The B2B buying process: stages, buying groups and the statistics behind them

This page is for B2B sellers, marketers and founders who want to understand how businesses buy, so they can show up at the right point with the right people. It sets out the stages of the B2B buying process, then the statistics on who is involved, when buyers talk to sellers, how long it takes and where it goes wrong. Every figure comes from the original survey, report or page, opened in October 2026, with its sample and date. Most of this research is by analyst firms (Gartner, Forrester) or vendors (6sense), and each is labelled.

B2B buying process statistics at a glance

The stages of the B2B buying process

There are two common ways to describe the process.

The classic sequence, taught in marketing courses for decades, runs in order. A typical version, from university lecture notes on business buying behavior:

1. A need is recognized. Often by the people who will use the product.
2. The need is described and quantified. A buying group agrees what's needed, the features and the quantity.
3. Potential suppliers are searched for.
4. Qualified suppliers are asked for proposals, often through a request for proposal.
5. Proposals are evaluated and suppliers selected, sometimes with a scorecard.
6. An order routine is established: price, quantities, delivery, returns and warranties.
7. A post-purchase evaluation is conducted, and the buyer decides whether to keep the supplier.

Gartner's six buying jobs describe the same work as tasks rather than steps. Gartner's buying journey page lists them with the question buyers are asking at each, and says buyers revisit "each of those six buying jobs at least once", so they "don't happen sequentially, but more or less simultaneously."

Gartner also reports that buyers who found suppliers' information helpful in advancing these jobs were 2.8 times more likely to report a high degree of purchase ease and three times more likely to buy a bigger deal with less regret. The page gives no sample or date for those figures.

Who is involved: buying groups

The figures differ mainly because of definitions: Gartner counts decision makers, Forrester counts everyone who influences the decision, including outsiders such as consultants and peers. Either way, a deal with one contact is a deal where most of the people deciding have never heard from you. Forrester also found that 94% of buyers in groups of six or more reported clear benefits from the larger group, so don't expect buyers to shrink them for your convenience.

When buyers talk to sellers

• Little time with suppliers. Gartner found buyers spend only 17% of their buying time meeting potential suppliers, and when comparing several, perhaps 5% or 6% with any one rep.
• Late first contact. In 6sense's 2025 survey, buyers first contacted sellers 61% of the way through their journey, earlier than the roughly 69% of 2023 and 2024. Buyers initiated 79% of those first contacts.
• The shortlist forms early. 94% of 6sense's respondents ranked their shortlist in order of preference before engaging sellers, the winner was on the day-one shortlist 95% of the time, and the vendor first contacted won 77% of the time.
• Preference for rep-free buying is rising. Gartner's survey of 632 buyers (August to September 2024) found 61% preferred an overall rep-free buying experience; the same question to 646 buyers a year later found 67%. These are two different samples.
• But sellers still matter at specific points. In the 2024 survey, buyers preferred online self-service for general information, and seller input for tasks needing context, such as "determining whether a product or service fits their company's needs." The same survey found 73% actively avoid suppliers who send irrelevant outreach.

Put together: sellers are invited in late, by buyers who already have a favorite, and are judged on whether they help with the specific question of fit. That is the case for doing the research before outreach. At volume, that research is the slow part; Bebop researches each account and writes a playbook with the people, what's happening at the company and the angle to open with.

How long the B2B buying process takes

6sense's buyers reported a buying cycle of 10.1 months in 2025, down from 11.3 months in 2024. Its sample is weighted toward large purchases (median $200,000 to $300,000), and buyers count the months of research before they speak to any seller, so it's much longer than the sales cycle a seller measures in a CRM. For seller-side benchmarks, see sales cycle length.

Where the process goes wrong

• Stalls. Forrester's December 2024 press release reported that 86% of B2B purchases stall during the buying process; the analyst's blog post on the same survey says 91%. Either way, stalling is the norm, and "my organization's purchasing process" was among the most common reasons.
• Regret. 81% of buyers in the same survey were dissatisfied with the provider they chose, most often over price.
• Proof. Forrester's 2026 research found more than 60% of buyers used a trial, rising to 78% for purchases of $10 million or more.
• AI in the process. Forrester found 94% of buyers used AI somewhere in their buying process; 6sense found 94% used large language models; Gartner found 45% used AI during a recent purchase. The gap reflects how each survey asked the question.

What these numbers can't tell you

• Most are surveys of opinion and memory. A stated preference for rep-free buying isn't the same as buying without a rep.
• Samples have a shape. 6sense screened for purchases of $25,000 or more; Forrester and Gartner survey large, global panels. Small, simple purchases may look very different.
• Some figures are undated. Gartner's buying journey figures come from an archived page with no sample or survey date.
• Year-on-year changes compare different people. Gartner's 61% and 67% are separate samples.
• Summaries, not full reports. The Forrester and Gartner figures here come from their public press releases and blog posts; the full reports are for clients.

How to measure your own buyers' process

Industry surveys describe the average buyer. Your CRM and your win/loss conversations describe yours.

Illustrative example. The company, deals and every number are invented, to show the arithmetic.

Ridgeline Safety Supply (ridgelinesafety.example), a distributor selling multi-year safety supply agreements to manufacturers, reviewed its last 40 closed opportunities:

Won deals averaged 3.4 engaged roles against 1.9 for lost deals. 26 of the 40 opportunities (65%) started with the buyer contacting Ridgeline, and in win/loss calls 9 of the 25 lost deals said Ridgeline hadn't been on their initial shortlist. Two changes followed: every opportunity worth more than $50,000 needed at least three engaged roles before a proposal, and marketing published the requirement checklists buyers had asked for in solution exploration, so more buyers would meet Ridgeline before the shortlist formed. With samples this small, the pattern is a reason to act, not proof; recheck after two more quarters.

Widely quoted, but use with care

• "B2B buyers are 57% of the way through before contacting a seller." Usually credited to CEB's 2012 research; we couldn't open the original. 6sense's 2025 figure (61%) is newer and documented.
• "77% of B2B buyers say their last purchase was very complex or difficult." Gartner's buying journey page said "more than three-quarters" without a sample or date, and the passage has since been removed.
• "80% of B2B sales interactions will happen in digital channels by 2025." This was a Gartner prediction, not a measurement, and we couldn't open the original.

Next step: map the people you need to reach in each account with the guide to how to find decision makers.