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Tips to reduce buying friction 

 Editor’s note: Chris Wells is managing director of Adience.

B2B selling and buying is a complex process involving multiple stakeholders, numerous sources and influencers. According to Martech Edge, 86% of buyers shortlist products they already know, and 71% buy their top choice. How can vendors cut through? 

In Adience’s recent survey of 350 B2B buyers across the U.S., Europe, APAC and Africa/Middle East, nearly one-third (30%) of respondents said vendors waste their time with poor or repetitive questions and irrelevant content. Many B2B buyers spot AI-generated content and are turned off by the robotic tone, obvious autofills and errors. Today’s B2B buyers want partners, not vendors – companies that help them make better decisions, not force outdated sales practices on them.

Vendors must ditch the pitch

If you want to earn trust and confidence, then forget the sales presentation and listen to your prospects. The top-cited criterion misunderstood by vendors is a basic one – "our priorities” – at 35%. This may sound obvious, but recent research suggests many vendors simply haven’t adapted. 

Here’s what vendors most often misunderstand about buyers’ companies or needs:

  1. Our priorities (35%).
  2. Our industry-specific pain points (30%).
  3. Our technical requirements/constraints (28%).
  4. Our competitive context (28%).
  5. The level of formality expected in proposals (28%).
  6. Our business model/how we make money (27%).

For the research industry, these findings are a reminder that discovery work, persona development and segmentation must keep pace with market change. Buyers want vendors to “help them buy,” which means understanding not just customer needs but also the organizational barriers to purchase, whether procedural, structural or political.

Let AI speed, not lead 

As B2B buyers raise the bar, vendor teams must blend empathy with data fluency and a more thoughtful use of AI. Interpreting data will be a key success factor. Although B2B buyers are turned off by obvious AI-generated outreach (26%), AI competence is considered a necessary skill by 33%. So, let AI accelerate analysis and drafting, but your sales consultants should set the tone, check for accuracy and provide context. 

As the research industry embraces more AI-led methodologies and analytics, this research reminds us that research buyers still value the expertise, interpretation and judgement that only humans provide.

Seven ways to reduce buying friction

  1. Lead with fit – and prove it fast. 
  2. Fix the discovery phase.
  3. Reduce content.
  4. Accelerate approvals.
  5. Use AI with guardrails.
  6. Make contact early.
  7. Help buyers buy.

Regardless of sector, B2B buyers expect a shift from product-driven to partnership-driven value. Context-literate, data-fluent, AI-competent vendor teams that can guide stakeholders through a fair and transparent buying process will win in 2026 and beyond.