What changed
Forrester published The State of Business Buying 2026 on 21 January 2026. It describes who takes part when a business buys, and draws on its 2025 Buyers’ Journey Survey.
- A large group. The typical buying decision includes 13 internal stakeholders and nine external influencers. Forrester says the number rises for more complex or strategic purchases.
- Procurement is involved. Procurement professionals are decision-makers in 53% of business buying cycles.
Forrester’s findings are about buying. Renewals and expansions are purchases too, so we think the same pattern may apply, but Forrester’s release does not say so.
What it could put at risk
Revenue
Your largest accounts carry a large part of the forecast. If your contact is a day-to-day user and the budget sits with someone more senior, you may meet the decision-maker for the first time when the decision is made.
Cost
Where there is no relationship, a renewal can come down to price, and a discount can reduce margin in each year of the new term.
Cash
A multi-year renewal agreed at a lower price carries that price for the whole term.
Continuity
When a single contact moves on, the relationship may go with them, and a new buyer may review the supplier from the start.
Our view
Does your account plan show the wider buying group, or only a customer’s products, contract dates and one or two names?
We would start with a map for each of the top five accounts: who holds the budget, who uses the product, who evaluates it, who signs, and where procurement joins. Then mark who on your side has met each one, and when.
We would then give each account an executive sponsor on your side, matched to someone senior at the customer, and fill the gaps in order of renewal date.
This applies Forrester’s buying research to account management. It is our interpretation, not research on renewals.
Three questions for the board
- For our top ten accounts, how many of the people involved in a renewal can we name, and who on our side has met them?
- Who is our executive sponsor for each one, and when did they last speak to the customer?
- What changes at renewal when procurement joins, and have we planned for it?
Sources
Forrester: The State of Business Buying 2026 (21 January 2026)
Forrester: The State of Business Buying, 2026 (report summary)
Sources accessed on 15 October 2026.
Photo: Mitchell Luo on Unsplash.
Important information. This article is general information for business readers. It is not legal, financial, accounting or investment advice, and it does not take account of your circumstances. Figures and quotations come from the sources listed, which we have not independently audited, and are given as at the date of publication. Illustrations use assumed figures and are not forecasts, client results or guarantees. References to other organisations do not mean they endorse Elea Partners or have any relationship with it.
