Stop Changing the Slide. Start Fixing the Problem
Each week, we share a short piece exploring a theme that’s affecting the way B2B companies grow and operate. Whether that’s a shift in buyer behaviour, a pattern we’re seeing across teams, or a decision that needs more attention than it’s getting. In the past month, we’ve looked at two topics that regularly come up in our work with clients:
- Why sales cycles are becoming harder to manage
- The hidden cost of constantly changing your story
You’ll find both articles below. If you’d like to receive new ones as they’re published, you can sign up on the Tech Partnership website here
1. Why long sales cycles are becoming an issue
There’s a growing problem in B2B marketing and sales. The gap between first contact and first decision is getting longer.
Recent data shows that the average B2B sales process now takes 25% longer than it did five years ago (Source: Spotio 2025). And with buying decisions now involving between six and ten stakeholders, few deals follow a straight line.
This matters.
When sales cycles get longer, return on marketing investment becomes harder to pin down. Time-to-impact increases. Forecasts shift. Attribution loses clarity. And the gap between marketing activity and commercial return becomes more difficult to explain, especially in businesses already under pressure to protect margin or reduce overheads.
In the face of this, it’s not surprising that 87% of B2B marketers say it’s getting harder to measure the long-term impact of their campaigns (Source: Marketing Week 2025).
The question isn’t just how to track ROI, it’s how to create the conditions that enable it.
What’s working
As cycles extend, marketers are adopting strategies designed to build momentum throughout the entire process and not just at the start. These include:
- Multiple stakeholder engagement. Building consensus across a buying group means understanding how needs differ between functions. That requires messaging that adapts to the priorities of finance, IT, marketing, legal and operations – not just a single point of contact.
- Consistency through regular communication. Long gaps between touchpoints increase drop-off. Maintaining interest requires frequent, relevant and useful outreach – especially in markets where competitors are targeting the same audience.
- Detailed personalisation. Effective messaging today means adapting content to where they are in the process, what role they play in the decision and what they’ve already seen. In some cases, we recommend producing content which is designed solely for the organisation you’re targeting, which effectively makes it unique.
Our take on it
Long sales cycles aren’t going away but the most effective teams are the ones that plan for them. That means building campaigns with the consistency to stay present, the flexibility to speak to different people in different roles and the precision to land the right message at the right moment.
ROI follows when you earn attention throughout the cycle and not just at the start.
2. The Hidden Cost of Changing Your Story
Tech companies don’t instantly notice when growth slows but they often begin to feel it. Campaigns underperform. Sales cycles drag on. Customers hesitate. Inside the business, the story begins to shift with every meeting, every new direction and every round of feedback.
It’s tempting to blame marketing. But often, the issue runs deeper. It’s about decision-making and the lack of a clear, consistent position.
The pressure to change
Founders and leadership teams face constant pressure. Investors want faster growth. Competitors launch new features. Customers give conflicting feedback. The instinct is to respond quickly – tweak the narrative, shift the plan, build a new presentation.
Each change might feel small, but the cumulative effect is enormous. It becomes harder for buyers to understand what you stand for and easier for your message to be forgotten.
The cost of drift
Strong positioning takes time to deliver. Buyers need space to recognise and remember you. Teams need clarity to build and sell with confidence. And unless you’re spending millions on media, your message only earns attention through repetition and relevance.
During a project with M&C Saatchi, one of their creatives said it well:
“When you’re bored of saying it, that’s the point people might just be starting to remember it.”
Consistency, not repetition
One of the most successful clients we’ve worked with has told the same story for nearly nine years. We’ve helped them shape it in hundreds of ways but the core message has never changed.
Their success didn’t come from chasing new stories. It came from the discipline to keep telling the right one. If you’d like to hear more about how they’ve done it, send us a note at the following address: