In this article by Bain, the discuss the disruption that AI and LLMs are making to the sales and marketing process

When I used AI last year to investigate a holiday, I wrote about it and it was seen as revolutionary

Today, it's business as usual

That's the speed that AI is transforming our world 

Bain say 

  • "The marketing funnel is being upended as buyers increasingly turn to AI tools for product recommendations, comparisons, and research.
  • AI-powered “zero-click” journeys compress the discovery-to-decision process, reducing opportunities for brands to influence consumers, differentiate themselves, or even appear during the buying journey.
  • Traffic and conversion dynamics are shifting as website visits from traditional search engines decline and AI referral traffic begins to grow, with limited visibility for marketers and fewer chances to capture lead data.
  • To stay relevant, marketers must adapt by optimizing content for large language models, investing in new performance metrics, and rethinking their digital strategy around a future where the AI agent—not the buyer—is in control.

Recent data suggests the magnitude of the shift:

  • A survey of more than 1,100 US consumers by Bain & Company found that 80% of them rely on these “zero-click” results for at least 40% of their searches.  
  • HubSpot has found that traffic to many company sites has decreased by up to 30%.
  • Scrunch AI’s audit of anonymized search journeys across its clients’ websites finds that AI referral traffic is growing by about 40% monthly.
  • Adobe Analytics reports that traffic to retailer websites from generative AI sources increased by 1,200% in February 2025 vs. July 2024.

This shift to generative AI–referred traffic upends the traditional customer discovery funnel"

What does the new, zero-click funnel look like what does it mean for businesses?

Feedback from buyers is that while they will use AI to do research they will always want to deal with a human at some point

This could be undergoing early research where buyers are forming their shortlist

Buyers will use their network to gain insight into companies and this is often through a call with a human in their network to validate what they have found online

Buyers will also make contact with companies once they have formed their short list

This is why, more than ever sellers need to have buyer centric profiles, after all sellers only have one chance at making a good, first impression

They need to be connected to the buyers in the first place, not connect and pitch this does not create trust and a relationship in fact it does the opposite

Buyers are also looking for content that they can use internally, it needs to be educational and insightful

You can leave the brochures and brochureware on your website  

In conclusion, AI and large language models are radically reshaping the buyer journey, compressing the traditional marketing funnel and limiting opportunities for brands to influence decisions

As buyers increasingly rely on AI for research, human connection remains essential during key decision points

This means sellers must adapt quickly, building authentic, buyer-centric profiles, focusing on trust over pitching, and creating content that educates and empowers internal discussions

In a zero-click world, your digital presence and network are more critical than ever

 

 

Can you drive revenue from social media?

Social selling is not about spamming people or inmails or connect and pitch

Our definition of social selling is 

"Using your presence and behavior on social media to build influence, make connections, grow relationships and trust, which leads to conversation and commercial interaction"
 

And the results?

For an AE, we can shorten sales cycles by 30%

And the average SDR will get 1 x ICP meeting a day

Which should increase your revenue by 20%

You can get these results by using our social selling methodology, that is certified by Institute of Sales Professionals (ISP)

 

"social selling techniques to influence buyers and changemakers - 2nd edition".

In this brand new edition, I have updated all the text, I have also got 15 practitioners, so people who are doing this already to explain how they are get (practical) business benefit. From the CEO that has been running a digital business for over 18 months to sales leaders and sales people who use social selling every day to drive revenue growth. 

Articles on how these business have and are implementing digital, from Mercer, Telstra Purple, Ring Central, Cyberhawk, Namos, Ericsson, DLA Ignite and more.

What does Mark Schaefer, Marketing guru think of the book "social selling - techniques to influence buyers and changemakers - 2nd edition"? watch the video here

It's available on Amazon worldwide.  Link to Amazon.com here and Amazon.co.uk here.