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New Business Generation in 2026 – Getting In

I have been in sales for 37 years. The vast majority of that time has been spent in and around the office supplies (now workplace supplies) sector. 

When I began selling office supplies back in 1989, ‘single-source selling’ was still in its infancy. The concept back then was simple: don’t waste time and money using multiple providers—one for paper, another for sundries, another for files and folders (yes, companies really did buy that way). Don’t fill up expensive office space with stationery and paper stock when you can get Just-In-Time (JIT) delivery. Most importantly, you didn’t need a team managing multiple suppliers; you could re-distribute that resource elsewhere. 

The focus was on reducing ‘soft costs.’ In theory and practice, those costs were high. 

Despite the misty-eyed views some hold of the past, selling single-source solutions was actually tough. The market hadn’t yet accepted it as the norm. We were selling change, and change is always a tough sell. (For the record, I don’t view the past with nostalgia; I think now is a far more exciting time to be in the workplace supplies sector). 

Back then, single-sourcing relied on a high degree of trust. The buyer’s neck was on the block: What if I redistribute resources and this doesn’t work? What if the supplier lets me down? What if JIT is actually SHT?

Slowly but surely, single-sourcing became the standard. Differentiation began to nullify as everyone caught up with the same technologies. Fast-forward through recessions, a global financial crisis, the birth of the internet, social media, the arrival of Amazon Business, and a bloody pandemic—something that changed working behaviours forever. 

The New Reality

Add the birth of AI to the mix, and we arrive where we are today: Office supplies just isn’t as critical to the customer as it once was. To us, it puts food on the table; to the customer, it’s one of a thousand options. They are tripping over providers—local, regional, and national. 

This is what excites me: Differentiation. My excitement for this diversified future and the ever-changing customer solutions is probably because I am a salesperson. 

Having what we had for so long – a stable and uniform supply chain solution, accepted core service expectations (next day delivery!), single source as the norm, et al, was great but it also resulted in the dreaded race to the bottom where price then becomes the differentiator. A race where everyone loses (some losing faster than others unfortunately). 

As dealers have evolved and diversified into new categories and supply partnerships, the options available to customers are, once again, wonderfully varied. 

For a salesperson, this is where we come into our own. You likely have a different proposition than your local competitors, your national rivals, and certainly the mighty Amazon. Your job is to find the right customer for your specific proposition—the one who will see the benefit in your unique offer. Done right, this is no longer a ‘me-too’ solution where price is the only differentiator. The world is, once again, your selling-skills oyster. 

The Challenge: ‘Getting In’

The bad news? Generating new business has likely gotten tougher. Buying behaviours have shifted. As a buyer, I no longer need to engage with a human to find out what I need to know. 

In a crowded market of ‘look at me’ marketing, getting noticed is the hardest part. The problem you are facing is what’s known as a trust deficit. In this age of snapshot media, the client must feel that your approach is not a scattergun, but one aimed specifically at them. 

Here are some tips for ‘Getting In’ in 2026:

1. Zero-Resistance Entry

The ‘hard sell’ creates immediate friction. A Zero-Resistance approach focuses on lowering the prospect’s guard by making the initial interaction feel like consultation rather than solicitation.

The ‘Education-First’ Gateway: Instead of a “Company Overview,” offer a “Health Check” or a “Consolidation Audit.”

Micro-Commitments: Resistance peaks when you ask for too much time too soon. Instead of a 30-minute presentation, ask to send a 2-minute video on how peers are handling supplier consolidation. Once they say “Yes” to a small thing, they are more likely to say “Yes” to a meeting.

The Filter: A major source of resistance in 2026 isn’t a lack of information—it’s too much of it. Position yourself as a “Filter” who has analysed the top solutions for their specific sector.

2. Personalisation

When we receive information structured specifically for us, we take notice. When a prospect receives a personalised message, their brain recognises that effort was expended. If you send a generic email, I owe you nothing. If you prove you spent time understanding my world, I feel a subconscious social obligation to at least give you a ‘Yes’ or a ‘No.’

3. The Digital Exhaust

In my workshops, I cover a module titled ‘There’s Something Out There.’ We are surrounded by information that tells us how and when to approach a prospect. Digital Exhaust is the trail of information left behind by organizations as they interact online. Think of it like the smoke from an engine—a natural byproduct that reveals intent.

What are they liking? Who are they following? Are they hiring? If a company hires 10 new developers, they are scaling. How can you help with that scale?

Watch for ‘trigger events,’ like a new decision-maker joining a company. For example, a key decision-maker (or influencer) at a prospect leaves and is replaced by someone new. That “exhaust” (the job change notification) is the perfect time to reach out, as new hires will normally look to implement new processes in their first 90 days.

4. The Omni-Channel Playbook

Research shows it now takes 8 to 15 touches to get a prospect to engage. Most salespeople give up after three or four! If you use only one channel, you are ‘noise.’ If you use multiple—email, phone, social, traditional mail—you become a ‘familiar face.’ 

The key is to remain interesting without “selling” from the start. A ‘touchpoint’ can be a simple LinkedIn comment or a relevant case study. (And please, if they accept your LinkedIn request, do not immediately follow up with a sales pitch!)

The Race to the Top

I will not deny that is probably harder than it used to be back in the day. Not much though. The main difference I see is that a prospect used to have to more or less agree to a sales visit if they required anymore or useful information about your company or client proposition. The information just wasn’t widely or readily available (‘just send me something in the post’ was a common reply though!). 

Today, hard and soft information (about you, about your business) is everywhere, so to find some more information doesn’t require a sales call like it used to. And, as salespeople, do not rely of your company website to do all the heavy lifting for you. Of course a prospect will visit your website (and encouraging them to do so is one touchpoint) but they will likely not find information that is tailored to them on there. They will not see a reflection of their specific needs met. That is down to you to identify and determine to encourage that website visit to become further engagement or action.  

That’s just how it is. It takes more effort and various ‘omni-channel’ touchpoints to break through.

My final thoughts on new business generation in 2026 are actually much simpler. I don’t mind that it is becoming harder to get new business opportunities as this means we have to be better than our competitors at it. This starts with our understanding of our customer proposition and what I call ‘sell-through benefits’ for the customer (for example; if you are saving the client time and/or money, what are they going to do with it? Will they invest it in a way that helps their business grow? Make more profit? Who benefits? How important is that? And so on….). Once we KNOW we can deliver benefits to a customer (and I do mean KNOW and not THINK or HOPE) all we need is the opportunity to prove it. 

The changing landscape of diversification, consolidation, Amazonification and digitalisation has really created some choppy waters for our customers to navigate to find the right supply partner for their business. The skilled salesperson of this digital age will, if they are diligent, patient and considered in their approach, enjoy a new business uplift with their new diversified solution that, in my opinion, has been a long time coming.  

The race from the bottom to the top is on