If you think about it, the fundamentals of buying haven’t really changed

A group of people still sit in a room, recognise they’ve got a business problem, and go looking for a solution

That’s been the process for decades

What has changed is how empowered buyers have become

They now do their own research, find their own information, and in many cases, cut the salesperson out completely

And let’s be honest, we all know why

Buyers see salespeople as untrustworthy, interchangeable, and the moment they engage, they know they’re just another piece of meat in a CRM

Here’s what’s happening today:
➡️ 9 in 10 buyers use LLMs to research solutions — but they still talk to people, like vendors and analysts
➡️ 94% of buyers build their shortlist before ever speaking to sales — and nearly 8 in 10 buy from their top choice
➡️ 4 in 5 vendors make the shortlist on day one, and 95% of the time, the winner comes from that list

The fundamentals haven’t changed, but AI, economic pressure, and digital behaviour are rewriting the rhythm of buying

For the CEOs reading this: your buyers have mostly decided who they’re going with before your sellers even get a chance to engage

Now here’s where most companies get it wrong. They think the takeaway is:

“We need to fund marketing — PMM, Brand, Comms, Channel, and Demand Gen — to drive early and consistent engagement.”

Why? Because buyers don’t talk to brands, they talk to people

This is where the human brand comes in

Your sales team needs personal brands that buyers can find, trust, and engage with long before a meeting is booked and your sellers need to be active on social to build relationships and trust (and close deals) at scale

There is no technology stack that builds cognitive human relationships that enable emotions such as “Trust” which is over 52% or the reason why people buy

Conclusion:
The modern buying process still starts the same way it always has, with a problem

But it ends very differently

The winners aren’t just those with the strongest brand, but those with the strongest human presence

Your people are your brand

Make them visible

Read the full report here https://okt.to/5sC7jH

I need to thank the following posts, Kyle Gugan, Jim Berkman, and Kerry Cunningham