{
  "schema_version": "1.1",
  "id": "gartner-b2b-buyers-17-percent-time-meeting-suppliers",
  "slug": "gartner-b2b-buyers-17-percent-time-meeting-suppliers",
  "url": "https://groundedkit.com/claims/gartner-b2b-buyers-17-percent-time-meeting-suppliers/",
  "api_url": "https://groundedkit.com/api/claims/gartner-b2b-buyers-17-percent-time-meeting-suppliers.json",
  "claim": "B2B buyers spend only 17% of their buying time meeting potential suppliers (Gartner)",
  "commonly_cited_as": "\"Buyers spend just 17% of their time with sales reps\"",
  "verdict": "verified",
  "verdict_definition": "Primary source found; it says the same thing, the scope matches, and it is reasonably current.",
  "confidence": "medium",
  "rating": {
    "value": 5,
    "best": 5,
    "worst": 1
  },
  "origin": {
    "publisher": "Gartner",
    "title": "Win More B2B Sales Deals (eBook), citing the 2017 Digital B2B Buyer Survey",
    "year": "2017 survey"
  },
  "quote": "Gartner research finds that when B2B buyers are considering a purchase, they spend only 17% of that time meeting with potential suppliers. When buyers are comparing multiple suppliers, the amount of time spent with any one sales rep may be only 5% to 6%. ... n = 750 B2B buyers. Source: Gartner 2017 Digital B2B Buyer Survey.",
  "method": "Gartner survey of 750 B2B buyers, 2017; share of buying-group time by activity.",
  "drift": [
    "Age: 2017 survey, still cited by Gartner",
    "17% is all suppliers combined; any one vendor gets about 5–6%"
  ],
  "interest": "Gartner sells sales and marketing research.",
  "safe_rephrasing": "Gartner's 2017 survey of 750 B2B buyers found they spent 17% of buying time meeting all potential suppliers combined, so any one vendor got about 5–6%.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Gartner — Win More B2B Sales Deals (PDF)",
      "url": "https://emt.gartnerweb.com/ngw/globalassets/en/sales-service/documents/trends/win-more-b2b-sales-deals.pdf",
      "primary": true
    }
  ],
  "kind": "stat_check",
  "as_of": "Gartner 2017 Digital B2B Buyer Survey (n=750)",
  "last_checked": "2026-10-16",
  "stale": false,
  "date_reviewed": "2026-10-16",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0",
  "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}