How Professional Services Buyers Actually Make Decisions: What Two Major Studies Reveal

Two major research studies this year point to the same conclusion: the way most firms pursue business development is backwards.

The Day One Shortlist Problem

The 6sense 2025 Buyer Experience Report surveyed 4,000+ B2B buyers (roughly a third from professional services firms) and found that 94% rank their preferred vendors before first contact with sellers. The Day One Shortlist now captures 95% of eventual wins.

By the time a buyer reaches out, the competition is essentially over. The vendor contacted first wins 80% of deals.

And it's not about persuasion. When researchers isolated the 6% of buyers who hadn't ranked their shortlist before engaging sellers, the first vendor contacted won only 57% of the time. If sales conversations were highly persuasive, that number would be much higher.

The Trusted Advisor Paradox

Separate research from DCM Insights, this one specific to professional services, studied nearly 3,000 partner-level professionals across law, accounting, consulting, and investment banking. They identified five distinct business development approaches and found that four of them, representing 78% of professionals, are negatively correlated with performance.

The classic "trusted advisor" approach (building deep relationships, delivering exceptional service, waiting for clients to recognize they have a need) was among the underperformers.

Why? The 6sense data explains it: 85% of buyers have prior experience with the winning vendor, but that prior relationship doesn't translate to earlier engagement. Buyers with existing seller relationships still report first contact 10 percentage points later than those without.

Good work and strong relationships are table stakes. They no longer guarantee you'll make the shortlist.

What Actually Works

The only approach positively correlated with performance was what DCM calls the "Activator" profile. These professionals don't wait for clients to call. They proactively bring ideas about ways to make money, save money, or mitigate risk. They treat business development as a consistent routine. 90% reserve time for it weekly.

Most critically, they build relationships before buying journeys begin. The 6sense data validates this: 70-90% of buyers personally know sellers from vendor organizations before the journey starts.

The SDR Illusion

Both studies agree: aggressive outreach doesn't work. 6sense found that SDR/BDR outreach plays "minimal role" in influencing when buyers engage. Buyers deliberately ignore unsolicited contact until ready.

The DCM research found the same pattern. Most professionals pursue sporadic, reactive business development. Long periods of inactivity punctuated by frantic RFP responses. By the time the RFP arrives, the winner is usually already chosen.

What Proactive Engagement Actually Looks Like

It's not aggressive outreach or spam. It's consistent, value-driven contact that builds relationships before buying journeys begin.

Consistent rhythm, not episodic campaigns. Activators protect time for business development weekly. One partner maps out activities every Sunday night. Another uses her train commute to send targeted messages. The amount of time matters less than the consistency.

Proactive insight, not empty check-ins. One law partner spends mornings reviewing tax court decisions, then identifies clients for whom those rulings represent an opportunity or threat. His clients know that when they hear from him, it's not spam. He has something relevant. Nearly 60% of top performers regularly reach out with regulatory changes, economic indicators, or trends. Only 34% of average performers do this.

Connect clients to value, not just to you. Activators act as connectors, introducing clients to colleagues and experts, even without immediate payoff. One executive search partner connects executives she places with industry experts who can coach them through transitions. She doesn't bill for it. Those executives remember who had their backs.

Support personal goals, not just business objectives. The most differentiating value isn't business impact (others claim that too) or trust (table stakes). It's supporting what clients are trying to accomplish personally: advancing careers, developing teams, making them look good internally.

Engage before the RFP. In a market where more business goes through formalized purchasing, top performers get ahead of the process. 73% prefer to proactively suggest opportunities to work together, compared to 36% of average performers.

As one firm CEO put it: "Billable work determines compensation this year. Unpaid efforts determine compensation next year."

What This Means for Your Firm

Buyers form preferences before engaging sellers. You must be known and trusted during the Selection Phase. That means consistent presence, not episodic campaigns.

Prior relationships don't guarantee engagement. Good work in the past doesn't mean you'll make the shortlist next time.

Proactive value creation beats responsive service. Professionals who bring ideas to clients, not just respond to needs, outperform by up to 32%.

The 6sense report puts it bluntly: "You must become the preferred vendor during Selection. You must aggressively enable without expectation of immediate results."

Don't Take My Word For It

These findings can be difficult to accept. They challenge assumptions most firms have operated on for decades.

If you're skeptical, there's a simple way to verify: ask your clients directly. Not satisfaction surveys. Voice of the Client interviews that explore how and why they selected you.

Most firms conduct client feedback to measure satisfaction. Few ask the harder questions: How did you first hear about us? Who else did you consider? When did you decide we were the frontrunner? What would have disqualified us?

The answers are often surprising. Clients will tell you they'd decided on your firm before the first meeting. Or that a competitor was the early favorite until something shifted. Or that a referral from three years ago is why you got the call.

This intelligence is essential for aligning your go-to-market strategy with how clients actually buy, not how you assume they buy.

Want to Learn How Your Clients Actually Choose You?

I conduct Voice of the Client research for professional services firms. These are structured interviews with your clients and prospects that uncover how they really make decisions. The insights often reshape how firms think about growth.

If you'd like to discuss what this research might reveal for your firm, schedule a conversation.

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