Over the past few months I started noticing something interesting in my coaching calls with tech sellers. Deals are stalling not because of competitors, pricing, or procurement. 

Customers are now saying: “We are evaluating building this ourselves using AI.”

Last week I ran a LinkedIn poll asking sellers whether deals are stalling because customers believe they can build solutions internally.

The results were eye opening.

31 percent said it happens frequently.
41 percent said it happens occasionally.

That means nearly three quarters of sellers are encountering this objection.

For many sellers this feels like a new objection.  

In reality the build vs buy conversation has existed for decades. When I joined Salesforce in 2013, customers were constantly evaluating whether they should build software internally or purchase it from us. 

What has changed is the perception of how easy building has become to build apps. 

AI powered development tools have made it faster to write code and prototype applications. Tools like vibe coding and AI assisted development have created a narrative that companies can spin up internal tools quickly and cheaply.

This perception is now slowing down enterprise sales cycles.

But here is the important distinction: AI does make it easier to build smaller applications, workflows, and automations.

But enterprise systems are something entirely different.

Systems like CRM, ERP, HR platforms, and data infrastructure require complex foundations including:

-Data models that define how information is structured
-Security and governance frameworks
-Deep integrations across dozens of systems
-Industry specific workflows
-Compliance and global scalability

These mission-critical software systems are the foundation that AI actually depends on.

AI does not become the system of record. It sits on top of the system of record.

Because of this, we are not seeing companies rebuild enterprise platforms like Salesforce, Workday, Snowflake, or AWS internally.

What we are seeing is something different.

Customers are evaluating whether they should build smaller capabilities or point solutions that sit on top of those platforms.

That creates more optionality. More evaluation cycles. And more hesitation.

For sellers this means the buying environment is rapidly changing.

What worked two years ago is no longer enough. 

Sellers who rely primarily on product demos or feature selling will struggle in this environment.

To win deals today you must focus on four things.

1. First, sell outcomes rather than technology. Start the conversation by understanding the business outcome the customer is trying to achieve. Keep the conversation focused on results rather than tools.

2. Second, quantify the cost of the problem. When you understand the cost of staying in the status quo you can leverage  the cost of delay. If a problem costs an organization hundreds of thousands of dollars every month, long evaluation cycles to explore whether their internal team can build it suddenly become expensive.

3. Third, explore the true cost of building internally. Ask questions about who would own the project, maintain it, upgrade it, secure it, and scale it globally. Many internal builds fail because maintenance becomes overwhelming or ownership disappears.

4. Fourth, highlight opportunity cost. If engineering teams spend six to twelve months building internal tools, what strategic initiatives will be delayed? Most companies want their engineers focused on differentiating capabilities, not internal infrastructure.

This is the real conversation behind build vs buy.

Sometimes building is the right decision, especially when something is core to a company’s product or competitive advantage.

But infrastructure systems that support the business rarely make sense to build internally.

The biggest takeaway is this: AI is not eliminating enterprise software sales.

But it is raising the bar for sellers.

The sellers who thrive in this environment will be the ones who understand business outcomes, quantify value, and guide customers toward the right strategic decision.

If you run into this objection in your deals, I just recorded a 15 minute Masterclass explaining exactly how to navigate the build vs buy conversation in today’s AI driven market.

You can watch the full training here: https://youtu.be/tJle8YXzJNY