The Numbers That Shape (and Stall) B2B Deals in 2026

We curate the stats that matter most to revenue teams selling high-consideration solutions and connect each one to a practical path forward.
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Most stat roundups stop at the number. We don't.

B2B revenue teams are drowning in buying behavior statistics but starving for insight they can act on. This page curates the numbers that matter most to teams selling complex, high-consideration solutions, and connects each one to a practical path forward.

The stats tell a story: deals stall because value isn’t defensible, not because sellers aren’t trying.

Each statistic below includes three things:

  • 01 The number with source and year
  • 02 The ValuePros insight, our take on what it means
  • 03 Where to act, a link to the scenario or solution where we help clients respond

Here’s what the data says and what to do about it.

No Decision & Deal Stalls

40 - 60%

of qualified B2B pipeline ends in "no decision," not a competitive loss.

Source

The JOLT Effect, Dixon & McKenna, 2022 [https://www.jolteffect.com/about-the-book]

ValuePros Insight: Your biggest competitor isn’t the company down the street. It’s the status quo. When buyers can’t build internal consensus or defend the investment, they don’t choose someone else. They choose nothing. The antidote isn’t better selling. It’s equipping your champion with a business case the CFO can approve and the buying committee can align around.
  • Act on this:
86%

of B2B purchases stall during the buying process.

Source

Forrester, The State of Business Buying, 2024 [https://www.forrester.com/press-newsroom/forrester-the-state-of-business-buying-2024/]

ValuePros Insight: Stalls aren’t random. They happen when the value story doesn’t travel, when your champion can’t repeat it, when Finance can’t validate it, and when stakeholders aren’t aligned on the problem. The fix isn’t more follow-up. It’s a narrative plus business case designed to survive internal scrutiny.
  • Act on this:
81%

of buyers are dissatisfied with the provider they ultimately chose.

Source

Forrester, The State of Business Buying, 2024 [https://www.forrester.com/press-newsroom/forrester-the-state-of-business-buying-2024/]

ValuePros Insight: Even when deals close, buyers often feel they made the wrong choice. That’s not only a product problem. It’s a buying experience problem. When sellers focus on features instead of outcomes, buyers can’t connect the purchase to the value they expected.
  • Act on this:

Supporting Stats

87% of technology buyers adjusted their buying process to ensure they only bought mission-critical products.

(Source: Forrester, The State of Business Buying, 2024 [https://www.forrester.com/press-newsroom/forrester-the-state-of-business-buying-2024/])

  • Discretionary purchases are shrinking. Every deal needs justification.
ValuePros Insight: Discretionary is dead. Every purchase now requires a clear case for why change is necessary, why the timing is urgent, and why the outcome justifies the cost. If your narrative doesn’t answer all three, you’re not in the mission-critical column.
  • Act on this:

High-friction buying environments reduce purchase likelihood by 43%.

(Source: SBI Growth, The Next Era of Commercial Differentiation, 2024 [https://sbigrowth.com/tools-and-solutions/the-next-era-of-commercial-differentiation])

  • Complexity kills deals. Simplify the path to yes.
ValuePros Insight: Friction kills decisions before Finance even gets involved. The goal isn’t just a better pitch. It’s removing every obstacle between your champion and the approval they need.
  • Act on this:

71% of buyers describe their experience with supplier reps as "frustrating."

(Source: SBI Growth, The Next Era of Commercial Differentiation, 2024 [https://sbigrowth.com/tools-and-solutions/the-next-era-of-commercial-differentiation])

  • Buyers don't need more information. They need clarity and confidence.
ValuePros Insight: Frustration is a signal: buyers are getting information, not insight. The reps who win bring a point of view, not a feature list.
  • Act on this:

70% of buyers worked with so many supplier-side people they weren't sure who everyone was.

(Source: SBI Growth, The Next Era of Commercial Differentiation, 2024 [https://sbigrowth.com/tools-and-solutions/the-next-era-of-commercial-differentiation])

  • Confusion increases risk, and risk creates delay.
ValuePros Insight: When the buying team can’t identify your team, they can’t trust your team. Internal confusion on the seller side compounds risk perception on the buyer side.
  • Act on this:

Buying Committees & Consensus

Deals don't stall because one person said no. They stall because ten people couldn't say yes.

10+

people are involved in a typical B2B buying decision.

Source

6sense, Buyer Experience Report, 2025 [https://6sense.com/science-of-b2b/buyer-experience-report-2025/]

ValuePros Insight: Ten people means ten priorities, ten risk tolerances, and ten ways to say “not yet.” Winning isn’t just convincing the champion. It’s giving the champion a story and business case that aligns everyone else.
  • Act on this:
72%

of B2B buyers report increased complexity in buying decisions.

Source

Demandbase, State of the B2B Buyer Report [https://www.demandbase.com/resources/report/state-of-b2b-buyer/]

ValuePros Insight: Cross-functional buying groups don’t just add people. They add conflicting success metrics. A narrative that only speaks to one function fails to align the others. You need a storyline that connects each stakeholder’s definition of success.
  • Act on this:
52%

of buying groups include decision-makers at VP level or above.

Source

TrustRadius, 2024 B2B Buying Disconnect Report [https://solutions.trustradius.com/vendor-blog/2024-b2b-buying-disconnect-the-year-of-the-brand-crisis/]

ValuePros Insight: Executives don’t want demos. They want business impact, risk of inaction, and a decision they can defend. If your team can’t speak in executive language, deals stall at the last mile.
  • Act on this:

Supporting Stats

Buyers have been through 8-9 prior purchase journeys for the same type of solution.

(Source: 6sense, Buyer Experience Report, 2025 [https://6sense.com/science-of-b2b/buyer-experience-report-2025/])

  • Buyers arrive "pre-decided" but often mis-calibrated on value and risk.
ValuePros Insight: Experienced buyers are harder to impress and faster to spot a weak business case. They’ve seen the ROI promises before. What they haven’t seen is a seller who helps them succeed internally.
  • Act on this:

Information overload is a top driver of decision difficulty for B2B buyers.

(Source: Demandbase, State of the B2B Buyer Report [https://www.demandbase.com/resources/report/state-of-b2b-buyer/])

  • More assets don't help. Better framing does.
ValuePros Insight: More content doesn’t build confidence. A clear, repeatable story does. Your job isn’t to give buyers more to read. It’s to give them one thing they can say out loud to a CFO.
  • Act on this:

Buying decisions increasingly prioritize "confidence" signals (risk reduction, clarity, validation).

(Source: Demandbase, State of the B2B Buyer Report [https://www.demandbase.com/resources/report/state-of-b2b-buyer/])

  • Consensus requires a story plus proof plus defensible economics.
ValuePros Insight: Confidence isn’t a soft outcome. It’s the prerequisite to every signature. When buyers can defend the decision, risk disappears. When they can’t, the deal sits.
  • Act on this:

CFO Scrutiny & Business Cases

When the deal hits Finance, your champion isn't selling your product anymore. They're defending a number.

79%

of B2B purchases require CFO approval.

Source

TrustRadius, 2024 B2B Buying Disconnect Report [https://solutions.trustradius.com/vendor-blog/2024-b2b-buying-disconnect-the-year-of-the-brand-crisis/]

ValuePros Insight: CFOs aren’t buying features. They’re approving a business case someone else must defend. If that case isn’t credible, deals stall or shrink. The question is: can your champion defend the number without you in the room?
  • Act on this:
Only 38%

of CEOs report having the right data and insights to achieve their commercial goals.

Source

SBI Growth, The Next Era of Commercial Differentiation, 2024 [https://sbigrowth.com/tools-and-solutions/the-next-era-of-commercial-differentiation]

ValuePros Insight: Executives are flying blind. Sellers who bring credible, pressure-tested scenarios don’t just win deals. They earn trust. The bar isn’t “better than competitors.” It’s “better than the noise.”
  • Act on this:
57%

of global B2B buyers expect ROI within three months of a software purchase.

Source

G2, 2025 Buyer Behavior Report [https://learn.g2.com/2025-g2-buyer-behavior-report]

ValuePros Insight: Buyers are scrutinizing the payback window. If the story says “value later,” CFOs hear “risk now.” You need to quantify early wins and de-risk time-to-impact, not just long-term upside.
  • Act on this:

Supporting Stats

41% of buyers say a C-suite executive (including CFO) is ultimately responsible for purchase sign-off.

(Source: G2, 2024 Buyer Behavior Report [https://learn.g2.com/hubfs/2024-buyer-behavior-report.pdf])

  • If you're not selling at the top, you're not selling where decisions happen.
ValuePros Insight: If you’re building your case for the champion but not for the CFO reviewing it, you’re building for the wrong audience. Work backward from the approval criteria, not forward from the product benefits.
  • Act on this:

74% of executive buyers choose the salesperson who was first to add value and insight.

(Source: Forrester, The State of Business Buying, 2024 [https://www.forrester.com/press-newsroom/forrester-the-state-of-business-buying-2024/])

  • Early insight wins. Late discovery loses.
ValuePros Insight: First to frame the problem wins. Late discovery means you’re reacting to a narrative someone else set. Executive trust is built early, before the business case, not during it.
  • Act on this:

Ecosystems are projected to drive approximately $100T in annual revenue by 2030.

(Source: McKinsey, Growth and Resilience Through Ecosystem Building, 2023 [https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/growth-and-resilience-through-ecosystem-building])

  • "Partner plus ROI" becomes a CFO conversation, not a channel conversation.
ValuePros Insight: Ecosystem economics are becoming CFO-level conversations. Partners aren’t just a channel play. They’re a value multiplier that needs to show up in the business case.
  • Act on this:

Value Messaging & Differentiation

Most differentiation doesn't stick. Features blur. ROI claims sound the same. When your champion repeats your pitch internally, it often comes out generic.

Only 45%

of sellers and buyers align on the core problem after discovery.

Source

Emblaze, 2024 via Corporate Visions [https://corporatevisions.com/blog/b2b-buying-behavior-statistics-trends/]

ValuePros Insight: This isn’t just a listening gap. It’s a framing gap. When sellers and buyers aren’t aligned on the problem, they can’t align on the solution. Misaligned deals don’t close. They stall.
  • Act on this:
+38%

higher win rate when buyers and sellers agree on the problem.

Source

Emblaze, 2024 via Corporate Visions [https://corporatevisions.com/blog/b2b-buying-behavior-statistics-trends/]

ValuePros Insight: Problem alignment is a revenue lever. When buyers and sellers agree on what’s broken, stakeholders align faster and approvals happen with less friction.
  • Act on this:
65%

of sales and marketing content goes unused.

Source

Spekit summary citing Forrester [https://www.spekit.com/blog/sales-enablement-statistics-trends]

ValuePros Insight: Content isn’t the problem. Usability in live conversations is. Your best assets should be built for real deal moments and for internal buyer circulation.
  • Act on this:

Supporting Stats

Buyers rate winners higher on delivery confidence factors like fit, implementation ease, integration, and support.

(Source: Corporate Visions, Buyer Priorities vs. Sales Performance, 2025 [https://corporatevisions.com/blog/b2b-buying-behavior-statistics-trends/])

  • CFOs are buying confidence in delivery, not just outcomes.
ValuePros Insight: Differentiation doesn’t happen at the feature level. It happens at the confidence level. Buyers choose sellers who make them feel certain they’ll succeed, not just sellers with the best specs.
  • Act on this:

Word-of-mouth and peer proof consistently outrank vendor claims in influence.

(Source: Wynter, B2B Buyer Journey Research, 2024 [https://wynter.com/post/how-b2b-saas-marketing-leaders-buy-software-in-2024])

  • Proof and social validation matter more than claims.
ValuePros Insight: Your message is only as strong as what buyers say about you when you’re not in the room. Winning teams equip champions with a story and proof points, so the right narrative travels.
  • Act on this:

High-friction buying environments reduce purchase likelihood by 43%.

(Source: SBI Growth, The Next Era of Commercial Differentiation, 2024 [https://sbigrowth.com/tools-and-solutions/the-next-era-of-commercial-differentiation])

  • Differentiation doesn't land when the path to yes is too hard.
ValuePros Insight: Differentiation only lands when the path to yes is clear. A great message inside a confusing buying process still loses.
  • Act on this:

Partner & Ecosystem GTM

Partner-sourced deals can close faster, win more often, and land bigger. But most partner programs suffer from "Partnership Drift": leaders align on intent, but execution never activates.

32% larger + 2.8x

partner-attributed deals are larger and win more often than direct deals.

Source

Introw, Partner Sales / Ecosystem Research, 2024 [https://www.introw.io/blog/partner-deals-have-a-bigger-deal-size-and-higher-win-rate]

ValuePros Insight: Partners don’t just source leads. They source better leads. But the advantage only materializes when both companies align on joint value plus buyer-defensible economics.

  • Act on this:
+53% win rate, +46% faster

partner-sourced deals win more often and close faster.

Source

Crossbeam, State of the Partner Ecosystem Report, 2023 [https://insider.crossbeam.com/entry/the-state-of-the-partner-ecosystem-2023]

ValuePros Insight: Speed is the partner moat. The winners activate joint motions in weeks, not quarters, with shared narrative, shared economics, and seller readiness.
  • Act on this:

Approximately

100T

ecosystems are projected to drive approximately $100T in annual revenue by 2030.

Source

McKinsey, Growth and Resilience Through Ecosystem Building, 2023 [https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/growth-and-resilience-through-ecosystem-building]

ValuePros Insight: Ecosystem orchestration isn’t a channel tactic. It’s a strategic moat. The question isn’t whether to invest. It’s whether you can activate fast enough to matter.
  • Act on this:

Supporting Stats

67% of B2B partner ecosystem leaders expect indirect revenue to grow more than 30% above prior year levels in 2025.

(Source: Forrester, State of B2B Partner Ecosystems, 2025 [https://www.forrester.com/report/the-state-of-b2b-partner-ecosystems-2025/RES182126])

  • Partner maturity correlates with growth rate.
ValuePros Insight: Indirect revenue is no longer a supplementary channel — it’s a board-level growth strategy. If your partner motion isn’t tied to a value narrative, you’re leaving compounding returns on the table.
  • Act on this:

Only 28% of partner programs include formal certification pathways.

(Source: Continu, Partner Enablement Statistics 2026 [https://www.continu.com/research/partner-enablement-statistics])

  • Most partner programs fail at enablement. That's the opportunity.
ValuePros Insight: Most partner programs are built on hope, not enablement. The 28% that invest in structured certification are generating the disproportionate share of partner-sourced revenue.
  • Act on this:

Partner-delivered IT services exceeded $3.4T in 2023, accounting for more than 70% of the global IT market.

(Source: Canalys, via Continu Partner Enablement Statistics, 2026 [https://www.continu.com/research/partner-enablement-statistics])

  • Partner readiness is a velocity lever.
ValuePros Insight: At $3.4T, partner-delivered IT is not a niche channel — it’s the dominant one. The question isn’t whether to build a partner motion. It’s whether yours is equipped to compete in it.
  • Act on this:

Sales Enablement & Execution

You can have the right narrative and business case and still lose if execution breaks down. Enablement fails when sellers can't use it in the moment that matters.

65%

of sales and marketing content goes unused.

Source

Spekit summary citing Forrester [https://www.spekit.com/blog/sales-enablement-statistics-trends]

ValuePros Insight: Enablement isn’t about producing more content. It’s about creating assets sellers can actually use in the exact conversations that drive buying decisions.
  • Act on this:
83%

of sales leaders say teams struggle to adapt to changing buyer needs.

Source

Gartner, Sales Enablement Leadership Vision, 2024 [https://www.gartner.com/en/sales/trends/sales-enablement-leadership-vision]

ValuePros Insight: Buyers changed. The playbook didn’t. Enablement must evolve from “training sellers” to “equipping sellers for the buyer they’re actually facing.”
  • Act on this:
70%

of buyers worked with so many supplier-side people they weren't sure who everyone was.

Source

SBI Growth, The Next Era of Commercial Differentiation, 2024 [https://sbigrowth.com/tools-and-solutions/the-next-era-of-commercial-differentiation]

ValuePros Insight: Handoffs kill trust. Enablement must make the story consistent across roles, from SDR to AE to SE, so value doesn’t mutate.

  • Act on this:

Supporting Stats

Only 45% of sellers and buyers align on the problem after discovery.

(Source: Emblaze, 2024 via Corporate Visions [https://corporatevisions.com/blog/b2b-buying-behavior-statistics-trends/])

  • Discovery isn't working. Teams need better frameworks.
ValuePros Insight: Discovery isn’t broken because sellers don’t listen. It’s broken because they don’t have a framework for aligning on the right problem. Enablement should give them that framework, not just talking points.
  • Act on this:

High-friction buying environments reduce purchase likelihood by 43%.

(Source: SBI Growth, The Next Era of Commercial Differentiation, 2024 [https://sbigrowth.com/tools-and-solutions/the-next-era-of-commercial-differentiation])

  • Waiting, wandering, and internal confusion is what kills deals.
ValuePros Insight: Sellers can’t control buying committee politics. They can control whether the assets, the business case, and the story make the committee’s job easier or harder.
  • Act on this:

74% of executive buyers choose the seller who first delivers insight.

(Source: Forrester, The State of Business Buying, 2024 [https://www.forrester.com/press-newsroom/forrester-the-state-of-business-buying-2024/])

  • Enablement must help teams lead with insight early.
ValuePros Insight: Enablement must move upstream. If sellers are leading with demos instead of insights in executive meetings, your enablement program isn’t doing its job.
  • Act on this:

How AI Helps (Without the Hype)

AI is changing how statistics get compiled, analyzed, and applied, but not in the way most vendors claim.

Where AI adds value:

  • Stat discovery: scanning large report sets quickly
  • Pattern recognition: spotting correlations that predict stalls
  • Personalization: tailoring insights by segment, deal size, or persona

Where AI falls short:

  • Interpretation: finding numbers isn't the same as knowing what to do
  • Action: stats don't close deals, systems and execution do

The ValuePros approach: We use AI to accelerate research and surface patterns, but every insight reflects experience helping revenue teams win complex decisions.

Quick Answers

Why do so many B2B deals end in "no decision"?

Deals stall when buyers can’t build internal consensus or defend the investment. The value story doesn’t travel: champions can’t repeat it, Finance can’t validate it, and stakeholders aren’t aligned on the problem.

10+ stakeholders on average across IT, finance, ops, and end users. Complexity increases consensus risk and slows decisions. (Source: 6sense, Buyer Experience Report, 2025 [https://6sense.com/science-of-b2b/buyer-experience-report-2025/])

79% of purchases require CFO approval, which means most complex deals need a defensible business case, not just a compelling demo. (Source: TrustRadius, 2024 B2B Buying Disconnect Report [https://solutions.trustradius.com/vendor-blog/2024-b2b-buying-disconnect-the-year-of-the-brand-crisis/])

Because buyers and sellers often don’t even agree on the problem to solve, and that misalignment drives stalls. (Source: Emblaze, 2024 via Corporate Visions [https://corporatevisions.com/blog/b2b-buying-behavior-statistics-trends/])

Yes. Partner-sourced deals win more often and close faster. But the advantage only materializes with joint value clarity and seller readiness. (Source: Partner2B / Ebsta [https://partner2b.com/resources/partner-sourced-selling-report/])

Because it doesn’t fit the conversation. Effective enablement creates assets sellers can use in the moment, with the buyer, under pressure. (Source: Spekit summary citing Forrester [https://www.spekit.com/blog/sales-enablement-statistics-trends])

Stats Don't Close Deals. Defensible Value Does.

These numbers reveal why deals stall and what it takes to win. If you’re ready to move from insight to action, let’s talk about how ValuePros can help your team make value clear enough for buyers to defend internally.

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