According to a recent Gartner survey 80% of sales leaders are increasingly concerned about buyers avoiding salespeople, and it’s easy to see why. The way people buy has changed dramatically, yet many sales organisations are still stuck in outdated approaches. Below is an exploration of why this trend was inevitable, and how sales teams can adapt to keep their Account Executives (AEs) relevant in today’s buyer-driven world.
1. Most Companies Leave It to Sellers to Learn About Their Buyers
A surprising number of sellers are left to figure out their buyers’ journey and persona profiles on their own. Instead of being trained properly, they gather information by asking discovery questions throughout the sales process. This not only wastes time but also places an unnecessary burden on the prospect, especially when dealing with complex products that require years of experimentation. To counter this, sales bootcamps should provide a balanced focus on the product, sales skills, and—crucially—the buyer’s journey.
2. Most Sellers Have Never Experienced Buying First-Hand
Sales training often focuses solely on skill-building, leaving out one crucial element: understanding what it’s like to be a buyer. Few salespeople ever receive training on the buying process, even though this could be their most valuable insight. Imagine how different things would be if sales teams were exposed to:
- A VP explaining what they expect from Account Executives
- A CFO sharing how they plan budgets and assess ROI
- A CEO discussing how executives evaluate business cases and make decisions
By providing this kind of training, companies can equip their sales teams with a more empathetic and effective approach to selling.
3. Ignoring What Modern Buyers Expect
Research consistently shows that buying behaviour has evolved, but many go-to-market (GTM) organisations haven’t adapted. Buyers today have different expectations, and if sales teams don’t adjust to meet them, they’ll be left behind. Consider the following statistics:
- 89% of buyers make decisions based on their experience with the sales process, not just product or price.
- 95% of the buying journey happens outside of interactions with sellers.
- 65% of buyers are overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information they receive.
To remain relevant, sales organisations need to learn these behaviours and tailor their processes accordingly.
4. We Obsess Over Sales Meetings
Most sales processes focus heavily on specific sales meetings: demo, trial, proposal, etc. But here’s the catch—83-95% of the buying process happens without the seller. Instead of fixating on these meetings, sales teams need to build more overlap with the buyer’s activities, such as helping with requirement building, business case creation, or total cost of ownership (TCO) calculations.
5. Complex Sales is No Longer Just for Enterprise Deals
It’s easy to think that complex sales are reserved for large enterprise deals, but this is no longer true. Even SMB deals today can involve 3-8 stakeholders, meaning the process is far more intricate than it used to be. Traditional transactional approaches, which relied on quick sales cycles and fewer touchpoints, no longer work. Every rep, no matter the deal size, needs to learn how to build champions, engage multiple stakeholders, and create compelling business cases.
6. Teams Spend Six or Seven Figures on Enabling Sellers, and Nothing on Enabling Buyers
Enablement is often treated as a seller-focused initiative, but this approach is flawed. Sales enablement should also focus on helping buyers navigate their journey. Unfortunately, most enablement efforts are too focused on learning and development (L&D) and content management. What’s needed instead is deep, strategic work that improves how sellers engage with buyers, such as analysing skill gaps and introducing new processes that better align with buyer needs.
7. Most Sales Enablement Technology Doesn’t Move the Needle
Many of the tools available for sales enablement—such as content management systems and L&D platforms—fail to drive meaningful improvements in execution. To really help reps sell, the focus should be on how they work with buyers. Technologies like digital sales rooms, video selling tools, and interactive demos can enhance this interaction and make it easier for buyers to make decisions.
Takeaway:
The 80% figure from Gartner’s survey isn’t just another statistic—it’s a wake-up call for sales leaders. The fact that buyers are increasingly avoiding salespeople doesn’t mean all is lost. It’s a sign that the old ways of selling are no longer effective, and that it’s time to adopt a buyer-centric approach. By letting go of outdated habits, acknowledging the problem, and doing the work to fix it, sales teams can thrive in this new landscape.
It’s a buyer’s world now, and it’s time to start selling that way.
