# Buyers Shortlist ERP Partners Before They Call ERP buyers now build their partner shortlist before they speak to anyone. We get UK NetSuite and ERP partners on it. Start with a free Leak Finder. Source: https://artifexa.co.uk/insights/shortlist-forms-before-you-hear/ --- Home / Insights / Visibility Entry 20 of 26· 4 min read ## The shortlist forms before you hear from them Buyers build their ERP partner shortlist on their own. Where it happens, and how we put you on it. By Matthew Hillman Published 20 October 2026 For consultancies Request a free review ### Buyers do the research on their own now Most ERP partners hear from a buyer after the shortlist is already made. If your firm is not on it by then, the first conversation never happens. This is not just an ERP trend. In a Gartner survey of 646 B2B buyers across industries, [67% said they prefer a rep-free experience](https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2026-03-09-gartner-sales-survey-finds-67-percent-of-b2b-buyers-prefer-a-rep-free-experience) (Gartner, 9 March 2026). 45% said they used AI during a recent purchase. Those figures are cross-industry. Gartner did not study ERP or UK buyers specifically. But if your enquiries arrive later, better informed or less often than they used to, this is a likely reason. Start the free 3-minute Enquiry Leak Finder ### Where an ERP partner shortlist actually gets made The shortlist is built in places you do not see and cannot sit in on. **Google.** A buyer searches for help with an implementation, a rescue or support, and opens a handful of firms. **AI answers.** More buyers now ask an AI assistant who to talk to. We cover [why AI recommends one firm over another](https://artifexa.co.uk/insights/why-ai-recommends-one-firm/) in a separate entry. **Review sites and directories.** Listings, ratings and partner pages are quick ways to narrow the field. **Peers.** A recommendation from someone who has been through a project still carries weight. It is one source among several, not the whole story. Gartner reports buyers used [an average of seven information sources](https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2026-05-20-gartner-survey-finds-sixty-nine-percent-of-b-two-b-buyers-turn-to-sales-reps-to-validate-ai-generated-insights) during a recent purchase. **Your website.** Every route above ends here. It is where a buyer checks whether you do what they need. ### Why strong delivery firms miss the cut Good delivery firms often rely on referrals and reputation. That works until the buyer has never heard of you. A buyer comparing firms on their own can only judge what is public. Common gaps we see: - The site says “trusted” and “leading” but not what you deliver, for whom, or at what scale. - Proof is hard to find or cannot be checked. - Listings and profiles disagree with the website. - The firm does not show up at all for the questions buyers ask. None of this reflects the quality of the work. It reflects what a stranger can see in a few minutes. See [building routes to enquiries beyond referrals](https://artifexa.co.uk/insights/beyond-referrals/) for more on this. To see whether search engines and AI crawlers can read your site at all, try our free [AI visibility checker](https://artifexa.co.uk/checker/). ### What buyers still want from a person Buyers still want to talk to someone. They just want to do it later, and for a different reason. Gartner found that [69% of B2B buyers prefer to validate AI-generated insights with sales reps](https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2026-05-20-gartner-survey-finds-sixty-nine-percent-of-b-two-b-buyers-turn-to-sales-reps-to-validate-ai-generated-insights) (Gartner, 20 May 2026, a survey of 645 buyers run at the same time). The person is there to confirm what the buyer has already found and to reduce risk. So the first call is not where you make your case. By then the buyer has already formed a view. The case has to be made in public, before they get in touch. ### How we put you on the shortlist We work only with specialist firms such as NetSuite and ERP partners. We make your firm easier to find, understand and check at each place buyers look. - Pages that answer the questions buyers actually search and ask AI assistants. - Proof that is specific, dated and easy to check. - Consistent details across your site, listings and profiles. - Clear routes from a page to an enquiry. We do not promise rankings, AI mentions or lead numbers. We agree what to measure up front and report what changed. See [NetSuite partner marketing](https://artifexa.co.uk/netsuite-partner-marketing/), [ERP partner lead generation](https://artifexa.co.uk/erp-partner-lead-generation/) and our [case studies](https://artifexa.co.uk/case-studies/). If you would rather do the work in-house, [our SEO and AI visibility playbook](https://artifexa.co.uk/playbook/) sets out the fixes as a 30-day plan. ### Find out where you’re losing buyers Start with the free Enquiry Leak Finder. It takes about three minutes and points to where buyers may be dropping out before they contact you. Start the free 3-minute Enquiry Leak Finder Request a free Visibility Review Want a fuller picture? The free Visibility Review is a written assessment of your site and visibility, with a prioritised plan to keep. ← All insights In this entry - ¶01Buyers do the research on their own now - ¶02Where the shortlist actually gets made - ¶03Why strong delivery firms miss the cut - ¶04What buyers still want from a person - ¶05How we put you on the shortlist - ¶06Find out where you’re losing buyers Next entry · 21 What SEO costs an ERP partner in the UK → Asked and answered ### Your questions. How do ERP buyers choose a partner?[+][−] Usually they build a shortlist on their own first, from search results, AI answers, review sites, peers and partner websites. They tend to contact a firm once it is already on that list. We have not seen ERP-specific research on this; the figures we cite are from Gartner surveys of B2B buyers across industries. Do buyers still want to talk to sales?[+][−] Yes, but later and for a different reason. Gartner found that 69% of B2B buyers prefer to validate AI-generated insights with sales reps. A person is there to confirm and reduce risk, not to be the first source of information. Why are we getting fewer enquiries when our delivery is strong?[+][−] Strong delivery only helps if buyers can see it before they shortlist. If your site, listings and public proof do not show what you do and for whom, a buyer can rule you out without ever contacting you. The free Enquiry Leak Finder is a quick way to see where that might be happening. Can you guarantee we get on the shortlist?[+][−] No. Nobody can guarantee rankings, AI answers or enquiries. We make your firm easier to find, understand and check at each place buyers look, and we report what changed and what did not. Before you hire anyone ### Know what to fix first. Get a free written review of your website and visibility, with a prioritised plan to keep. Agreed implementation starts from £750. Need ongoing support? See [Marketing Ops for NetSuite and ERP partners](https://artifexa.co.uk/netsuite-partner-marketing-ops/) and [plans and prices](https://artifexa.co.uk/engagements/). Request the free review Ask a question first Review delivered Within four working days Once scope and required information are confirmed. Findings include evidence and limits. --- Artifexa runs marketing operations for NetSuite and ERP partners and referral-led specialist consultancies, from Swindon, Wiltshire. Full machine-readable summary: https://artifexa.co.uk/llms.txt