I recently read The Framemaker Sale by Brent Adamson, co-author of The Challenger Sale, and one statistic stopped me in my tracks.

Brent shares that in a 2020 Gartner survey of nearly a thousand B2B buyers, 43% said they would prefer to make a purchase without ever speaking to a sales professional

Just one year later, that number rocketed to 75%

It’s a wake-up call for anyone in sales

Buyers are tired of generic outreach, tired of reps who sound like scripts, and tired of conversations that feel more like transactions than partnerships

Too often, sellers are focused on “making their number” rather than helping customers make better decisions

But here’s the irony: when buyers actually do go it alone, they regret it

The research found that buyers who avoid salespeople experience 23% more regret about their purchases than those who valued seller support

What does that tell us?

Buyers don’t hate sales, they hate bad sales

They don’t want to avoid people; they want to avoid the wrong kind of people

The real opportunity for sales professionals today is to become social, people who help customers make sense of complexity, provide insight, who bring clarity, perspective, and confidence to decisions that truly matter

The role of sales has changed

It’s no longer about convincing; it’s about guiding

In an era where information is abundant but insight is scarce, the best salespeople don’t sell products, they reduce uncertainty

Conclusion:
Brent Adamson’s data reinforces something every modern seller needs to hear: buyers may say they don’t want to talk to salespeople, but what they really mean is they don’t want to talk to salespeople who don’t add value

The future of sales belongs to those who make the buying journey easier, smarter, and more human