Many B2B teams assume that when a deal stalls or disappears, a competitor has stepped in. In reality, that is often not the case. Deals frequently collapse because the buying group cannot reach a confident decision.
In a recent conversation with Shimon Ben Ayoun, co-founder of SPOTONVISION, Barbara Stewart, Customer Experience Expert at Propolis, explored why internal misalignment within buying groups has become one of the most significant barriers to closing complex B2B opportunities.
When the problem is not sales execution
According to Stewart, many stalled deals are misdiagnosed as sales execution issues. In practice, the root cause often sits within the buyer organisation itself.
As she explains:
“The buying group wasn’t fully aligned, fully ready or there’s fear.”
When teams are ghosted late in the sales cycle, the immediate reaction is often to question messaging, follow-up cadence or urgency. Stewart suggests that these explanations frequently overlook a deeper issue. Someone within the account may have unresolved concerns. Influential stakeholders may disagree about the problem being solved, the budget required or even who should be involved in the decision.
In complex B2B environments, these dynamics are becoming more pronounced. Buying groups are larger, risk tolerance is lower, and internal alignment is harder to achieve. As a result, deals often stall not because targeting failed, but because buyer confidence breaks down.
The gap between sales enablement and buyer enablement
A central theme in Stewart’s thinking is the difference between enabling sales teams and enabling buyers.
During her sessions, many participants discover that what they believed to be buyer enablement is still primarily focused on supporting sellers.
Stewart puts it directly:
“Most of the tools, most of the content, most of the marketing, most of the sales collateral – it’s all enabling sales.”
This distinction is increasingly important for ABM teams, demand generation leaders and commercial marketers. While many organisations are effective at producing campaigns, assets and internal sales support, far fewer create tools that help buyers navigate internal conversations and build consensus across the buying group.
Stewart’s approach focuses on addressing that gap. Participants work through a live opportunity, mapping stakeholder motivations, identifying friction within the buying group and designing practical interventions that support internal alignment.
Why indecision is becoming more common
Economic uncertainty and organisational risk aversion are changing how B2B decisions are made. In many cases, buyers do not choose an alternative vendor. They simply choose not to proceed.
Stewart summarises the dynamic clearly:
“It’s better to make no decision” when a complex buying group is scared of getting it wrong.
For marketing and revenue teams, this has significant implications. Improving win rates is not always about stronger messaging or more persuasive sales conversations. In many cases, it requires helping buyers navigate the internal complexity that prevents them from committing.
“Complex buying groups don’t stall because of poor targeting. They stall because confidence breaks down.”
Actionable takeaways for B2B teams
Senior marketing and revenue leaders looking to address stalled enterprise deals can focus on several practical areas:
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Identify where confidence is breaking down within a buying group
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Map both visible and hidden stakeholder friction before deals stall
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Distinguish clearly between sales enablement and buyer enablement
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Develop tools that help buyers build internal alignment and consensus
Don’t miss Barbara Stewart, live in Amsterdam
Barbara Stewart will explore these ideas in greater depth during her masterclass, End the indecision: Turning buyer paralysis into confident yeses, at the European ABM Forum on 26 March in Amsterdam.
The session will focus on mapping buying group dynamics, identifying hidden sources of friction and developing practical buyer enablement tools. Attendees will leave with a reusable worksheet designed to help teams work through live opportunities and support more confident decisions within complex buying groups.
European ABM Forum
Amsterdam
26 March 2026