Who is the “technical buyer” (and why does it matter)?

This is the first article/video in a series designed to help you deeply understand technical buyers.

75% of B2B buyers never want to “talk to sales.” Let that sink in for a minute. Three out of four buyers actively avoid sales reps, preferring instead to do their homework independently. If you sell technical products, this statistic from Gartner is more than just interesting—it’s critical.

Technical buyers—developers, IT leaders, engineers, and architects—aren’t like traditional buyers. They’re methodical, skeptical, and motivated by precise, practical information. They hate fluff, marketing jargon, or exaggerated promises. They want straightforward answers about integration, performance, security, and how your product actually solves their daily problems.

Interestingly, Gartner also found that completely independent purchases often lead to buyer’s remorse. Technical buyers might prefer to research alone, but when it comes to actually deciding, they make better choices when digital resources are combined with human expertise.

Building a sales strategy for technical buyers

Here’s what that means for your sales strategy: Your team needs sales enablement content tailored specifically to technical buyers. Without content like detailed case studies, clear documentation, competitive comparisons, and real-world demos, your salespeople are at a severe disadvantage. Buyers will either tune you out completely or make poor decisions they later regret, reflecting badly on you and your company.

The goal is not to replace your sales reps, but to equip them with the content they need so they can step in at the exact moment a technical buyer is ready for human interaction.

Stop guessing. Start creating content that converts.