study. You know, year on year, these are the top three attributes that are driving buyers' decisions.”
G2: Software Buyers Now Expect Positive ROI Within Six Months
“When the study came out late last year, it's now six months. So buyers want to see from signing a contract to six months, they want to see positive ROI.”
G2 Lists 823 Competing Products in Its CRM Category
“If you look at G-II CRM category right now, 823 different CRM products qualify for the category.”
G2: Most B2B SaaS Categories Feature 50 to 150 Products
“Most categories have anywhere from 50 to a 150 products, so there's a lot of competition out there, and that's a challenge for buyers.”
G2: Four of the Top Five Software Buyer Obstacles Involve Content
“From our study, the top five things holding back buyers, four was content.”
G2: Only One in Three Buyers Primarily Trusts Vendor Websites
“Only one in three buyers actually looks at a vendor's website and says that this is the information source that I trust the most, and that's a big challenge for vendors, because typically your website is your channel to the market.”
G2: 71% of Software Buyers Report Increasing Stakeholder Involvement
“71% of buyers said that stakeholders are added to the buying process either always or frequently, and that's an 11 percentage point increase since twenty-twenty-one.”
G2: 60% of Software Buyers Report Frequent Decision-Maker Turnover
“We've seen a 60% rate of where people are saying decision makers are changing either always or frequently.”
G2: 57% of Software Contracts Are Now Six Months or Less
“57% of software contracts now are six months or less.”
G2: 69% of Software Contracts in India Are Under Six Months
“India is the global outlier. 69% of software contracts are six months or less.”
G2: 55% of $20K+ Software Deals Close Within Three Months
“So we see 55% of software buyers buying software over 20,000 dollars. They can transact in three months or less.”
G2: 48% of Enterprise Buyers Now Pay for SaaS via Credit Card
“53% of buyers most often now are buying SAS with a credit card, and the enterprise is coming up pretty quickly as well. 48% of people in the enterprise say they most often buy with a credit card.”
Buyers Now Demand ROI Validation at the Start of Sales Cycles
“Buyers are now not looking at ROI at the end of the sales process where they've traditionally looked at it. Many are now looking at the beginning of the sales process.”
Perrine: Software Vendors Are Very Weak at Providing Hard ROI Metrics
“I think vendors have been very weak when it comes to ROI. A lot of vendors have very big picture ROI, this is what we can do, but they don't have the hard ROI metrics, the benchmarks, those ROI success stories”
How Shrinking G2's Contract from Twelve to Three Pages Accelerated Sales
“You know, our finance team last year took our 12 page contract, made it three pages. I can't tell you what an impact that had on our business. Less legal reviews. Less red lines. Deals get done quicker. We don't have deals dying at that legal stage, which some…”
G2 Plans Shift Toward ChatGPT-Style Personalized Software Recommendations
“Ultimately for us, we want to make it a more Google-like experience, and shame on me saying what everyone's been talking about the last couple of months, chat GPT type experience, where you're really looking at
What is best for me?”