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The Sense-Making Seller: Moving from Information Provider to Strategic Advisor

In today’s B2B landscape, buyers face a paradox; they have access to more high-quality information than ever before, yet this abundance of data has made decision-making increasingly difficult. According to Gartner research, B2B customers now spend only 17% of their purchase process talking to potential suppliers, dedicating the rest to independent research.

The impact on sales outcomes is stark:

  • Customers who are overwhelmed by information are 54% less likely to make a high-quality purchase.
  • Those encountering trustworthy but contradictory information are 66% less likely to complete a significant deal.
  • Buyers facing conflicting vendor comparisons are 33% less likely to make a confident decision.

These statistics reveal a critical truth; the challenge is not information quality (90% of buyers find the information they encounter to be high quality)—it is information synthesis.

Addressing the Sales Training Gap

As we explored in our previous post on the evolution of B2B sales, traditional sales training programs are falling critically short in preparing sellers for this new reality. The disconnect is clear:

  • Traditional sales methodologies focus on discovery questions and product positioning—approaches that only worked when sellers were primary information sources.
  • Legacy sales training content remains locked in rigid, outdated frameworks that do not reflect today’s data-driven buying environment.
  • Most existing training programs teach “telling” or “giving” approaches, despite clear evidence that these methods are far less effective than “sense-making.”

This gap between traditional sales training and modern buying behavior represents both a challenge and an opportunity. Organizations need fresh, innovative sales methodologies that:

  • Embed sense-making principles into their core approach
  • Provide flexible, adaptable frameworks for information synthesis
  • Enable sellers to guide rather than direct customer decisions
  • Integrate seamlessly with modern sales technology and data analysis tools

Three Approaches to Sales Information

There are three distinct approaches that sellers use to share information with their customers. Let’s take a closer look at the methods and success rates for each technique.

The Giving Approach

Sellers who use the giving method adopt a “more is better” mentality in which they generously share data, white papers, and product specs with the customers. The problem with this approach is that the seller often overwhelms the customer with too much information, making their buying decisions more difficult. Our research reveals that only 30% of customers complete high-quality purchases when this technique is used.

The Telling Approach

The telling technique relies heavily on personal opinion; sellers focus on providing direct advice and recommendations based on their experiences. While this approach is far more successful—achieving a 50% success rate in high-quality purchases—it often fails to build true customer confidence, since sellers are relying more on intuition than hard facts.

The Sense-Making Approach

Sense-making sellers assume the role of advisor, helping their customers organize, simplify, and make sense of information. The goal here is to guide their customers through the buying process, rather than offering direct recommendations. This technique achieves an impressive 80% success rate in high-quality purchases.

As you can see, sense-making selling is ideally suited to the needs of the modern buyer. However, for this technique to be successful, sellers must take the time to forge relationships with their buyers.



The Two Critical Metrics of Sense-Making Selling

Success in sense-making selling hinges on two key factors: confidence and trust. Customers must feel confident in their ability to make the right buying choices. Sellers can help build this confidence by asking the right questions and identifying consistent patterns in their purchase history. While this may require some additional research, the results speak for themselves—high-confidence customers are 157% more likely to complete significant purchases!

The second critical aspect of sense-making selling is establishing a sense of trust between the buyer and the seller. Customers who doubt a seller’s claims are 1.6 times less likely to make high-quality purchases. Salespeople can help build trust by serving as advisors. This means being open and honest about their limitations and providing objective guidance, which enables customers to reach their own conclusions.

The Three Pillars of Sense-Making

While the sense-making approach has proven to be highly effective, it requires salespeople to make a significant shift in their mindset and methods. There are three pillars that sellers should focus on to successfully make this transformation.

1. Connecting

Trust is one of the critical components of sense-making selling. To establish this trust, sellers must forge connections with their customers. They can accomplish this by:

  • Carefully curating relevant information for their customers
  • Admitting their personal knowledge limitations when appropriate
  • Creating opportunities for collaborative discovery
  • Focusing on utility and clarity over comprehensiveness

2. Clarifying

Clarifying is another critical component of sense-making selling. With so much information at their fingertips, customers can quickly become overwhelmed. Sellers can empower customers to make the right buying decisions by:  

  • Helping customers ask the right questions
  • Explaining complex concepts in simple terms
  • Providing context that clarifies contradictory information
  • Creating coherent narratives from scattered data

3. Collaborating

Sense-making selling is a collaboration between seller and buyer. Salespeople can help foster this relationship by:  

  • Using a Socratic approach to pose critical questions that guide learning
  • Encouraging buyers to practice independent verification
  • Providing frameworks for better decision-making
  • Empowering customers to reach their own conclusions

Redefining the Relationship Between Sellers and Buyers

The future of B2B sales isn’t about having all the answers—it is about helping customers make sense of the answers they already have. Successful sellers are moving from information providers to sense-makers, guiding customers through complexity to confidence. This transformation requires new approaches, new methodologies, and new training paradigms that break free from traditional sales training limitations to actively involve buyers in the process.

If you’re looking to increase revenue, create shorter sales cycles, and build customer loyalty, GP Strategies can help. Learn more about how our sales training experts can empower your salespeople through custom training solutions.

About the Authors

Tony Zanger
Tony Zanger is a Senior Director of Sales at GP Strategies. With over 32 years of experience, Tony has consistently been a top performer in selling equipment, outsourcing, and services across various industries. He has successfully led sales teams, implemented effective sales methodologies, authored training programs, and built partnerships that have generated millions in incremental revenue. Tony has worked with some of the world’s largest companies to help them improve their results. His passion lies in assisting organizations in creating and implementing their unique selling methodologies, while also helping individual contributors master their skills. He combines sales fundamentals, data-driven insights, and a commitment to excellence to empower sales professionals to reach their full potential.

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