80% Of B2B Buyers Initiate First Contact, Once They’re 70% Through Their Buying Journey

B2B buyers are nearly 70% through their purchasing process before engaging with sellers — and 80% of the time, it’s the buyers who initiate the first contact, new research revealed.

According to the “2024 Buyer Experience Report” — fielded by 6sense, an ABM platform powered by revenue AI — the anonymous research phase is now the decision-making stage for most B2B buyers. Specifically, 81% of buyers indicated they have a preferred vendor at the time of first contact and 85% already established purchase requirements before reaching out.

Additional findings from the report include:

• The average B2B buying cycle lasts 11.3 months;
• The average size of a B2B buying group is 11 people; and
• More than 90% of buyers have prior experience with at least one of the vendors they considered.

“To compete effectively, marketers must drive awareness and preference early in the buying journey,” said Kerry Cunningham, Head of Research and Thought Leadership at 6sense, in a statement. “Traditional demand generation tactics must evolve into integrated strategies that create awareness, build affinity and secure favorable competitive positioning. These insights aim to help revenue teams better engage with buyers, improving revenue production practices and outcomes. This year’s results replicate what we saw in last year’s study, and at a larger scale, which further validates the data we’re seeing from B2B buyers.”