Misalignment kills 40% of B2B deals

Hey, Paige here!

Before we get into today’s best marketing research… 

In today’s release: 

• 71% of hidden buyers never talk to sales—but they still decide who wins the deal

• 40% of B2B deals stall because someone behind the scenes says “no”

• The rise of “invisible influence” inside complex buying groups (and what to do about it)

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DEEP DIVE

There’s someone inside every deal who never books your demo…
Never downloads your eBook…
Never replies to your SDR.
But they absolutely decide whether you win.

This is the hidden buyer—and they’re shaping B2B outcomes in 2025 more than anyone expected.

Who is the hidden buyer?

• They’re not the product user

• They rarely meet with sales (71% say they have little or no interaction)

• But they still consume thought leadership at the same rate as target buyers (63% spend 1+ hr/week)

These are roles like:

➡️ Procurement (risk aversion + cost sensitivity)
➡️ Finance (budget authority + ROI skeptics)
➡️ Legal & Compliance (trust + risk evaluation)
➡️ Ops & IT (integration, scale, disruption)

Their power? Blocking a deal without ever showing up on your radar.

Why hidden buyers are the new X-Factor

40% of deals stall because of internal misalignment

Most vendors only market to the user buyer — but enterprise deals are getting killed in backchannels.

Your champion can be excited. Your product can check every box. Your sales lead might even mark them as a pretty much done-deal with verbal award after verbal award. Yet, those deals stall. 

Because if the hidden buyer doesn’t buy in, nothing moves.

What the data says: 

Here’s what hidden buyers care about most when vetting vendors—and where most B2B marketers miss:

Also worth noting:

• 79% are more likely to advocate during RFPs if your brand consistently produces high-quality thought leadership

• 70% of hidden buyers are more likely to reject vendors who they personally don’t know well

• 52% of hidden influencers say content helps them persuade others inside the org

This isn’t a secondary audience. This is the buyer you win with or lose to. Whether or not you ever get the opportunity to speak with them directly.

How to spot a hidden buyer in the wild

Clues you’re dealing with one:

• They show up late in the deal cycle

• They send “clarifying questions” before procurement (sometimes using the POC as a middleman)

• They don't ask about features, but grill you on risk, integration, pricing, or roadmap

• They influence without authority — but sway final decisions

They rarely follow your funnel, but they absolutely control momentum inside the buying committee.

What to try this week:

→ Pull your last 3 stalled deals—look for behind-the-scenes stakeholders who got involved late

→ Rewrite your next asset to make it useful for someone in finance, ops, or legal

→ Test adding “internal alignment” resources to your nurture track

The takeaway: Your biggest dealbreaker? The person you never marketed to. Winning marketers map full buyer groups, lead with insight, and build content that spreads inside the org.