There is no silver bullet

29th September 2025 |   Bob Apollo

Why the future of B2B selling must be situationally adaptive.

For decades, authors of books about selling have sought to promote the perfect methodology – the idea that there is “one best way” to sell. Whether SPIN, Challenger, Value Selling, Sandler, Miller-Heiman, MEDDPICC or many other approaches, each has claimed to provide the formula for sales success. But in today’s increasingly complex B2B buying environment, the very idea of a single, prescriptive approach is looking more and more outdated and irrelevant.

In reality, today’s most effective sales leaders and their teams are already blending the most useful elements from their experience of multiple methodologies, adapting them to the specifics of their sales environment. The future of B2B selling is unlikely to be defined by the rise of a single new silver bullet, but by frameworks that are flexible, situationally aware, and capable of guiding salespeople through non-linear, often messy B2B buying decision journeys.

The complexity of modern B2B buying

Gartner’s research on B2B buying behaviour has been widely quoted in sales circles for good reason. When it comes to significant, high-value, complex buying decisions, its studies consistently show that: