The New Sales Question.

More and more Sales Leaders have recently been asking me privately about the state of sales "out there."

Often, the conversation goes something like this:

"Hey Peter, our sales are down.
Is this also happening to others, or is it just me?"

Luckily, I can reassure them that it’s not just them. Sales are generally down across a broad range of industries and geographies. And then they ask the inevitable follow-up question:

Why Is This Happening?

My explanation is simple, but also alarming:
Your Buyers have changed how they buy.

The sales practices that worked like a charm just a few years ago are no longer effective. Unfortunately, many sales organizations have failed to respond to the shifts in buyer behavior, hanging on to outdated tactics like cold calls, unsolicited emails, and cookie-cutter LinkedIn messages.

The result? Buyers have tuned out. They no longer welcome these interruptions. And that's why sales teams are struggling to hit their targets.

So, What’s Changed? Why Are These Sales Practices Not Working Anymore?

Here’s the hard truth: Buyers never liked being sold to. They may have tolerated it in the past, but those days are over. Buyers today don’t just dislike being sold to — they actively resist it.

The reality is that modern Buyers don’t want to be interrupted by cold outreach. They don’t want to engage in transactional sales conversations. They don’t want to be pitched to, and they certainly don’t want to be pressured into making a decision.

So, How Do Buyers Want To Buy Now?

The simple answer is this:
Buyers want help, not a sales pitch.

Your modern Buyers want to engage with someone who understands their challenges, their industry, and their unique needs. They don’t want to talk to a sales rep who’s only focused on closing a deal. They want to speak to a trusted expert — someone who can guide them through their decision-making process, offer valuable insights, and help them feel confident that they’re making the right choice.

What’s The Solution?

It’s time for a radical shift in how you approach sales. The answer is simple, though it may seem counter-intuitive to many traditional salespeople:

Give your Buyers what they want.
Let them buy the way they want to buy.

It’s no longer about pushing your product or service. It’s about understanding your Buyer’s problems and showing them how you can help solve them. It’s about becoming a partner on their journey, not just another salesperson trying to make quota.

What Does That Look Like In Practice?

Here’s the kicker:
Your Buyers don’t care about what you’re selling, your products, or services.

Equally, they don’t care about your sales process, your pipeline, your forecast, your sales quotas, your deadlines or any other internal metrics.

They care about getting their problems solved.
That’s all!

The reason traditional sales methods are failing is that most of them are centred on the seller, not the Buyer. Cold calls, unsolicited emails and canned LinkedIn messages are all about trying to hit sales targets — but none of that is relevant to modern Buyers. Buyers just aren’t interested in your sales goals; they’re interested in someone solving their burning business problems.

So: Stop Selling. Start Helping. And Address Their Biggest Fear.

To truly connect with today’s Buyers, you need to shift your focus away from selling, and start helping them solve problems. Show them that you’re not just another rep with something to sell, but that you’re someone who understands their world. Show them that you have the expertise to help them solve their problems.

And most importantly, address their biggest fear:
The fear of making a bad decision.

When you understand that your Buyers are most afraid of getting their purchase wrong, you’ll start to see why traditional sales practices don’t work anymore. They just don’t reassure buyers. They don’t help Buyers make informed decisions. Instead, they push them toward a decision they may not be ready to make — and that’s exactly why Buyers are tuning out.

So, Where To From Here?

There is a very simple, free and clear way for you to understand where you can go from here, how you get there, and why you should.

The Takeaway.

The future of modern sales isn’t about pushing harder, or about cold pitching new prospects in ever larger volumes. It’s about pulling back, listening and understanding more, and advising your Buyers. It’s about guiding them through their buying process (even if they don’t know they have one) and helping them feel confident that they’re making the right choice.

And here’s the bottom line:
When you stop selling and start helping your Buyers make the right decision, your results will speak for themselves.

It’s no longer enough to be a good salesperson. You need to be a trusted expert who’s willing to put the Buyer’s needs first. You need to be the person who helps them navigate their challenges, who shows them the right way forward and who ultimately helps them to succeed.

The days of cold calls, hard sells and pushy sales tactics are over. The future of sales is about empathy, expertise, and earning Buyers’ trust.

Show your Buyers that you are firmly on their side, ready to help. Demonstrate that you’re no longer product-led but that you have their best interest at heart, not your own.

Your selling needs to become Buyer-Focused.

Because the future of your sales success depends on it.

Are You Ready?