Beyond the Pitch: Why Buyers May Care More About Reliability and Understanding: An Interview With Cyrus Kiani

Read the full ITProfiles research: 80% of IT Agency Leaders Say Agencies Are Falling Behind, As Buyers Demand More Proof, Transparency and Results.

ITProfiles: Think back to your conversations with clients over the past year. What's something buyers are asking for today that they rarely brought up just a few years ago?

Cyrus Kiani:

Buyers are increasingly looking for “results tied to real business outcomes rather than vanity metrics.”

They also want evidence that a partner uses AI as a “working tool, not a talking point.”

That changes the conversation considerably. Agencies are no longer able to rely simply on promising innovation or presenting impressive capabilities. Buyers want to understand what those capabilities actually accomplish for the business.

ITProfiles: What's one trend you believe agencies are still underestimating, even though buyers are already paying attention to it?

Cyrus Kiani:

The “importance of personalized onboarding.”

Onboarding can easily be treated as an administrative stage before the real work begins. But if buyers are becoming more selective about who they trust with important business problems, the early experience can shape how they evaluate the entire relationship.

Understanding the client properly from the beginning can therefore become a meaningful differentiator.

ITProfiles: If agencies could only invest in one area over the next two years, where would you tell them to focus?

Cyrus Kiani:

Customer Experience.

Technology capabilities can be replicated. The experience a client has while working with an agency is harder to separate from the relationship itself.

For agencies, that means considering how clearly they communicate, how they onboard clients, how they respond to changing needs and how confidently they guide the relationship from the first interaction onward.

ITProfiles: Sometimes agencies chase the loudest trends while missing quieter shifts that have a much bigger impact. What's one industry buzzword or trend you think gets too much attention, and what should agencies focus on instead?

Cyrus Kiani:

AI gets too much attention.

His recommendation is to focus on “marketability.”

The point is not that AI is irrelevant. Rather, agencies need to consider whether what they are building can actually find a place in the market and create value for the people it is intended to serve.

Technology becomes much less useful when innovation exists without a clear commercial reason behind it.

ITProfiles: Which statement feels closest to reality today?

Cyrus Kiani:

“Buyers care more about reliability than innovation.”

That perspective challenges the assumption that the newest technology automatically gives an agency an advantage.

For buyers, an innovative solution that introduces uncertainty may be less attractive than a dependable partner that understands the problem and can deliver consistently.

ITProfiles: Imagine you're advising a new agency launching today. What's one capability or mindset you'd build into the business from day one because you believe buyers will increasingly expect it?

Cyrus Kiani:

Start with “clear goals and a real point of differentiation.”

He recommends defining the specific niche and market the agency serves rather than positioning it as a generic design or development provider.

That focus can make it easier for buyers to understand why an agency is relevant to their particular problem, and gives the agency a clearer basis for building expertise.

ITProfiles: Looking ahead to 2028, what's one thing you believe buyers will expect from agencies that still isn't considered standard practice today?

Cyrus Kiani:

“More consulting and far less design/development.”

That prediction suggests the agency role could move further upstream. Instead of simply receiving a defined requirement and turning it into a product, agencies may increasingly be expected to help clients determine what should actually be built and why.

The technical execution remains important, but strategic guidance could become a much larger part of the value buyers expect from their partners.

ITProfiles: If agencies ignore the trend you've talked about today, what do you think the consequences will be over the next few years?

Cyrus Kiani:

“They will be out of business.”

It is a blunt prediction, but it reflects the broader pressure running through his responses. Agencies that fail to understand changing buyer expectations risk becoming indistinguishable from competitors that offer similar technical capabilities.

The challenge is therefore not simply adopting every new technology. It is understanding what buyers value, defining a clear position in the market and consistently delivering an experience and outcome that justifies the relationship.

Cyrus's perspective ultimately points toward a less glamorous but potentially more important shift in agency competition.

AI may dominate industry conversations, but buyers still need agencies that understand their goals, deliver reliably and can demonstrate a connection between technology and business results. Personalized onboarding, clear positioning and consulting-led relationships may not generate the same headlines as emerging technologies, but they can have a much more direct effect on whether a buyer trusts an agency.

For agencies, the lesson is straightforward: innovation can attract attention, but reliability, relevance and a clear understanding of the client's business may be what ultimately wins the relationship.