A growing number of B2B buyers feel that too many vendor interactions are wasting their time — and they are no longer staying quiet about it.
Research from Adience reveals that almost three in ten buyers believe vendors actively consume time without adding meaningful value. The impact is tangible: deals take longer, relationships weaken, and confidence in vendors declines.
This isn’t about buyers wanting to avoid sales conversations altogether. It’s about wanting those conversations to actually matter.
When Sales Calls Feel Like a Performance
One of the strongest frustrations uncovered in the research centres on discovery calls. For many buyers, discovery has turned into a scripted exercise rather than a thoughtful exchange.
Roughly 30% of respondents say they are tired of being asked repetitive, low-impact questions — particularly when the answers are easily found through basic research. When sellers open conversations with surface-level queries, buyers interpret it as a lack of preparation.
Instead of feeling understood, buyers feel processed.
This sense of performative discovery often extends into follow-up interactions as well. Nearly 29% of buyers report receiving generic presentations or materials that bear little relevance to their specific situation. Same slides, same messaging, same demo flow — regardless of industry, company size, or business challenge.
For buyers, this sends a simple message: the vendor didn’t truly listen.
Product Knowledge Isn’t Enough Anymore
Another 29% of buyers say vendors don’t understand their industry or use case. In complex B2B environments, that gap is costly.
Today’s buyers operate within tight budgets, strict governance, and layered decision-making structures. They aren’t just shopping for features. They’re evaluating risk, long-term impact, and organisational fit.
When vendors lead with product explanations instead of contextual insight, they fail to address what buyers care about most: making the right decision.
Buyers increasingly expect sellers to bring perspective — not just information. They want help navigating trade-offs, understanding consequences, and anticipating obstacles.
AI Isn’t the Villain — Sloppy Execution Is
AI is becoming embedded in sales workflows, and buyers largely accept that reality. In fact, one-third of respondents believe AI proficiency will separate top-performing vendor teams from the rest over the next two years.
But acceptance doesn’t mean tolerance for misuse.
26% of buyers say poorly executed or obviously AI-generated outreach is a major turn-off. These messages often sound polished yet empty, or include shallow personalisation that misses obvious context.
The issue isn’t that AI is involved. The issue is that AI is being used without judgment.
Industry voices from companies such as Responsive and Spectro Cloud emphasise that AI should support human thinking, not replace it. When used properly, AI can accelerate research, surface patterns, and help sellers prepare better conversations. What it cannot do on its own is apply nuance, empathy, or strategic reasoning.
AI should make sellers smarter — not louder. Chris Wells, Managing Director, Adience, says:
“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.”
The Real Cost of Wasted Interactions
Individually, repetitive questions, generic decks, and poorly targeted emails may seem like minor irritations. Collectively, they create something much more damaging: erosion of trust.
Buyers begin to question whether a vendor truly understands their world. They become more guarded. They disengage faster. And once trust starts to slip, recovery is difficult.
In a crowded market where many solutions appear similar on the surface, trust has become a defining differentiator.
What High-Performing Vendors Are Doing Differently
The vendors that consistently earn buyer confidence share a few common behaviours:
- They arrive informed about the buyer’s business and context
- They ask fewer but more thoughtful questions
- They tailor discussions to specific use cases
- They provide clarity around options and next steps
Rather than positioning themselves as pitchmen, they act as decision partners.
This approach doesn’t artificially compress sales cycles. Instead, it removes unnecessary friction — the kind that slows deals down and drains momentum.
From Selling to Decision Enablement
The shift underway in B2B sales is subtle but profound. Buyers no longer want to be “taken through a process.” They want help navigating complexity.
Decision enablement means focusing less on persuasion and more on guidance. It means helping buyers:
- Frame their problem accurately
- Evaluate realistic alternatives
- Understand trade-offs
- Build internal alignment
Vendors who master this role become valuable long before a contract is signed.
A More Discerning Buyer Landscape
The research doesn’t suggest buyers have become hostile. It suggests they’ve become more selective.
They expect vendors to show up prepared.
They expect relevance.
They expect substance.
As 2026 approaches, the most successful sales teams won’t be defined by volume of outreach or speed of follow-up. They’ll be defined by the quality of their thinking and the credibility of their conversations.
An Opportunity Hidden Inside the Backlash
For vendors willing to change, this moment represents an opportunity rather than a threat.
The bar isn’t impossibly high. Buyers are asking for:
- Better preparation
- More context
- Genuine understanding
- Respect for their time
Meeting those expectations consistently is enough to stand out. In a market saturated with noise, the vendors who win will be the ones who replace performance with substance — and selling with trust.
