67 % of B2B buyers want to proceed without a sales representative – what does this mean for websites?

The B2B purchasing process is increasingly taking place before the first discussion with a sales representative. According to a study published by Gartner in 2026, 67 per cent of B2B buyers prefer a purchasing process that does not involve a sales representative. Buyers want to research information, compare options and form their own view of the right solution independently.

This places a new demand on websites. It should be possible to help the buyer move forward even when they are not yet ready to get in touch.

Nevertheless, many B2B websites effectively offer visitors just two options: read more or get in touch.

It is precisely in between these two that one of the most interesting opportunities in the B2B purchasing process lies.

The B2B purchasing process begins even before the salesperson gets involved

A potential customer may not necessarily visit the company’s website at the start of their purchasing journey. They may have searched for information on Google, asked an AI, read about other people’s experiences and compared options even before their first visit.

By the time they finally arrive on the website, they may already have a fairly good understanding of their problem and the options available on the market. However, they may not necessarily know which of this particular company’s solutions would be suitable for their situation.

At this point, the website should be able to do more than just provide further reading.

In a Gartner survey, B2B buyers reported using an average of seven different sources of information during their most recent purchase. In another Gartner survey from 2026, 70 per cent of B2B buyers said they preferred a fully digital, self-service-based purchasing experience.

So the buyer wants to proceed independently. However, that does not mean that they want to do all the work themselves.

Providing information is not the same as helping

Companies have invested heavily in online content. Their websites feature service descriptions, client testimonials, articles, guides, videos and frequently asked questions. Good content remains important, but the sheer volume of information alone does not solve the buyer’s problem.

Let’s imagine a visitor who is trying to work out which of your five services would be best suited to their business. You could provide them with five excellent service pages and ask them to compare them with one another. Or you could ask a few key questions and help them find the most suitable option.

In the first case, the website provides information. In the second, it provides a service.

The website provides the following information: “Here are our options.”

The user-friendly website asks: “What are you trying to solve? We’ll help you find the right solution.”

This difference is minor in terms of the user interface, but significant in terms of the customer experience.

What happens between ‘Read more’ and ‘Contact us’?

On many B2B websites, there is still a clear gap in the customer journey. Visitors can read about the services, find out about the company and browse references. When they are ready to take the next step, they are offered the option to request a quote, book an appointment or get in touch.

But what can they do if they’ve already taken an interest but aren’t yet ready to speak to the salesperson?

It is precisely in this space that a more active layer can be built.

A product selector can help you find the right option. A needs assessment can help identify what sort of solution is required. A calculator can help you quantify costs or benefits. The Chooser can recommend a suitable service based on your answers. A personalised content path can guide visitors with different needs to different content.

They all work on the same principle: the visitor does something and the website responds to it.

Rather than visitors having to find the right path themselves, the website helps them to build it.

A good website does some of the same things as a good salesperson

A good salesperson does not begin a meeting with a customer by presenting everything the company has to offer. They first seek to understand the customer’s situation.

What are you trying to sort out? What’s the most important thing? What is the need? What is your timeframe?

Only then is it worth discussing a solution.

The website can already do some of this before the first conversation. It can ask a few relevant questions and use the answers to guide the experience.

In this case, interactivity is not just a gimmick added to a website. It is a digital service.

At the same time, the benefits flow both ways. Visitors receive content that is more relevant to them, and the company learns what visitors need. If a visitor later provides their contact details, the sales team can gain not only their name and email address but also context as to why they are interested.

Your first sales conversation doesn’t have to start from scratch.

The buyer wants to take the lead, but doesn’t want to be left on their own

The 67 per cent survey result does not mean that B2B buyers never want to speak to a salesperson. Another Gartner survey from 2026 paints an interesting picture: although 70 per cent prefer fully digital self-service, 69 per cent turn to a sales representative to validate information generated by artificial intelligence.

This highlights a key aspect of the modern B2B purchasing process. The buyer wants to be in control of the process, but there is still a place for human expertise.

A salesperson’s value increases when they are able to address the customer’s specific situation during the conversation, assess the suitability of the options and help them make a decision.

So the website doesn’t need to replace the salesperson. It should do a better job than the salesperson.

The purpose of a website is to reduce friction in the purchasing process

B2B purchasing is often complex in itself. There are many options, solutions can be difficult to compare, and the decision often involves several people. A website should not make this process any more difficult.

That should reduce friction.

If there are lots of options, help them narrow down the choices. If the differences between services are hard to understand, help them compare them. If the benefit is abstract, make it more concrete using a calculator. If the visitor doesn’t know which solution is right for them, ask about their situation and recommend an option.

This also changes the way we think about website conversion. The aim is not to get every visitor to fill in a quote request form as quickly as possible. The aim is to help the visitor take the next step that is right for their situation.

Sometimes it’s a request for a quote. Sometimes it’s getting a recommendation, doing a calculation or finding the right solution.

Interactivity is not the aim – progress is

When talking about interactive websites, it’s easy to focus on the technology: quizzes, surveys, decision trees, calculators, artificial intelligence or personalisation.

However, it is not worth adding them to a website simply to make it more interactive.

A better question is:

At what stage of the B2B purchasing process does a visitor need help to move forward?

Once this issue has been identified, we can consider which solution would be most effective in addressing it.

Good logic can be very simple indeed:

Tell us what you need → get a relevant recommendation → find out more about the solution → proceed when you’re ready.

This is website activation in practice. Alongside passive content, experiences are created in which visitors can participate and the site responds to their choices.

What can a visitor do on your website before getting in touch?

It’s worth taking a moment to look at your company’s website from the perspective of a potential customer. Imagine that you’re interested, but don’t want to speak to a sales representative just yet.

Can you work out which solution is right for your situation? Does the website help you compare the options? Can you describe your needs and receive a relevant recommendation? Can you assess the cost or benefits of the solution? Can you easily identify the next step without having to leave your contact details?

Or would you rather just read on?

This is where B2B websites have a great opportunity. Buyers are prepared to proceed independently, but websites need to provide them with better tools to do so.

67 per cent of B2B buyers want to proceed without a sales representative. If your website only offers them the options ‘Read more’ and ‘Get in touch’, there is a lot of untapped potential in between.

With SuperQuest, you can build interactive customer experiences such as decision trees, needs assessments, calculators and personalised content paths. The aim is not to add interactivity to the website for its own sake, but to help visitors find the right solution and progress through the B2B purchasing process.

Sources: Gartner – 67 per cent of B2B buyers prefer a rep-free experience and Gartner – B2B buyers turn to sales reps to validate AI-generated insights.