Global Research Unveils B2B buyers push back on outdated sales tactics

New global research from Adience reveals that B2B buyers are growing increasingly resistant to traditional sales approaches. Many buyers report frustration with lengthy, repetitive, and low-value sales interactions, which not only slow decision-making but also erode trust. Nearly one-third (30%) of respondents said vendors waste their time with repetitive discovery questions and irrelevant materials, creating deal fatigue and stalled progress.

The findings highlight a rising B2B Buyer Backlash, expected to shape vendor strategies throughout 2026. Buyers are no longer looking for vendors to simply push products — they want partners who guide them through complex purchasing decisions. Despite years of focus on buyer-centric selling, many organisations are still failing to meet modern expectations.

From selling to strategic partnership

Surveying 350 B2B buyers across the US, Europe, APAC, and Africa/Middle East, the research uncovers a shift in what buyers value most. Price incentives and aggressive sales tactics are increasingly losing ground to clarity, relevance, and alignment with broader business objectives.

Chris Wells, Managing Director, Adience, says:

“The seller’s job is to help buyers take the right decisions and make the right choices. The best discovery builds confidence, not fatigue. Vendors that simplify, listen, and personalise earn trust fastest.”

‘Discovery theatre’ drives buyer frustration

A recurring theme in the research is what Adience terms “discovery theatre” — long, drawn-out sales processes filled with repetitive questions, generic presentations, and little actionable insight. Buyers identified the top frustrations as:

• Asked poor or repetitive discovery questions (30%)
• Shared irrelevant decks, PDFs, or demo links (29%)
• Didn’t understand our industry or use case (29%)
• Focused on features over business impact (27%)
• Didn’t answer all RFP questions (27%)
• Tried to bypass procurement (26%)
• Misused AI (robotic tone, obvious autofill, or wrong facts) (26%)

Joe Kopyt, Director of Integrated Marketing at Responsive — a leading AI-powered proposal and sales enablement platform, says:

“What really resonates is the idea of ‘discovery theatre’. We’ve all sat through pitches where the vendor asks the same tired questions. Buyers want insight and relevance — the ones who listen, not lecture, are the ones we remember.”

AI: a double-edged sword for B2B sellers

The research shows that AI is increasingly central to buyer expectations, but its misuse can backfire. One in four buyers (26%) say obvious AI-generated communications are a turn-off. At the same time, one-third (33%) believe that AI capability will define the top-performing sales teams over the next two years.

Chris Wells adds:

“Buyers want vendors who can interpret data, understand context, and run fair, efficient evaluations. Let AI speed analysis and drafting, but keep a human layer for tone, accuracy, and context. Vendors who master this balance between human insight and smart technology will lead the next era of B2B engagement.”

Ant Newman, Director of Content at Spectro Cloud — a next-generation Kubernetes management platform, agrees:

“What we’re seeing is that AI is helping target our marketing and sales outreach and distil the huge amounts of information and insight available during the sales process.

But once the conversation starts, the best sales teams still have to build trust and real human connections, lead with value not features, and challenge their customers with bold new perspectives. AI can assist in the process, but it can’t replace those skills.”

Equipping vendors to succeed

In light of these insights, Adience has launched its Buyer-ready Playbook, providing practical guidance to help vendors streamline discovery, personalise engagement, and leverage AI in ways that build credibility rather than erode it.

Methodology

Survey of 350 B2B buyers across the US, Europe, APAC, and Africa/Middle East.
Roles: procurement (n=100) and non-procurement (n=250).
Industries: technology, financial services, healthcare, insurance, media and entertainment, manufacturing/automotive, and others.

Fielded as a single pulse of four multi-select questions.
Fieldwork ran from July 2 to July 17, 2025.

About Adience

Adience is a global B2B market research consultancy dedicated to helping organisations make smarter sales and marketing decisions. They specialise exclusively in business-to-business research, working with senior decision-makers across sectors including transport and logistics, SaaS, fintech, IT hardware, construction, and industrial markets.