AI-Driven Marketer: Master AI Marketing To Stand Out In 2026 AI Can Find Your Buyers. Only You Can Earn Their Trust
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Nov 13, 2025 Kerry Cunningham, Head of Research & Thought Leadership at 6sense, shares invaluable insights on B2B buyer behavior in this engaging discussion. He reveals that buyers often create decision shortlists much earlier than expected, emphasizing the critical need for timely engagement. The conversation touches on the importance of understanding buyer stages and the necessity for marketers to focus on early-stage buyers. Additionally, Kerry advocates for using AI to identify in-market accounts and crafting role-specific content to effectively influence decision-makers.
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Where Buyers Live In The Funnel
- At any snapshot, ~60% of ICP are not in market and roughly 30% are in early persuadable stages.
- Predictive models of buying signals let you know which accounts are actively worth attention now.
Shortlists Are Decided Far Earlier
- Buyers create a four-vendor shortlist on day one of their 10-month journey and those four win 95% of the time.
- If you're not on that early shortlist you have almost no chance to win the deal that cycle.
Sales Can Sway Preference More Than Decisions
- Preferred vendor can change during seller interactions but the final decision changes far less often (42% vs 23%).
- Sales influence matters, but it rarely flips the ultimate buying decision once group consensus forms.