Episode Summary
Casey Carey, Chief Marketing Officer at TCP Software, discusses how buyer behavior, trust, customer understanding, and AI are reshaping modern B2B growth. He explains why earning a place on the buyer's shortlist before a purchase process begins has become critical. Casey also shares practical strategies for creating preference, improving alignment, and increasing win rates.
Highlights
Introduction
YouTube Short
Episode Q&A Videos
2:02 | Buyer Preference Shapes Most B2B Purchasing Decisions
“68% of buyers have a day one list that has three or four vendors on it. 80% of the time, the preferred vendor wins the deal. Half the time, the preferred vendor wins the deal. If you're not on that day one list, your chances of winning are single-digit percentages. So at the end of the day, the new game is the day one list."
3:48 | Trust And Awareness Drive Future Buying Decisions
"It's awareness, perception, and preference. You have to invest in creating those things, and a lot of people refer to it as mental availability. I know three or four vendors that I'm not ready to buy from yet, but when I'm ready to do something, I already know who I'm going to talk to because of the experience."
6:15 | Customer Understanding Creates Sustainable Competitive Advantage
“Our number one job is to be experts on the market, understand who buys, what problems they have, why they buy, and the benefits to both the company and themselves. Then communicate that in a way that resonates and shows we're the best choice to help move them forward.”
1:55 | AI Helps Teams Learn Beyond Recent Events
"As humans, we overvalue recency. I see it happen all the time. AI can help rationalize that and maybe offset some of our own kind of unconscious biases when we do things like that."
1:48 | AI Strengthens Quality Across Every Buyer Interaction
"If we apply AI at the delivery point, we can create much higher quality and more consistent communications. Whether it is emails, proposals, demos, or other engagement points, we can bring that knowledge to bear."
6:12 | Alignment-Focused Organizations Create Stronger Market Performance
"The more focus you have, the more you'll win, which gives you permission to open the aperture a little bit more and go after more."
1:52 | Pre-Purchase Preference Strengthens Revenue Growth Potential
"People are starting to talk more about preference marketing and the idea of creating pre-purchase preference. I think it's becoming an important concept in B2B marketing. It's a way to grow your pipeline and improve the efficiency of your efforts to drive better outcomes."
Key Takeaways
Winning the Day One Shortlist
Buyers often identify preferred vendors before actively entering the market or evaluating solutions.
Building Trust Before Purchase
Trust and customer understanding shape decisions long before formal buying processes begin
Creating Preference That Converts
Preference marketing increases shortlist inclusion, generates opportunities, and improves overall win rates.
About Casey
Casey Carey
Casey Carey, Chief Marketing Officer at TCP Software, discusses how buyer behavior, trust, customer understanding, and AI are reshaping modern B2B growth. He explains why earning a place on the buyer's shortlist before a purchase process begins has become critical. Casey also shares practical strategies for creating preference, improving alignment, and increasing win rates.
From the Guest
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Full Episode Article
Title: "B2B C-Suite Execs: How to Win the Day One Shortlist"
This article is based on an interview with Casey Carey, Chief Marketing Officer at TCP Software
Introduction
Most B2B organizations still focus heavily on capturing demand once a buying process begins. The challenge is that many buyers have already decided who they want to evaluate long before vendors know an opportunity exists. According to Casey Carey, Chief Marketing Officer at TCP Software, the real battle for growth now happens before formal buying cycles begin.
As buyers become more informed and AI accelerates research capabilities, earning a place on the buyer’s shortlist has become one of the most important drivers of revenue growth. Organizations that wait until buyers are actively evaluating vendors often discover they are already too late.
The New Reality of the Day One List
The traditional view of B2B sales assumes that opportunities begin when buyers engage vendors. Casey argues that reality has changed dramatically. “Day one, they most likely have a shortlist.”
Research consistently shows that buyers enter the market with three or four vendors already under consideration. More importantly, many have a preferred vendor before the process officially starts. Casey explains, “That day one list is really the qualifying race. The decision may be made without you.”
This shift fundamentally changes how organizations should think about growth. Success is no longer determined solely by sales execution, product demonstrations, or proposal quality. Those activities remain important, but they occur after buyers have already narrowed their choices.
Organizations that fail to build awareness and trust before buyers enter the market risk being excluded entirely. The opportunity is not simply winning more deals. The opportunity is qualifying for consideration in the first place.
Trust Creates Future Revenue Opportunities
One of the most important themes Casey highlights is the growing role of trust in B2B buying decisions. “You have to invest in creating those things.”
The “things” he refers to are awareness, perception, and preference.
Many organizations continue to prioritize short-term demand generation while underinvesting in the activities that influence future buying behavior. Casey believes this approach leaves significant growth potential on the table. “It’s awareness, perception, and preference.”
Buyers develop opinions over time through industry conversations, social content, peer recommendations, events, analyst discussions, and ongoing exposure to vendors. Long before a purchasing need arises, they are already forming mental models of which companies they trust.
When a need eventually emerges, those perceptions influence who makes the shortlist. Organizations that consistently educate, inform, and contribute valuable insights create familiarity and credibility. Those investments may not produce immediate leads, but they often determine future opportunities.
Customer Understanding Is the Ultimate Competitive Advantage
While many organizations claim to be customer-focused, Casey believes true customer understanding remains rare. “Our number one job is to be experts on the market.”
That responsibility extends far beyond demographics or buyer personas. It requires understanding customer motivations, challenges, goals, and language. “Understand who buys, what problems they have, why they buy.”
This depth of understanding enables organizations to communicate in ways that feel relevant and authentic. Buyers are more likely to engage when messaging reflects their experiences and priorities.
Casey also emphasizes the importance of specificity. “The day you say, ‘I need to stop being everything to everybody,’ it changes everything.”
Organizations often attempt to appeal to broad audiences. The result is generic messaging that resonates with no one. By narrowing focus and developing a deeper understanding of specific markets, companies can create stronger engagement and higher win rates. Customer understanding is no longer simply a marketing best practice. It is becoming a strategic growth requirement.
Conclusion
Growth increasingly depends on what happens before buyers formally enter the market. Organizations that focus exclusively on demand capture risk competing for opportunities that have already been influenced by trust, familiarity, and preference. Casey’s perspective highlights a fundamental shift in B2B marketing and sales strategy. The goal is not simply generating leads. The goal is to become a preferred choice before buyers begin evaluating options.
As customer expectations evolve and AI continues reshaping buyer behavior, leaders must ask themselves a critical question. Are they investing enough effort to become known, trusted, and relevant before purchase decisions are made?
The organizations that answer yes will likely earn more opportunities, stronger pipeline performance, and higher win rates.
ELEVATING CONTENT MARKETING STANDARDS RAISES A CRUCIAL QUESTION:
Why shouldn’t the very act of creating thought leadership content also spark new conversations with in-pipeline deals, top prospects, and high-priority customers for revenue expansion? Or serve as the cornerstone for learning and applying voice-of-customer strategies? That’s the power of ABM Podcasting—engaging B2B buyers and customers in meaningful conversations that uncover essential go-to-market insights, support long sales cycles, reinforce your market perspective, build peer-level trust, and dismantle objections that kill deals.
Steven MacDonald
Steven MacDonald is the founder of Content Strategies, CEO of a MarTech SaaS Company, fractional CMO consulting with leading B2B companies and former Director of Strategy and Client Service at top ten digital marketing agencies.
Steven MacDonald
Steven MacDonald is the founder of Content Strategies, CEO of a MarTech SaaS Company, fractional CMO consulting with leading B2B companies and former Director of Strategy and Client Service at top ten digital marketing agencies.
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