---
id: "prereq-traditional-b2b-funnel"
type: "prereq"
source_timestamps: ["§ From Channel Management to Answer Engineering"]
tags: ["sales-strategy", "marketing-basics"]
related: ["concept-dark-funnel", "claim-b2b-journey-compression"]
reason: "Required to understand the contrast between legacy channel management and the new 'dark funnel' reality."
sources: ["geo"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-geo"
originDay: 3
articleStem: "hbr-tier1-01-gen-ai-b2b-buying"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/06/how-gen-ai-is-disrupting-b2b-buying-decisions"
sourceTitle: "How Gen AI is Disrupting B2B Buying Decisions"
---
# Traditional B2B Sales Funnel Dynamics

**Prerequisite:** The source assumes the reader understands the traditional, resource-intensive B2B evaluation phase — relying on sales reps, RFPs, and relationship managers — to appreciate the magnitude of the AI-driven disruption.

**Why it's required:** It is the baseline against which [[claim-b2b-journey-compression]] (an 11-month journey collapsing toward ~12 weeks) and the [[concept-dark-funnel]] are measured. Without the legacy 'channel management' picture, the pivot to 'answer engineering' ([[concept-generative-engine-optimization-d1]]) reads as jargon rather than a paradigm shift.