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Market notes
Short notes on the sources our approach rests on. Each states what the source found and what we take from it. They are general; none is a forecast for your market.
Gartner's research on the B2B buying journey found buyers spend only 17% of their buying time meeting potential suppliers. 6sense's 2025 Buyer Experience Report found buyers make first contact about 61% of the way through their journey, and that the vendor they talk to first wins 77% of the time.
What we take from it
The work that decides a purchase happens before a contact form is filled in. Reaching the right person early matters more than a better pitch later.
Source: Gartner, B2B buying journey research; 6sense, 2025 Buyer Experience Report.
Gartner's March 2026 survey of 646 B2B buyers found 67% prefer a rep-free experience and 45% had used AI during a recent purchase.
What we take from it
A firm that is not already known, or that cannot be found by an assistant, may never reach the shortlist. A direct, specific note to the person who owns the problem is one way in.
Source: Gartner press release, March 2026.
LinkedIn's B2B Institute, drawing on research with the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, describes the 95-5 rule: about 95% of potential buyers are not in the market today and will be at some point in the future.
What we take from it
A referral reaches one of the 5% at the moment they are looking. Steady outbound reaches the other 95% before they begin.
Source: LinkedIn B2B Institute, with the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute.