Consideration Stage
What is the Consideration Stage?
The Consideration Stage is the second phase of the buyer journey where prospects have clearly defined their problem or opportunity and are actively evaluating different solutions, approaches, and vendors to address their needs. During this stage, buyers research specific product categories, compare alternatives, and assess which solutions best fit their requirements and constraints.
In B2B SaaS and go-to-market strategies, the Consideration Stage represents a critical inflection point where initial awareness transforms into active evaluation. Unlike the Awareness Stage, where buyers are problem-focused and educational content dominates, the Consideration Stage is solution-focused with buyers seeking detailed information about specific approaches, methodologies, and product capabilities. This stage typically involves multiple stakeholders within the buying committee who each evaluate solutions through different lenses—technical feasibility, business value, implementation complexity, and organizational fit.
For marketing and sales teams, the Consideration Stage demands a distinct content strategy and engagement approach. Prospects in this stage consume comparison content, case studies, product demos, analyst reports, and detailed feature documentation. They expect vendors to demonstrate deep understanding of their specific use case, provide evidence of successful implementations, and articulate clear differentiation from alternatives. Effective consideration-stage engagement accelerates buyer progression toward the decision stage while building the credibility and trust necessary to emerge as the preferred vendor.
Key Takeaways
Active Solution Evaluation: Buyers in the Consideration Stage have moved beyond problem identification and are actively researching and comparing specific solution categories and vendors
Multi-Stakeholder Involvement: This stage typically involves expanding the buying committee as technical evaluators, financial decision-makers, and end users join the evaluation process
Content Shift from Education to Differentiation: Effective consideration content focuses on solution comparisons, competitive differentiation, case studies, and proof points rather than general education
Longer Sales Cycles: B2B consideration stages often extend weeks or months as buyers conduct thorough evaluations, request demos, and build internal consensus
Critical for Pipeline Conversion: Success in the Consideration Stage directly impacts conversion rates from marketing qualified leads to sales qualified leads and eventual opportunities
How It Works
The Consideration Stage operates as a research and evaluation phase where buyers systematically assess potential solutions against their requirements, constraints, and success criteria.
Prospects typically enter the Consideration Stage after consuming awareness-stage content and identifying that they have a problem or opportunity worth addressing. This transition is often marked by behavioral signals such as visiting pricing pages, downloading comparison guides, attending product webinars, or requesting demos. In marketing automation and CRM systems, these behaviors trigger lead scoring increases and often qualify prospects as Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) requiring sales engagement.
During the consideration phase, buyers engage in several parallel activities. They define evaluation criteria based on their specific requirements, which typically include functional capabilities, technical requirements, integration needs, pricing models, vendor stability, customer support quality, and implementation complexity. The buying committee expands to include additional stakeholders who each evaluate the solution through their particular lens—IT teams assess technical fit and security, finance evaluates pricing and ROI, and end users consider usability and workflow impact.
Buyers consume consideration-specific content including comparison pages, category reviews, analyst reports (such as Gartner Magic Quadrants), case studies featuring similar companies or use cases, product demonstrations, and detailed feature documentation. They often engage with multiple vendors simultaneously, creating comparison matrices and scorecards to systematically evaluate alternatives. This parallel evaluation process means vendors are competing directly for preference and differentiation becomes crucial.
From a go-to-market perspective, effective consideration-stage engagement requires alignment between marketing and sales. Marketing provides the content, nurture sequences, and lead intelligence that support evaluation, while sales development and account executives engage directly to understand requirements, address objections, and guide prospects toward the next stage. Platforms like Saber provide signals about consideration-stage activities such as visiting competitor comparison pages, researching specific features, or consuming case studies, enabling sales teams to time their outreach and personalize their approach based on demonstrated interests.
As prospects progress through consideration, they typically narrow their options from a broad set of alternatives to a shortlist of 2-3 vendors who advance to the decision stage for final evaluation, negotiations, and selection.
Key Features
Solution-Focused Research: Buyers shift from problem exploration to evaluating specific solution categories, methodologies, and product approaches
Comparative Evaluation: Active comparison of multiple vendors using defined criteria, often documented in vendor comparison matrices or RFP responses
Buying Committee Expansion: Additional stakeholders join the evaluation process bringing functional, technical, and financial perspectives
Demo and Proof Requests: Prospects request product demonstrations, free trials, proofs of concept, or pilot programs to validate capabilities
Intent Signal Intensity: Higher-intent behaviors such as pricing page visits, competitive comparison research, and repeated product page engagement
Use Cases
SaaS Platform Selection
A VP of Marketing leading the evaluation of marketing automation platforms enters the Consideration Stage after identifying that their current solution lacks account-based marketing capabilities. They download comparison guides contrasting different ABM-enabled platforms, attend product webinars from three leading vendors, and invite their marketing operations manager and IT director to join the evaluation. The team creates an evaluation scorecard assessing integration capabilities, account-based functionality, reporting features, and pricing models, ultimately requesting demos from their top three choices before advancing to the decision stage.
Enterprise Software RFP Process
An enterprise organization issues an RFP for a new customer data platform, representing a formalized Consideration Stage process. The buying committee includes stakeholders from marketing, IT, data governance, legal, and finance, each evaluating vendors against specific criteria defined in the RFP. Vendors submit detailed responses addressing functional requirements, security protocols, compliance capabilities, and pricing structures. The organization conducts product demonstrations, checks customer references, and evaluates proof-of-concept implementations before narrowing from eight initial respondents to two finalists for final negotiations.
Product-Led Growth Consideration
A product manager at a B2B SaaS company discovers competing product analytics platforms during an industry webinar. She enters the Consideration Stage by signing up for free trials of three platforms, testing each against her team's specific use cases. She evaluates ease of implementation, data visualization capabilities, collaboration features, and pricing for her team size. She shares her findings with her director and engineering lead, collectively deciding which platform to adopt based on their hands-on experience during the trial period.
Implementation Example
Here's how a B2B SaaS company optimizes their Consideration Stage engagement:
Consideration Stage Lead Scoring Model:
Signal Type | Activity | Points | Threshold |
|---|---|---|---|
High Intent | Demo request | +25 | MQL: 65pts |
High Intent | Pricing page visit | +20 | SQL: 85pts |
Comparison | Competitor comparison page | +20 | Hot Lead: 100pts |
Content | Case study download | +10 | |
Content | Feature documentation | +10 | |
Engagement | Product webinar attendance | +15 | |
Committee | Multiple contacts from account | +15 | |
Time Decay | No activity for 14 days | -10 |
Consideration Stage Content Mapping:
Early Consideration: Solution category guides, vendor landscape overviews, "How to Choose X" content
Mid Consideration: Feature comparison charts, customer case studies, implementation methodology guides
Late Consideration: Pricing information, ROI calculators, customer references, security documentation
Multi-Touch Nurture Sequence Example:
Day 0: Prospect downloads "Platform Comparison Guide" → MQL created
Day 1: Email: "How [Company X] Chose Their Solution" case study
Day 3: Retargeting ad: Product demo invitation
Day 5: Email: "Compare Top 3 Platforms" interactive tool
Day 7: SDR outreach: Personalized demo offer
Day 10: Email: "ROI Calculator" + customer success stories
Day 14: Executive briefing invitation for buying committee
Related Terms
Awareness Stage: The first phase of the buyer journey focused on problem identification and education
Decision Stage: The final phase where buyers select a specific vendor and negotiate terms
Buyer Journey: The complete path prospects take from problem recognition through purchase and beyond
Marketing Qualified Lead: Lead designation often triggered by consideration-stage engagement behaviors
Lead Scoring: Methodology for ranking prospects based on behaviors including consideration-stage activities
Buying Committee: Group of stakeholders involved in B2B purchase decisions, typically expanding during consideration
Intent Data: Behavioral signals indicating purchase intent, particularly valuable during the consideration stage
Content Marketing: Strategy that provides stage-appropriate content to support buyer progression
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Consideration Stage?
Quick Answer: The Consideration Stage is the phase of the B2B buyer journey where prospects actively evaluate different solutions and vendors after identifying their problem, typically comparing alternatives before making a shortlist decision.
During this stage, buyers consume comparison content, request demos, involve additional stakeholders in the evaluation, and assess which solutions best fit their specific requirements, budget, and technical constraints. It represents the bridge between problem awareness and vendor selection.
How long does the Consideration Stage typically last?
Quick Answer: The Consideration Stage typically lasts 2-8 weeks for mid-market B2B purchases and can extend 3-6 months or longer for enterprise deals involving complex solutions and large buying committees.
Duration varies significantly based on purchase complexity, deal size, number of stakeholders involved, and organizational buying processes. Simple SaaS tool purchases might complete consideration in days, while enterprise platform selections often involve extended evaluation periods with formal RFPs, multiple demos, proof-of-concept implementations, and security reviews before advancing to final vendor selection.
What content works best for the Consideration Stage?
Quick Answer: Consideration Stage content should focus on comparison guides, case studies, product demos, ROI calculators, and detailed feature documentation that help buyers evaluate specific solutions against their requirements.
Unlike awareness-stage educational content, consideration content directly addresses solution evaluation with materials like competitive comparison charts, customer success stories from similar companies, implementation methodology overviews, pricing guides, and technical documentation. The goal is demonstrating how your solution solves their specific problem better than alternatives while building confidence in successful implementation.
How do I identify prospects in the Consideration Stage?
Prospects in the Consideration Stage demonstrate specific high-intent behaviors including visiting pricing or product comparison pages, downloading vendor comparison guides, requesting demos or free trials, attending product-focused webinars, viewing case studies multiple times, and researching specific features or integrations. Advanced signal intelligence platforms like Saber can detect these consideration behaviors across multiple channels, while marketing automation platforms track on-site engagement patterns. Additionally, prospects often directly signal consideration by asking specific product questions, requesting ROI analysis, or involving additional stakeholders in conversations.
Should sales engage during the Consideration Stage or wait until Decision Stage?
Sales should actively engage during the Consideration Stage, particularly when prospects demonstrate high-intent signals or qualify as SQLs. Early sales involvement during consideration allows teams to understand requirements, shape evaluation criteria, address objections proactively, and build relationships with the buying committee before the decision stage. However, the engagement approach should match the buyer's readiness—offering helpful resources, answering questions, and providing consultative guidance rather than pushing for premature commitments. Consideration-stage sales engagement focuses on education and building preference, while decision-stage engagement focuses on closing and negotiation.
Conclusion
The Consideration Stage represents a pivotal phase in the B2B buyer journey where prospects transform from problem-aware researchers into active solution evaluators. For go-to-market teams, success during this stage directly impacts pipeline conversion rates, sales cycle length, and ultimately revenue outcomes. Organizations that provide comprehensive, differentiated consideration content while delivering timely, relevant sales engagement significantly increase their probability of advancing to the shortlist and eventual vendor selection.
Marketing teams must orchestrate consideration-stage programs that balance content delivery with lead nurturing and sales enablement, ensuring prospects receive the information they need when they need it while creating visibility for sales into evaluation progress and stakeholder involvement. Sales teams benefit from understanding where prospects are in their consideration journey, which alternatives they're evaluating, and which specific features or capabilities they're prioritizing, enabling personalized outreach that advances the opportunity.
As buyer behaviors continue evolving with digital-first research and increasingly complex buying committees, the Consideration Stage grows more sophisticated and extended. Organizations that invest in robust consideration-stage strategies—including comprehensive content libraries, intent signal monitoring, multi-threaded engagement approaches, and sales-marketing alignment—position themselves to compete effectively in crowded markets and convert more prospects into customers. To develop a complete buyer journey strategy, explore how the awareness stage creates consideration pipeline and how the decision stage converts evaluation into revenue.
Last Updated: January 18, 2026
