TL;DR B2B marketing has a listening problem. Most organisations default to broadcast mode, pushing content and chasing leads while the harder work of human connection is sidelined. The brands that invest in real relationships consistently build stronger pipelines and more durable commercial outcomes. This isn’t new advice; it just isn’t followed enough.
WHY REAL CONNECTIONS STILL OUTPERFORM CONTENT
B2B marketing has always leaned toward output over conversation. Campaigns are planned and content is scheduled. Now, with AI tools making it faster and cheaper to produce more of everything, the volume is higher than ever and, for buyers, the noise is relentless. And the more content there is, the more valuable human connection becomes.
The listening problem
Most sales and marketing teams spend much of their time in broadcast mode. Information goes out, the activity is logged and the pipeline stays full enough to feel productive. What gets crowded out is the slower, harder but arguably more valuable work of really listening to customers, understanding their situation, asking questions and carefully considering a response before proposing a solution.
As Stephen Covey observed in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” That’s an accurate description of a lot of B2B sales behaviour.
Organisations under commercial pressure find listening difficult. There are targets and quarterly reviews. Building relationships can feel like a distraction from what gets measured. But in B2B, where a single deal can take months and involve many stakeholders, the quality of the relationship often determines the outcome.
According to 6sense’s 2024 B2B Buyer Experience Report, 78.5% of European buyers reported that their first conversation was with the vendor ultimately selected*1. The relationship – and the trust that underpins it – is therefore being formed before any formal sales process begins.
What ‘meaningful connection’ looks like
The mechanisms for building lasting relationships in B2B are well established: trade exhibitions, conferences, open houses, roadshows, hands-on workshops and customer support programmes. These create space for human exchange, where questions are asked, real challenges are discussed and problems are solved. The format matters less than the intent. A well-prepared, one-to-one call during which a salesperson asks a genuine question and then stops to listen can do more for a relationship than a slick event where no one departs from the script. The approach becomes less about: “This is what we have to sell” and more about: “This is what we’d like to understand about your situation.”
The commercial case for the long game
None of this ignores the commercial objective, but it’s crucial to get the sequence right – consultation before recommendation; understanding before solution.
A comprehensive understanding of a customer’s business produces better recommendations and more sustainable outcomes. It also builds trust, something competitors find hard to replicate. And trust has consequences. The client who feels heard and well advised doesn’t just renew. They refer and even advocate. They give honest feedback that makes your product or service better.
That makes the reverse equally worth noting. 6sense research finds that 73% of B2B buyers actively avoid suppliers that send irrelevant outreach*2. So, broadcasting without relevance isn’t just ignored; it actively damages a vendor’s brand and future pipeline.
How to shift from broadcast to dialogue
A few practical starting points:
- Audit your content ratio. How much of what you produce asks a question versus makes an assertion? If the balance is heavily weighted toward statement, adjust it.
- Build listening into the process. Customer calls and post-project conversations are intelligence-gathering opportunities as well as relationship maintenance.
- Share without an immediate ask. People appreciate a useful market insight or a well-timed introduction. They remember who helped them before there was anything in it for the helper.
- Resist the talk track. A pre-scripted sales conversation can come across as exactly that. A real conversation doesn’t.
- Use digital channels to start conversations. A LinkedIn post that asks an authentic question and engages with the responses is more valuable than one optimised purely for reach.
Final thoughts
The core argument here hasn’t changed since well before 2020: prioritise real connection over selling, and the selling will follow. What has changed is the environment. The volume of marketing content means the bar for true engagement is higher, but then so is its value. The organisations willing to stop talking for long enough to really listen will find it remains one of the most commercially effective things they can do.
*1: 6Sense ‘2024 European B2B Buyer Experience Report’, October 2024
*2: 6Sense ‘Trends in B2B Client Relationships and Trust Building’, March 2025