B2B Reads: ICPs and Personas, AI Agents, the Enterprise B2B Buyer, and More

Summary

Some of our favorite B2B sales and marketing posts from around the web this past week.

Every Saturday morning we share some of our favorite B2B sales and marketing posts from around the web last week (so it’s fresh!). We’ll miss a ton of great stuff, so if you found something you think is worth sharing please let us know.

Stronger targeting starts with aligned personas and ICPs by Stephanie Miller

While ideal customer profiles (ICPs) are great for figuring out which companies to target, they don’t tell you why individual buyers within those companies make decisions. That’s where personas come in. When you align ICPs with detailed personas and embed both into your marketing tech stack, your messaging gets sharper, campaigns convert better, and you waste less time on the wrong leads. Not only that, it brings a human element into your marketing.  More personal, less generic.

AI Agents Revolutionized B2B Marketing in 2025: From Automation to Strategy by James Hickey

In 2025, AI agents stopped being just automation tools and became key players in B2B marketing, handling everything from campaign execution to strategic decision-making. Marketers are now using specialized agents to do things like track buyer intent, generate content, and optimize workflows so teams can focus more on big-picture strategy. The real winners next year will be organizations that don’t just adopt a bunch of tools, but actually build smart systems where AI agents work together to drive real revenue impact.

The Rise Of The AI-Powered Sales Funnel: What Every CEO Should Know by Denis Sinelnikov

Traditional sales funnels aren’t cutting it anymore, and companies using AI to automate and personalize how leads are scored and nurtured are closing deals faster and more efficiently. AI doesn’t replace salespeople, but boosts them with predictive insights, real-time engagement, and customized follow-ups that humans alone can’t scale. Set up AI tools right to stay competitive—don’t get left behind in a world where most B2B sales will happen online.

What’s the state of the enterprise B2B buyer? by Mike Pastore

Enterprise B2B buyers used to follow a pretty predictable research path, but AI has totally changed the game by making research easier, but also flooding the market with tons of noise and competition. Because of this, buyers have more ways to find info themselves and vendors struggle to stand out or even see what buyers are doing. This article highlights a podcast conversation with Mika Yamamoto, Chief Customer and Marketing Officer at Freshworks, about how trust, authenticity, and visibility in the buying process are all shifting in this new AI era.

Less than a third of B2B marketers feel ‘understood’ by sales by Charlotte Rogers

Even though most B2B marketers say they work closely with sales teams, fewer than a third feel truly understood by them, leading to friction. A big part of the problem is that many sales colleagues think marketing just exists to serve sales or generate leads, rather than appreciating its broader strategic value. To dig deeper, check out Marketing Week’s 2025 State of B2B Marketing survey report.

 

Have a wonderful weekend and thank you for reading!  If you have B2B news sources you rely on we’d love to hear about them.  Please share them with us.