Selling a product to an individual consumer is one thing. Selling a complex, high-value solution to another company is an entirely different challenge. In business-to-business (B2B) sales, purchasing decisions rarely rest with a single person. Instead, they involve committees, lengthy evaluation cycles, large financial commitments, and layers of internal justification. In this environment, the way a salesperson communicates can make or break a deal.
A new literature review published in Revista JRG de Estudos Acadêmicos set out to map how persuasive communication influences the success of B2B sales. After analyzing 32 studies published between 2010 and 2025, the review found that classical psychology-based models of persuasion, combined with a salesperson’s ability to adapt their communication style, are closely linked to better sales outcomes, stronger trust, and longer-lasting business relationships.
Why this question matters and who investigated it
Ana Flávia Brugnara Cunha, the researcher behind the review, identified a gap in the existing literature. While there are well-established psychological theories about how people process persuasive messages, and separate research about sales tactics in organizational markets, few studies have attempted to bring these two bodies of knowledge together. The review aimed to connect the dots between how persuasion works in the human mind and how it plays out in practice when companies sell to other companies.
To understand the review’s findings, it helps to know three foundational models from psychology. The first is the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), which proposes that people process persuasive messages through two routes. The “central route” involves carefully evaluating the logic and evidence of an argument. The “peripheral route” relies on mental shortcuts, like the credibility of the person delivering the message or the reputation of a brand. Which route a person uses depends on how motivated and able they are to think deeply about the information.
The second model is the Heuristic-Systematic Model (HSM), which is similar but adds the idea that people switch between deep, systematic thinking and quick, shortcut-based thinking depending on how much confidence they need to make a decision. The third is the Persuasion Knowledge Model (PKM), which focuses on the buyer’s side: over time, experienced buyers learn to recognize when someone is trying to persuade them, and they develop strategies to push back or respond to those attempts.
How the review was conducted
Cunha conducted a narrative literature review, a method suited to topics where the available evidence is diverse and spans multiple disciplines. The data collection took place between January and August 2025. She searched databases widely recognized in the fields of marketing, administration, and applied social sciences, including Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Emerald Insight, SpringerLink, and Google Scholar.
The search used keyword combinations like “persuasive communication,” “B2B sales,” “sales influence tactics,” “adaptive selling,” and “sales communication competence.” Studies were included if they were published between 2010 and 2025, directly addressed persuasion in B2B sales, appeared in peer-reviewed journals, and were available in English, Portuguese, or Spanish. Studies focused exclusively on business-to-consumer (B2C) sales or that had no direct connection to persuasive communication were excluded.
After screening titles, abstracts, and full texts, 32 studies were selected. These were then organized and analyzed using a framework called SALSA, which stands for Search, Appraisal, Synthesis, and Analysis. This framework is designed to bring transparency and structure to narrative reviews.
What the evidence revealed
The review organized its findings into several categories. Regarding the psychological models, the evidence suggested that B2B buyers who are highly engaged in a purchase decision tend to process sales messages through the central route described by the ELM. They focus on the quality of the arguments and the strength of the evidence. When buyers face information overload or lower engagement, they are more likely to rely on peripheral cues, such as the salesperson’s perceived authority or a company’s brand reputation.
The PKM also proved relevant. In organizational purchasing, buyers are often seasoned professionals who have dealt with numerous suppliers. They can recognize persuasive tactics and may become skeptical of approaches that feel manipulative or opaque. This means the effectiveness of a sales message depends not just on how strong the arguments are, but also on how transparent and ethical the communication feels to the buyer.
On the practical side, the review found that high-performing salespeople tend to use what the literature calls Sales Influence Tactics, or SITs. These include strategies like logical argumentation, asking exploratory questions, making strategic concessions, invoking authority, and proposing collaborative exchanges. The key finding was that no single tactic works universally. Instead, the effectiveness of each approach depends on the stage of the buying process and the individual buyer’s preferences and sensitivities.
This connects to a concept known as adaptive selling. First described in the 1980s, adaptive selling refers to a salesperson’s ability to adjust the content, format, and timing of their communication based on the characteristics of each client and each situation. The reviewed studies found that this adaptability was directly associated with higher B2B sales conversion rates and stronger long-term relationships.
Communication competence goes beyond tactics
Beyond specific tactics, the review highlighted the importance of what researchers call “sales communication competence.” This is a broader concept that encompasses a salesperson’s cognitive abilities (understanding the client’s business), affective skills (empathy and emotional awareness), and behavioral capabilities (active listening and strategic questioning). Studies in the review found that salespeople with high communication competence were better able to collaborate with clients to develop solutions, rather than simply pushing a product.
In complex B2B solution selling, where a salesperson essentially acts as someone who orchestrates value for the client, this competence becomes a means of building trust. And trust, in high-risk and high-investment purchasing environments, is often a prerequisite before any deal moves forward.
The review also examined the quality of communication between organizations as a whole, not just between individual salespeople and buyers. Research going back to the 1990s has shown that the frequency, accuracy, relevance, and two-way nature of communication between a buyer and a supplier are positively associated with satisfaction and the performance of the partnership. In long B2B sales cycles involving multiple decision-makers, the overall communication architecture between two companies can shape how receptive buyers are to commercial proposals over time.
Practical takeaways for sales teams and managers
For sales leaders and business managers, several implications emerge from this body of research. First, sales training programs may benefit from incorporating insights from psychology-based persuasion models. Understanding whether a buyer is likely to scrutinize arguments closely or rely on mental shortcuts could help salespeople tailor their approach more effectively.
Second, investing in developing a sales team’s broader communication competence, not just their product knowledge or closing techniques, appears to be linked with better outcomes. Skills like active listening, empathy, and the ability to ask insightful questions seem to matter as much as traditional persuasion skills.
Third, the research suggests that transparency and ethical communication are not just moral ideals but practical necessities. Because experienced B2B buyers can often detect manipulative tactics, approaches that feel dishonest or overly aggressive may actually backfire, triggering skepticism and resistance rather than agreement.
Finally, the review recommends that companies view persuasion not as a single event that happens during a pitch or negotiation, but as a continuous process that unfolds across an entire business relationship. Communication quality over time, including how consistently and accurately information flows between organizations, appears to be connected to long-term client satisfaction and loyalty.
Notable gaps and limitations
Cunha identified several areas where the research remains thin. There is a shortage of longitudinal studies, meaning research that tracks the effects of persuasive communication over extended periods. Most existing studies capture a snapshot in time, which makes it difficult to draw conclusions about the lasting impact of specific communication strategies.
Cultural differences also remain underexplored. The effectiveness of particular influence tactics may vary significantly across industries and geographic regions, but the current literature has not addressed this variation in depth. Additionally, ethical questions surrounding persuasion in sales are still in the early stages of academic investigation.
It is also important to note that this study is a literature review, not an original experiment. It synthesizes existing research rather than generating new data. Because of the diversity of the studies included, ranging from theoretical models to empirical field research, the conclusions reflect patterns across the literature rather than results from a controlled test. Readers should interpret the findings as indicating associations and patterns rather than direct cause-and-effect relationships.
The review also points to an emerging question: how the increasing digitalization of B2B interactions, from virtual sales meetings to AI-assisted communication, might reshape the dynamics of persuasion in organizational markets. That question remains open for future investigation.
