Observed Signal · Jul 6, 2026 · Analysis · Source: https://martech.org/feed/ · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
Hidden Forces Shaping B2B Buying Decisions
The article argues that B2B buying is not purely rational and is heavily shaped by organizational and personal forces often ignored by sales and marketing. It introduces the concept of the "hidden buyer journey" — the internal organizational path that determines outcomes — and lists influences such as politics, fear, timing, precedent, corporate culture and competing priorities. The piece stresses that buyers present a work persona distinct from their personal identity and highlights behavioral profiling (DISC profiling, now described as enhanced with AI) as a useful framework. Based on nearly a decade of cross‑industry research, the author recommends that go‑to‑market teams map the invisible organizational context and behavioral styles to improve decision velocity and win rates. The article was published on MarTech on 2026-07-06 and authored by Scott Gillum, Founder & CEO of Carbon Design.
Practical thought leadership for B2B go-to-market teams; useful framing for marketers but no product, policy, or industry‑shifting announcement.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Article published on MarTech on 2026-07-06 (metadata timestamp 2026-07-06T12:26:00+00:00).
- Author: Scott Gillum, Founder & CEO of Carbon Design.
- Introduces the concept of the "hidden buyer journey" — internal organizational dynamics that shape buying outcomes.
- Identifies organizational forces that affect B2B purchases: politics, fear, timing, precedent, corporate culture and competing priorities.
- Recommends behavioral frameworks such as DISC profiling (noting it is now enhanced with AI) and cites nearly a decade of research across 15 industries.
Connected Companies & Entities
4 Entities mapped“MarTech is owned by Semrush....”
“Prior to founding Carbon Design, he was the President of the Washington, DC office for Merkle (a Dentsu agency), the world’s largest B2B age...”
“Prior to founding Carbon Design, he was the President of the Washington, DC office for Merkle (a Dentsu agency), the world’s largest B2B age...”
“Scott has been a member of the Gartner for Marketing Leaders Council and he writes a monthly column for several publications on business mar...”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
B2B Personas Fail Without First‑Party Buyer Intelligence
Michael McGoldrick, global VP of marketing at pharosIQ, and CEO Jeffrey Rokuskie argue that static PowerPoint personas and inferred third‑party intent are insufficient for driving commercial outcomes in B2B marketing. As AI fragments buying journeys and obscures decision-makers, they recommend shifting to contact‑level, first‑party buyer intelligence to identify who inside buying groups is engaging with campaigns. They contend that creative work performs better when informed by observed buyer behaviour rather than broad assumptions or modelled audiences, and that first‑party observations and contact-level engagement provide the confidence needed to improve activation and pipeline generation.
AI Scales B2B Sales, But Humans Build Trust
The article argues that while AI and automation can scale three of four B2B selling relationship types, only human-to-human selling reliably builds trust and closes complex deals. It defines four selling relationship categories—machine-to-machine, machine-to-human, human-to-machine, and human-to-human—explaining the strengths and limits of each. Automated systems excel at efficient, transactional interactions (renewals, replenishment) and at shaping early impressions, but they cannot capture buyers' hidden motivations, personalities or personal risk. The author, Scott Gillum (Founder & CEO, Carbon Design), urges sales organizations to preserve and invest in human-to-human interactions as a sustainable competitive advantage in the age of AI. The piece is adapted from the upcoming book “The Hidden Buyer Journey.”
Mastering Language and Signals: B2B's Go-To-Market Edge
The article argues that in B2B purchasing the vendor that shapes buyers’ language and understands causal reasons for purchase wins before formal evaluation begins. Citing Daniel Kahneman’s System 1/System 2 framework and industry research (6sense’s 2025 Buyer Experience Report, Forrester), it claims most enterprise deals are decided before the funnel and that marketing lost strategic ownership by ceding customer research and measurement to product, sales and finance. The author introduces a 4S Framework (state, scale, system, signal), saying durable go-to-market advantage comes from owning 'state' (category language) and 'signal' (why revenue happens). With AI automating execution, the piece recommends marketing reclaim strategic research and measurement that tie programs to revenue.
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