Most founders treat the first call with a new prospect as the start of the sales process. You introduce yourself, ask about their situation and explain how you work. But think about how many of those calls open with “I’ve been following your posts” or “A colleague sent me your article.” The prospect already knows a fair bit about you. In many cases, they’ve already decided you’re the one they want to talk to first.
That quiet stretch before the first call is where a lot of business gets won or lost. And for most founder-led firms, it’s the part of the process they have the least visibility over.
What the research shows
The 6sense 2025 Buyer Experience Report surveyed more than 4,000 B2B buyers across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. It found that buyers now make first contact with a seller around 60% of the way through their buying journey, down from about 70% in the previous two years. By then, 94% of buying groups had already ranked their preferred vendors. They went on to buy from that early favourite 77% of the time.
Gartner’s research points the same way. It found that B2B buyers spend only 17% of their buying time meeting with potential suppliers, and that time is shared across every supplier they’re considering. If you’re one of three firms in the running, you might get 5 or 6% of their attention. The rest goes on research, internal discussion and comparing options.
It’s worth noting that the 6sense study looks at larger purchases, often with buying groups of around 10 people. Your buyer might be a single founder or a small leadership team. The pattern will still feel familiar, though. People form a view of you before they talk to you, and that view is hard to shift once it’s set.
What buyers look for before they call
When someone is weighing up a consultant, an advisory firm or a fractional executive, they usually want answers to a few questions before they reach out:
- Do you understand the problem they’re dealing with?
- Have you solved it for a business like theirs?
- What would it be like to work with you?
- Is your online presence current, or does it look like your last active year was 2022?
They look for those answers across several touchpoints. That includes your LinkedIn profile and posts, your website, a search of your name and a quiet word with anyone they know in common. I cover how referred buyers move through these in What Referrals See Before They Call.
Why this matters more for service firms
A buyer can trial software or read a spec sheet. They can’t test your advice before they pay for it. That means they rely on signals to judge your expertise, such as how you explain a problem, the stories you share about past work and who else trusts you. If those signals are hard to find, the buyer will lean toward a firm whose thinking they could see, even if that firm has less experience than yours.
This is also why the first call often feels like a formality when it goes well. The buyer has done the work of convincing themselves, and the call confirms what they already believe. When a call feels like an uphill pitch from the start, it’s often a sign that the research phase didn’t give them enough to go on.
How to show up in the part you can’t see
You can’t sit in on a buyer’s research, but you can shape what they find. A few places to start:
- Answer the questions buyers ask before they call. Write about the problems you solve, how you approach them and what working with you looks like. How Social Media Supports Business Sales explains how this kind of content helps buyers move toward a decision.
- Show your thinking on a regular rhythm. Buyers often start their research months before they reach out. Regular posts mean you’re already familiar by the time they’re ready. I explain why in Most of Your Market Isn’t Buying Yet.
- Make your proof easy to find. Case studies and client stories help a buyer picture you solving their problem. There’s more on this in Your Client Work Is Your Best Proof.
- Keep your touchpoints consistent. Your profile, website and posts should describe the same services for the same kind of client.
Where to go from here
The first call is where buyers confirm a decision. Your online presence is where much of that decision gets made. If you’re not sure what your social media should focus on to support the research phase, the free Social Media Assessment takes about three minutes and points you to one clear priority, such as buyer education or authority. If you’d like a senior review of what buyers see today, you can book a Visibility Audit and get a written 90-day visibility strategy.
Sources: 6sense, 2025 Buyer Experience Report press release (November 2025); 6sense, The B2B Buyer Experience Report for 2025; iStart, Right info, right channel = happy B2B customer, reporting Gartner research (2018).
