Key findings
- 26% of shortlisted vendors got there through a peer recommendation.
- 24% got there through the buyer's prior familiarity.
- 19% came through vendor outreach and 18% through an analyst or review site.
- 12% came through an AI tool.
What gets a vendor onto the shortlist?
Trust that existed before the search began. We asked 250 B2B buyers what got their chosen vendor onto the shortlist. A quarter (26%) say a peer recommendation and almost as many (24%) say they were already familiar with the vendor.
The rest is split between vendor outreach (19%), analyst or review sites (18%) and AI tools (12%).
Half of shortlist places come from peers or prior familiarity
What got the vendor onto the shortlist?
View data
| Answer | % |
|---|---|
| Peer recommendation | 26% |
| Prior familiarity | 24% |
| Vendor outreach | 19% |
| Analyst / review site | 18% |
| AI tool | 12% |
Does vendor outreach work?
For about one in five shortlist places. 19% of buyers say vendor outreach got the vendor onto the list. That makes it the largest route a vendor directly controls, and still smaller than either form of existing trust.
How much do analysts, review sites and AI matter?
Together, about three in ten. Analyst and review sites account for 18% and AI tools for 12%.
AI is the smallest route onto the shortlist even though 77% of buyers use it somewhere in their research. Buyers use it to check a name they have, more than to find one they don't.
Where shortlist places come from
- Someone the buyer already trusted (peer recommendation 26%, prior familiarity 24%) 50%
- Third-party sources (analyst / review site 18%, AI tool 12%) 30%
- The vendor’s own outreach (vendor outreach 19%) 19%
View data
| Answer | % |
|---|---|
| Someone the buyer already trusted (peer recommendation 26%, prior familiarity 24%) | 50% |
| Third-party sources (analyst / review site 18%, AI tool 12%) | 30% |
| The vendor’s own outreach (vendor outreach 19%) | 19% |
What this means
By the time a buyer starts a formal search, half the shortlist is already written.
That shifts where effort should go.
- Peer recommendation is earned after the sale. Customers recommend vendors who delivered. The same post-sale gaps that cause regret also cost you the referral.
- Prior familiarity is built before the need. A buyer who has read your research, seen you speak or used you at a previous company arrives with you on the list. This is the case for brand and thought leadership in B2B, in one number.
- Outreach works best on warm ground. A fifth of places is worth having. But outreach to a buyer who has never heard of you is competing with two routes that already have their trust.
If you can't say how many of your last ten wins came through each route, that is the first thing to find out.
Frequently asked questions
How do B2B buyers build a shortlist?
Half of shortlisted vendors come through peer recommendation (26%) or the buyer's prior familiarity (24%), according to a survey of 250 B2B buyers by The Reality Department.
Does vendor outreach get you onto B2B shortlists?
In 19% of cases. Vendor outreach is the third most common route.
How often does AI put a vendor on the shortlist?
An AI tool was the route onto the shortlist in 12% of purchases.
Methodology
The Reality Department surveyed 250 UK B2B buyers, influencers and decision-makers at companies with annual revenue of $50m or more. Fieldwork: August 2026.
Related: How do B2B buyers choose a vendor?
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