Why Buyers Forget Most Of Your Pitch - The Science of Sales
- Matthew Earle
- Dec 1, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 5
Buyers do not forget because they are disinterested. They forget because their brains are overwhelmed. This is the Science of Sales.
Cognitive Load And Memory Decay In B2B Sales
SPIN Selling research shows that buyers forget more than half of a product pitch within a week during multi-conversation sales cycles.
Your pitch is not just competing with competitors. It competes with their inbox, their pressures, and their internal noise.
The Effects of Cognitive Overload
When buyers are bombarded with information, they struggle to retain key messages. This cognitive overload can lead to:
Confusion about your product's benefits.
Difficulty in recalling essential details during internal discussions.
A lack of clarity on the next steps.
It's crucial to simplify your messaging. This ensures that your value proposition is clear and memorable.
The Commercial Impact
Your product message fades quickly.
Champions cannot retell your story internally.
Your value proposition becomes diluted.
Momentum disappears.
If a buyer cannot remember the pain or the impact you outlined, they cannot act on it.
Safe or overly complex messaging will be forgotten.
The Importance of Clarity
To ensure your message sticks, focus on clarity. Use straightforward language and avoid jargon. This will help buyers understand your offering quickly and easily.
Why Pressure Kills Deals Before They Move Forward
Most deals are not lost in negotiation. They are lost the moment the buyer feels pressured.
Reactance: The Psychological Reason Decisions Slow Down
Huthwaite data proves that closing tactics reduce success rates as deal size increases. Reactance is the instinctive resistance people feel when pushed.
The Hidden Warning Signs
Senior buyers disengage.
Champions lose confidence.
Decision cycles lengthen.
Deals fade without a clear no.
Understanding Buyer Psychology
Recognising these signs can help you adjust your approach. If you sense pressure, ease off. Allow buyers the space to think and make decisions without feeling rushed.
How To Fix Both Problems With Problem-Centred Selling
Lead With The Problem, Not The Product
Problem-centred selling removes pressure and improves memory. It makes your value easy to remember and even easier to repeat internally.
Practical steps:
Start with the commercial problem.
Quantify the cost of doing nothing.
Demonstrate urgency through impact.
Use implication questions that make the problem unavoidable.
If you have not defined the problem your product or service solves, and if you don't own that problem (i.e. what language is used to describe and quantify it, how does it manifest itself, etc.), then your positioning will not make sense to your buyer.
Creating Urgency
Creating a sense of urgency can motivate buyers to act. Highlight the consequences of inaction. This will encourage them to see the value in your solution.
The Bigger Picture For Sales Leaders
If you want consistent pipeline quality, shorter deal cycles, and better forecasting, you need to understand the forces shaping buyer behaviour.
Memory decay.
Threat detection.
Risk aversion.
Political pressure.
Emotional safety.
These psychological forces govern buying decisions far more than feature sets or pitch decks ever will.
Adapting to Buyer Behaviour
To improve your sales process, adapt your strategies to align with buyer behaviour. This will create a more effective sales environment.
If you want to improve how your team sells, you need to start with how your buyers think.
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