At any given moment, only about 5% of B2B buyers are actively in market. The other 95% are not buying anything right now. And of those who eventually do buy, around 80% already have a preferred vendor in mind before they begin formal research. (McKinsey, How B2B decision makers are driving growth)
If that figure is even roughly right, it changes what the word “pipeline” means. Most of what sales teams call pipeline is the late stage of a much longer conversation. The work that wins the deal happened months or years earlier, quietly, before anyone opened a buying process.
In one of my early Key Account roles, I held a large international account for many years. My instinct was always to talk to everyone who might one day shape an investment decision, not just my day-to-day contacts. The wider the circle, the better.
When a new software product was announced for the following spring, I started conversations with the client months ahead of launch. We ran workshops together, exploring what the release could mean for their cost structure and their position in a low-margin market. By the time the formal buying window opened, we were already several conversations deep. The deal closed cleanly.
Compare that with the pattern I have argued against for decades: the Account Manager who calls three to six months before renewal. Clients see this. They form views about us long before we ever speak.
I have also been on the other side of this number, more often than I would like. The deals we lost while sitting in the consideration set had a common shape: we lacked exposure in the account. The customer was content with their preferred supplier. In several cases the incumbent had helped shape the specification itself, in ways we could not match.
We eventually resolved not to enter tender or bid processes where we had no real footing in the account. Hard to say yes to at the time. Right in hindsight.
For founders and commercial leaders, this reframes go-to-market. The work is to be present, credible and useful to the 95% who are not yet buying, so that when they start, they already think of you.
Time is the advantage. Engaging an account before there is a deal gives you room to learn its real business problems, and room to build a broader set of business cases in your favour. The most common mistake I see is the opposite: a generic sales presentation that cannot see the painful, underlying issues that actually need addressing.
In practice: know every person who will be in the room when the next decision is made, including the ones not in the room today. Show up before there is a deal, through workshops, sector commentary, peer introductions, useful work given freely. And when a tender arrives in an account where you have no footing, think hard before saying yes.
The 95% is where the real selling happens. Slow, patient, and almost invisible.
If your team is working hard on the visible 5% and would benefit from a second pair of eyes on the rest, a short conversation is the cheapest way to see whether the work fits. Half an hour, no charge.