About This Episode:
If you feel like acquiring new customers is harder than ever, you’re not alone.
Across industries, both B2B and B2C companies are seeing longer sales cycles, declining website traffic, and intense competition.
Something has shifted, and companies that don’t adapt are feeling the impact.
In this episode, Alex Winter sits down with Marcus Sheridan, bestselling author, keynote speaker, and partner at IMPACT, to break down why businesses are struggling to close deals in today’s market—and more importantly what they can do to fix it.
So, why is it getting harder to close deals and what can businesses do right now to win more customers and build long-term trust? Let’s get into it.
5 reasons businesses are struggling to win customers
“96% of sales and marketers see sales and marketing friction as a persistent challenge,” Alex notes at the start of the conversation. That’s nearly every company.
Marcus doesn’t hesitate. “One of the biggest trends we’re seeing? Decision-makers are taking longer to make decisions.”
That alone is causing deals to stall, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
He breaks it down into five major reasons why businesses are struggling to close deals today:
1. Sales cycles are longer than ever
Buyers are more hesitant, cautious, and risk-averse. They’re taking their time, doing deeper research, and waiting longer before making a purchase decision.
This shift is largely due to increased access to information. Customers don’t need to rely on salespeople as much as they used to—they can gather insights from online reviews, competitor comparisons, and AI-powered search results. By the time they talk to a company, they’ve already formed strong opinions.
If your business isn’t proactively answering their questions before they reach out, you’re already behind.
2. Website traffic is down
If your website’s traffic has dipped, you’re not alone. Google’s algorithm changes and the rise of AI-powered search is making it harder for businesses to get organic visibility.
Marcus explains, “Used to be, you’d do a Google search, click on a blue link, and go to a company’s website. Now? Not so much.”
Google’s AI results, knowledge panels, and featured snippets are keeping users on Google rather than sending them to websites. Add to that the dominance of social media platforms, where users engage with content without ever clicking through, and businesses are struggling to drive organic traffic.
3. Competition is fiercer than ever
Every market is crowded. More businesses—both new and established—are competing for the same audience. And when supply is high but demand is steady, pricing wars break out.
“Companies are slashing prices just to stay in the game,” Marcus points out. “But competing on price alone is a losing strategy.”
Instead, businesses need to focus on what makes them different—not just cheaper. The companies winning today aren’t necessarily the cheapest.
They’re the ones offering more trust, transparency, and value upfront.
4. Many businesses still rely on outdated marketing models
The way companies market themselves has changed, yet many are still operating under an old-school mindset—especially those that outsource all their marketing to agencies.
“The traditional marketing agency model is becoming less effective,” Marcus says bluntly.
Why? Because agencies don’t have the deep, inside-out knowledge of your company, product, and customer experience that your own team does.
If marketing is entirely outsourced, it often becomes generic, misaligned with sales, and disconnected from actual customer pain points.
Businesses that own their marketing in-house—by training internal teams to create valuable content and engage directly with customers—see better results than those that hand off all responsibility to an agency.
5. Brands struggle to stand out in the digital noise
It’s louder than ever online. With more businesses producing content and AI making it easier to generate marketing materials, it’s getting harder for brands to cut through the clutter.
“If no one knows who you are—or they don’t trust you—your marketing efforts won’t matter,” Marcus emphasizes.
Building a strong brand today isn’t just about being visible. It’s about being known and trusted. If your content doesn’t answer real customer questions, take strong stances, or provide meaningful insights, you’ll just blend in with the noise.
The big takeaway? Traditional marketing and sales strategies aren’t working like they used to.
The companies winning today are taking control. They’re creating valuable content in-house, answering customer questions with radical transparency, and embracing the shift toward trust-based marketing and sales.
If your business is still playing by old rules, it’s time to change the game.
How buyers have changed (and why your business needs to adapt)
If you feel like marketing strategies that worked five years ago are suddenly falling flat, you’re not imagining things. Buyers today are radically different from those in the past.
And if your business hasn’t adapted to meet these changes, you’re already losing customers to competitors who have.
Marcus breaks it down into these 4 buckets:
1. Buyers are more impatient
Patience is in short supply these days.
“We’ve all been conditioned by instant gratification,” Marcus explains. “We don’t want to wait. We want answers now.”
Think about the last time you were researching a product or service. Did you sit through a long sales pitch? Or did you try to find the information yourself as quickly as possible?
Buyers today expect companies to provide transparent, upfront information—without making them jump through hoops.
That means if your website forces people to schedule a call just to get basic pricing info, or if they have to dig through pages of generic content to find an answer, they’ll leave and go somewhere else.
2. They’re more informed
Most buyers don’t start their journey by reaching out to a salesperson.
“More than 80% of the buyer’s journey is completed before they even reach out to a company,” Marcus explains.
In other words, by the time someone fills out a contact form or books a demo, they’ve already done their homework.
They’ve read reviews. They’ve watched YouTube videos. They’ve checked out competitors.
If your website and content aren’t helping them with that research—answering their real questions, addressing their concerns, and providing the insights they need—you’re missing the biggest opportunity to influence their decision.
3. They crave self-service options
Buyers want to be in control of their experience.
Think about it: When was the last time you wanted to talk to a salesperson before you were ready?
Probably never.
“If people can’t get information without talking to a salesperson, they’ll move on,” Marcus says.
This is why self-service tools—like pricing calculators or interactive product configurators—are becoming a staple.
Instead of forcing potential customers to call or email for information, businesses that provide on-demand access to pricing, product details, and answers are winning more deals.
4. Buyers want answers fast
If you feel like a lot of marketing content today sounds robotic and generic, you’re not alone.
Marcus says, “It’s bland, soulless, and lacks real opinions.”
AI-generated blogs and formulaic corporate messaging have flooded the internet with uninspiring, forgettable content. And buyers can tell.
The companies that stand out are the ones that tell compelling, honest stories. The ones that have a personality, take a stance and help their audience.
If your content sounds like it was written for a business instead of real people, it’s time to rethink your approach.
So what can companies do to build trust, win more customers, and future-proof their business?
It all comes down to becoming a known and trusted brand.
Buyers today don’t just want another sales pitch. They want confidence that they’re making the right choice.
That means companies that lead with trust, transparency, and real value will have the edge.
The Four Pillars of a Known and Trusted Brand
Marcus introduces a simple but powerful framework from his new book, Endless Customers, built around four core pillars that every business must master.
Pillar 1: Say what others in your space aren’t willing to say
Most companies avoid discussing the topics buyers actually care about. The ones that tackle them head-on build trust faster.
Marcus calls these The Big Five—the top five topics customers obsess over when making a purchase:
- Cost & price: “It’s crazy how many companies refuse to talk about price,” Marcus says. “But buyers want to know. They won’t call you to ask—they’ll just go somewhere else.”
- Problems: Every buyer has fears and objections. Address them openly instead of ignoring them.
- Versus & comparisons: “People love to compare options. If you don’t provide honest comparisons, they’ll find someone who does.”
- Reviews: Not just the good ones—buyers want transparency, including what people don’t like.
- Best in class: People constantly search for “best” options. If you don’t create this content, your competitors will.
If your company isn’t addressing these topics, you’re missing out on leads every single day.
Pillar 2: Show what others in your space aren’t willing to show
“More than 80% of time spent online is with video,” Marcus says. “And that number is only going up.”
Most businesses, however, don’t use video effectively.
Marcus introduces The Selling 7, a framework for the seven types of videos that drive the most leads and sales. One of the easiest wins?
Landing page videos.
Adding a short video next to your website forms explaining what happens after someone fills it out can double conversion rates.
“Most companies don’t do this,” Marcus says, “but it’s one of the simplest ways to increase leads overnight.”
Pillar 3: Sell in a way others in your space aren’t willing to sell
A mind-blowing stat: 75% of buyers would prefer a seller-free sales experience.
That doesn’t mean salespeople are irrelevant—it means buyers want control over the process.
One of the best ways to adapt? Self-Service tools.
Marcus shares a powerful example: A home improvement company was struggling to generate leads. By adding a self-pricing tool on their website, they saw an explosive increase—from 200 leads per month to 700. That translated to millions in additional revenue.
The lesson? The easier you make it for buyers to self-educate and move forward on their terms, the more sales you’ll close.
Pillar 4: Be more human than others in your space are willing to be
Technology is evolving fast. AI is becoming more common in sales and marketing, but many companies use it the wrong way—making their brand feel robotic and impersonal.
Marcus argues that the smartest companies will use AI to enhance their humanity, not replace it.
For example:
- Sales teams should send video emails instead of plain text. It’s faster, more personal, and drives higher response rates.
- Brands should showcase real people. We want to do business with humans, not faceless corporations.
- AI can be used to create interactive experiences. Marcus is working on an AI-powered “Digital Marcus” that will act as a real-time, interactive assistant on his website.
Buyers trust brands that feel real, personal, and authentic.
It’s time to disrupt your industry
Most industries are filled with businesses playing it safe—sticking to the same old playbook, avoiding risks, and doing things the way they’ve always been done. But the real winners?
They break the rules.
They challenge the status quo.
They innovate.
Marcus sums it up perfectly, “Leaders get lazy. Then someone comes in and breaks the rules. The market likes it. The rule breaker becomes the new leader.”
If you want endless customers, the solution is clear. You must be willing to:
- Say what others won’t.
- Show what others won’t.
- Sell in a way others aren’t willing to sell.
- And be more human than others are willing to be.
Disrupt your industry by doing what no one else is willing to do.
Do that, and you’ll win more trust, close more deals, and future-proof your business
Connect with Marcus
Marcus Sheridan is a writer, speaker, and business expert who’s worked with companies all over the world. Marcus is the author of Endless Customers and They Ask, You Answer.
Connect with Marcus on LinkedIn
Learn more about Endless Customers
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