27 Oct THE SALES CYCLE FROM THE BUYER’S PERSPECTIVE
Understanding the Buyer’s Perspective
Many sales pros lack insight into what truly happens on the buyer’s side during the sales process. They often wonder what the buyer is thinking, what steps they are taking, and what their overall process looks like. Questions arise about who else the buyer is considering, when a decision will be made, and where their own proposal stands in the evaluation.
Without clarity on these critical aspects, salespeople may find themselves navigating in the dark, unsure of how to effectively position their offering or address the buyer’s needs and timeline.
Adapting to the Buyer’s Process: How Sales Pros Can Stay Ahead
Sales pros who receive formal training are usually taught how to manage the sales cycle—from generating leads to closing deals. Much of that training focuses on overcoming objections, often reinforced through role-playing exercises. Yet very few salespeople are taught how buyers experience the process or how to enhance that experience.
Understanding the buyer’s purchasing cycle is just as critical as mastering your own sales methodology.
The Modern Buying Process Has Changed
In today’s environment, buying cycles are shorter and involve far less direct interaction with vendors. Sellers now operate with limited visibility into how purchase decisions are made, relying on less information to guide their strategies.
Importantly, the buying process is not simply the reverse of the sales process. It’s complex, non-linear, and influenced by multiple stakeholders—often moving in different directions at once. Many decisions occur behind the scenes, and studies show that buyers typically complete more than half of their journey before engaging with a salesperson. (footnote?)
The rise of automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and data-driven procurement has further reshaped purchasing. Procurement has evolved into a strategic, value-adding function rather than just a price negotiator. To succeed, sales pros must adapt their sales approach to fit these new realities—not expect buyers to conform to old-school sales models.
So, how does one gain an understanding of the buyer’s buying process? Simple. Ask them. Start by asking your contacts to explain their organization’s buying process in detail. Learn how decisions are made, who is involved, who the key decision maker is, and, most importantly, where you can add value.
Complexity Creates Opportunity
Failing to adapt to the buyer’s process increases the likelihood of lost sales—and makes the process more frustrating for both sides.
A Gartner study of 750 B2B buyers found that 77% described their most recent purchase as complex or difficult.1 This presents a significant opportunity: standout sales pros make the buying process easier.
Instead of constantly pushing for a sale, focus on providing:
- Industry best practices
- Insights into how leading companies solve similar problems
- Case studies showing measurable results
- Emerging innovations that could improve the buyer’s business
By simplifying the process and offering valuable insight, you position yourself as a trusted advisor and thought leader, not just another vendor.
Identify and Engage the Right Stakeholders
Within every organization, certain people will be more open to your message. Identify who they are and align your efforts accordingly.
For example, if you sell market research to consumer-goods companies, your ideal contact is the marketing research director—the person responsible for insights, ROI, and performance metrics. Learn how they’re measured in their performance review, what challenges they face, and how your solution addresses their needs better than anyone else’s.
The Strategic Rise of Corporate Procurement
Since the early 2000s, corporate procurement (or strategic sourcing) has gained significant influence over purchasing decisions. Once excluded from most projects, procurement teams are now deeply involved from the start.
Their primary goals are to reduce risk, control costs, and maximize value for the organization. Many sales pros still view procurement as an obstacle, but it can be a valuable ally if you understand its priorities and objectives.
Additionally, procurement now plays a key role in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ethical sourcing, evaluating whether suppliers promote diversity, sustainability, fair labor practices, and environmental responsibility. If your organization excels in these areas, make sure to highlight it.
Another trend: corporations are less loyal to existing suppliers now. Many are adopting multi-supplier strategies to minimize risk. That creates more opportunities for agile, creative sales pros to replace incumbents—while also reminding current vendors to continually deliver value to keep their customers.
Educate or Be Educated
Sales pros face a clear choice: educate your buyers—or be educated by them.
Staying informed about your industry through research, trade journals, and professional communities is essential. Buyers have access to more information than ever before, but that doesn’t mean they know what to do with it. Many purchase processes stall simply because buyers feel uncertain or overwhelmed.
This is your opportunity to guide them. Provide structure—such as recommended steps, sample evaluation criteria, or decision frameworks (that naturally favor your solution). Helping buyers make confident, informed choices strengthens trust and accelerates deals.
If you don’t help shape the process, buyers will default to the easiest metric—price—and that’s a battle most salespeople lose.
An Evolving Sales Landscape
Startups, for example, often have brilliant founders with deep technical expertise but limited experience with complex corporate purchasing. These organizations benefit tremendously from sales pros who can educate and guide them through the process.
Procurement’s growing role doesn’t have to be a threat—it can be an opening. Each shift in the buying landscape creates new opportunities for resourceful salespeople willing to engage in different ways.
The best sales pros embrace these changes, adapt to the buyer’s journey, and make it easier for customers to buy. In doing so, they don’t just close more deals—they build lasting partnerships grounded in trust, insight, and value.
✅ Key Takeaway:
The modern buyer’s process is complex—but that complexity is your opportunity. Simplify it. Guide it. Add value at every stage. The sales pros who do will stand out as trusted advisors in an increasingly automated world.
1 The New B2B Buying Process,” Gartner, accessed April 18, 2022, https://www.gartner.com/en/sales/insights/b2b-buying-journey.