Target Opportunity Selling: Top Sales Performers Reveal What Really Works

Chapter 2

Research

The Sales Expansion Loop: Research

The word research comes from the French word rechercher, which means “to go about seeking knowledge.”¹ It is a “harnessing of curiosity” to establish facts and solve new or existing problems.

With a little bit of homework and preparation, you can understand the customers’ world, see through their eyes, and walk in their shoes. But why would you want to bother? Because if you want to pitch an idea to a prospect that they’re not already considering, you must be conversant with the issues that are going on in their industry, company, or personal roles, and you must extrapolate how your offering ...