Other suggestions-

- buy something above entry level, ride it a bunch, then upgrade once you know what you like/dont like about the current bike.
This can help you sort out geometry, components, frame material, etc. Do you need Ultegra components or will 105 be make you happy moving forward? Do you need full carbon frame and fork, or will a quality formed aluminum frame with carbon fork be plenty of quality?
The noticable difference between $1200 bikes and $2000+ higher cost bikes can often be significantly minimized with a quality wheelset.

- find a shop you like a lot and work with them. This will help immediately narrow the selection for you, which can be a good thing, and help you find a place that will be a place of reference as you buy more stuff.

- buy online and assemble it yourself with possible once over at a local shop for peace of mind. Raleigh, Diamondback, Canyon, REI, Performance, and Nashbar all have offerings online and often times for significantly less than shop prices.
These bikes come 85% assembled and what assembly is needed is typically just attaching bolts and tightening everything. Sometimes wheels come with hubs that are too tight and a shop will correct this in minutes for a nominal price if you cant.
Raleigh(and diamondback) has a corporate discount code. https://www.raleighusa.com/customer/account/ and the code is CYCLE4PERK (has to be typed and is caps).
this is $1260 and would get you started so you can learn what you want thru experience. https://www.raleighusa.com/clubman-carbon-2485
or this for $750. 105 drivetrain. https://www.raleighusa.com/merit-6625
And here at $1500 is an excellent high quality steel frame with carbon fork and high level Ultegra drivetrain at 20#. https://www.raleighusa.com/grand-vitesse-2431



I personally find value in initially buying based on value, experiencing it and deciding what I like/dislike, then selling that and buying based on knowing what I want. It may end up that I dont want what I thought I would want before I had experience.