Many sales organizations still operate under the assumption that more activity equals better results. More calls. More emails. More meetings. More deals.
But activity alone doesn’t drive outcomes. A seller can make dozens of calls a day and still fail to create meaningful opportunities. On the other hand, fewer higher-value interactions can have a greater impact on pipeline quality and win rates.
Today’s B2B decision makers are more informed than ever. Research suggests that buyers complete the majority of their evaluation process before they ever speak with a salesperson.
Add AI-powered research tools into the mix, and many prospects form opinions about your company, your competitors, and potential solutions long before your sales team has a chance to engage.
For sales leaders, this reality presents a critical challenge: How do you position your team to influence buying decisions before customers have already made up their minds?
This is just one of the insights shared on a recent webinar with Michelle Richards, VP of Sales Performance Research, and Dan Markin, VP of Sales Strategy and Consulting, at The Brooks Group.
This post explains how to shift from traditional prospecting tactics to a more strategic approach that focuses on getting ahead of the buyer’s journey.
>> Watch on demand: Prospecting with Precision: How to Get Ahead of Your Buyer’s Journey
Understanding the Buyer’s Decision Spectrum
A helpful way to think about your buyer’s decision process is as a “decision spectrum.” This is the psychological journey customers move through from recognizing a need to making a purchase.
At the center of this journey is the “trigger point”: the moment a buyer realizes they have a problem or opportunity that requires action. The further a qualified prospect progresses beyond that trigger point, the harder it becomes to influence their thinking.
Success is often determined before the formal buying process begins.
By the time a prospect issues an RFP or requests a proposal, they’ve researched solutions, evaluated competitors, established buying criteria, and developed preferences. At that stage, salespeople may be presenting to customers who have nearly decided—and have little chance to influence the choice.
Leadership Takeaway: Coach your team to focus not just on opportunities that exist today, but on relationships that will influence future opportunities.
Why AI Makes Early Engagement Even More Important
AI has fundamentally changed how customers gather information. Prospects now use tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and other AI platforms to compare vendors, research pricing, and evaluate competitors.
According to a new analysis:
- 73% of B2B buyers now incorporate AI tools into their purchasing and supplier research process.
- 94% of B2B buyers use AI answer engines and tools, frequently making AI their top vendor research source.
- 51% of B2B software buyers begin their initial research using AI chatbots. (Source: Loganix)
The challenge is that AI-generated information isn’t always complete or accurate.
Without an established relationship, AI-driven research may eliminate your company from consideration before you ever have a chance to engage.
Leadership Takeaway: Relationship-building is no longer just a sales skill—it’s a competitive advantage against AI-driven buying behavior.
Strategy #1: Engage Before the Need Exists
Many salespeople wait for buying signals. Top performers position themselves before those signals appear.
Challenge each seller to identify one “whale account”—a high-value target they are not currently doing business with.
Instead of focusing solely on outreach campaigns, have them answer these questions:
- What causes does this organization support?
- What community initiatives are they involved in?
- Where do their executives spend time outside of work?
- What industry events matter to them?
Encourage your team to participate in those events or causes—not to pitch, but to build familiarity and trust. While competitors fight for meetings, your sellers can already be known entities.
“The key to success is to be in front of the customer when they need to buy, not when you need to make a sale.” — The Brooks Group founder Bill Brooks
Strategy #2: Find Out What’s Troubling Your Customers
Trust is built when you help people solve problems—even when those problems have nothing to do with your product. Your best prospecting initiative may not involve selling at all.
One of the examples shared during the webinar involved an agricultural company during the pandemic. Their salespeople were struggling to connect with farmers.
Instead of pushing product conversations, they identified a more urgent challenge: Farmers needed help navigating government Paycheck Protection Program applications.
The company partnered with financial experts and hosted educational sessions to help customers secure funding. As a result, the sales team became trusted advisors, and sales increased dramatically the following year.
In your next sales meeting, ask:
- What are our customers worried about right now?
- What challenges are affecting their businesses?
- Who could we partner with to provide value around those challenges?
Strategy #3: Look for Early Trigger Signals
Most organizations wait until a buying process is visible. Elite prospectors identify signals that indicate a buying process is about to begin.
Examples include:
- Municipal permit filings
- Construction approvals
- Zoning applications
- Expansion announcements
- New executive hires
- Funding announcements
- Competitor contract renewals
These signals often emerge months before formal buying activity starts. Work with your team to identify the most common trigger events in your industry and where those signals can be found. The earlier your team identifies a trigger, the greater their opportunity to shape the buying conversation.
Strategy #4: Stay Close to Lost Opportunities
Most salespeople move on immediately after losing a deal. That creates an opportunity. After a competitor wins business, everyone else disappears. But that may be the perfect time to continue building the relationship.
Many buying decisions that seem permanent are actually temporary. Vendors underperform. Priorities change. Contracts expire. When those moments occur, buyers often return to the people they remember.
Create a post-loss engagement plan. For every significant lost opportunity, schedule quarterly check-ins, continue providing value, and stay visible without selling. Your next opportunity often comes from a deal you lost years ago.
Coach Based on the Seller and the Situation
Not all sellers approach opportunities the same way. Some are natural hunters who thrive in competitive, late-stage situations. Others excel at relationship-building and creating opportunities long before buying activity begins.
Effective sales coaching requires understanding:
- Where the opportunity sits on the decision spectrum
- The natural strengths of the salesperson
During pipeline reviews, ask your sellers where the buyer is relative to the trigger point, what evidence supports that assessment, and whether the seller needs to be more patient or more assertive.
The answers will help sales managers coach more effectively and allocate resources more strategically.
Why the Best Sales Teams Influence Buyers Before They Need to Buy
Sales teams that win consistently are not necessarily the ones making the most calls. They’re the ones building trust before customers begin searching, creating value before opportunities exist, and positioning themselves as resources long before a purchase decision is made.
In a world where buyers have unlimited information and AI is accelerating research, the seller’s greatest differentiator isn’t the product; it’s the relationship. The organizations that get ahead of the trigger point won’t just win more deals—they’ll influence how those deals are defined in the first place.
>> Watch on demand: Prospecting with Precision: How to Get Ahead of Your Buyer’s Journey
Frequently Asked Questions About Sales Prospecting
Q1. What is the most effective sales prospecting strategy today?
The most effective sales prospecting strategy is to engage potential buyers before they actively enter the buying process. Rather than waiting for prospects to request information or issue an RFP, top-performing sales professionals focus on building relationships, providing insights, and establishing credibility before a need is formally identified. This approach increases the likelihood that buyers will think of your company first when they are ready to make a purchase decision.
Q2. How can sales teams get ahead of the buyer’s journey?
Sales teams can get ahead of the buyer’s journey by identifying early trigger signals and building relationships before prospects begin evaluating solutions. This may include monitoring industry trends, permit filings, expansion announcements, leadership changes, contract renewals, or other indicators that a future buying decision may be approaching. The goal is to become a trusted resource before competitors enter the conversation.
Q3. How has AI changed sales prospecting?
AI has made it easier for buyers to research vendors, compare solutions, and gather information before speaking with a salesperson. As a result, sales professionals often have fewer opportunities to influence buyer perceptions once the formal buying process begins. To stay competitive, sales teams must focus on creating meaningful relationships, providing valuable insights, and establishing trust early so buyers have a reason to engage directly rather than relying solely on AI-generated information.
