Ask most salespeople if they understand their customers, and the answer is almost always yes. Yet, the Tack TMI Buyers’ View of Salespeople Report reveals a different story: only 23% of buyers rate recent sales conversations as “excellent” in demonstrating real understanding of their needs. This mismatch between perception and reality is costing opportunities and it’s a wake-up call for every sales professional.
This is Tack TMI’s most comprehensive global study to date. The survey gathered 1,600 responses from decision-makers in 16 countries, spanning middle management, senior management, and business owners. An additional 500 responses were collected through OnePoll to strengthen the dataset. The result is an unparalleled view into how today’s buyers think, act, and choose.
What follows is only a glimpse of its findings. The full report explores six themes in depth. Here, we spotlight three to give you a sense of what buyers are really saying.
Where salespeople are falling short
Building trust and credibility
Trust remains the decisive factor in supplier choice. 42% of buyers say they are more likely to purchase after a face-to-face meeting, and 94% value industry expertise more than price. Yet fewer than one in four buyers feel salespeople demonstrate strong understanding of their needs. The report digs into how credibility is built and lost, and why trust signals matter more than ever.
Communicating effectively across every channel
Buyers research extensively online, yet they still respond strongly to human outreach. Websites are their number one source of supplier information, while phone calls deliver a 56% response rate at early stages. In the full report, Tack TMI explores how these preferences vary by generation and industry, insights that can help you prioritise outreach channels more effectively.
Adapting to complexity in decision-making
Over 40% of buyers say their buying processes have become more complex, with larger committees and shifting priorities. While this article touches on the headline finding, declining service is the number one reason buyers switch providers. The full report unpacks the subtler patterns behind stalled deals and hidden influencers, and what salespeople can do to navigate them.
What this means for you
Salespeople often wonder: Why do deals stall? Why do buyers ghost? Why do some conversations build momentum while others fade away? The Buyers’ View of Salespeople Report offers answers grounded in data.
It shows that customer loyalty is weakening: only 40% of buyers stayed with the same supplier last year. While buyers are better informed, they still expect salespeople to guide them through complexity. It proves that fundamentals like listening, empathy, and credibility are not “soft skills”, they are the very factors that move deals forward.
What you’ve read here is only the surface. The full report reveals six themes in total, each backed by global data and buyer commentary. Together, they create a playbook for sales professionals who want to align with what customers really want.
The path forward
The message from the research is clear. The fundamentals of sales: trust, relationships, and value delivery, remain the foundation. But they must be applied in new ways, balancing digital efficiency with human empathy, and adapting to the growing complexity of decision-making.
For salespeople, this isn’t just theory; it’s a set of insights you can act on immediately. Focus on building credibility, listen actively, adapt to how buyers gather information, and collaborate to reduce risk. The rest – the deeper insights, the breakdowns by sector and buyer profile, the full six themes – lives inside the report.
Rewatch Tack TMI’s webinar “Close Q4 Strong: Buyer signals that move deals” (23 September, 11:00–12:00 BST), hosted by Matthew Loucks and Tack TMI CEO Jim O’Brien.
Download the full Tack TMI Buyers’ View of Salespeople Report (8th Edition) to explore all six themes in detail and discover how to align your sales approach with what customers truly want.
Written by Matthew Loucks, Global Client Director, Tack TMI
Matthew Loucks is Global Client Director at Tack TMI with 20 years in L&D and consultative sales. He’s led teams and carried a multi-million annual quota globally, selling complex, multimodal solutions. Matthew turns buyer insight into plays that win trust and close revenue.