The buying cycle is the process a potential customer goes through from the moment they realize a need to the point they make a purchase decision. It outlines the stages of the customer journey and helps sales and marketing teams align their messaging and outreach with where the buyer is mentally and emotionally.

While the stages can vary slightly by business model, a typical B2B buying cycle includes:

1. Awareness - The buyer recognizes a problem or need
2. Consideration - They research possible solutions and compare vendors
3. Decision - They choose a product or service and make the purchase

Example:

A prospect reads a blog post about inefficiencies in manual lead routing (awareness), compares a few lead management tools (consideration) before finally staring a subscription (decision).