Sales isn't just about having a great pitch or the right product; it’s about understanding people. What do your customers really want? Why do some deals close while others don’t? Sales research helps you understand what customers want and why deals succeed or fail.
This blog explains what sales research is, its types, methods, and how to apply it.
What is sales research?
What are the benefits of sales research?
- Better understanding of customer needs
- Helps refine sales strategies
- Enhanced product positioning
- Helps identify sales opportunities
- Organizations that conduct regular sales research are 25% more likely to hit revenue targets
- Helps in comparing performance with competitors or industry standards
- Minimises risks associated with launching new products
Sales research vs Market research
What should salespeople research before contacting a prospect?
Company information
- Industry
- Size
- Revenue
- Locations
Decision-makers
- Role
- Responsibilities
- Professional background
Business challenges
- Growth goals
- Operational issues
- Market challenges
Recent company updates
- Funding
- Product launches
- Expansions
- Leadership changes
Technology stack
- Existing tools
- Integrations
- CRM systems
Buying signals
- Job postings
- Website activity
- Content engagement
What are the types of sales research?
How to conduct sales research?
Conducting sales research is a strategic process that helps businesses make informed decisions, improve customer targeting and boost sales performance. Here's a guide:
1. Define your research objective
Start by clearly identifying what you want to achieve. Are you trying to understand customer behavior, test a new market, evaluate a sales strategy or analyze competitor performance? A focused objective keeps the research relevant and actionable.
2. Identify your target audience
Determine who you need insights from whether they are current customers, potential leads, industry experts, or competitors. This helps shape your research questions and ensures that you gather data from the right sources.
3. Choose the type of research
Decide which type of research method you want to use whether it’s primary, secondary, qualitative or quantitative research.
4. Collect data
Ensure that you use appropriate tools and methods to gather information.
These include:
- Online survey platforms
- Interview scripts or focus group discussions
- CRM system and sales analytics
- Public databases and market studies
5. Analyse results
Examine the data to identify patterns, challenges and opportunities. Also look for actionable trends such as common customer pain points or gaps in your sales funnel.
6. Apply insights
Use what you have learned to improve your sales process. This could involve refining your messaging, adjusting pricing, targeting a new segment or training your sales team based on customer feedback.
7. Monitor and update regularly
Ongoing sales research ensures you stay relevant and continue to make data-driven decisions that support long-term growth.
Common sales research mistakes
1. Researching without a clear objective
One of the biggest sales research mistakes is collecting information without knowing what you’re looking for. Spending hours reading about a prospect’s company, industry, or competitors doesn’t necessarily make your research useful. Before you start, define what you want to learn. For example, you may want to understand the prospect’s business challenges, identify a potential need for your product, or find a relevant reason to reach out. A clear objective keeps your research focused and saves time.
2. Relying on outdated information
Businesses, markets, and people change constantly, so old information can quickly become irrelevant. A prospect may have changed roles, the company may have launched a new product, or its priorities may have shifted since your information was collected. Always check when your sources were last updated and prioritize recent information. Using outdated research in your outreach can make your message feel irrelevant or poorly researched.
3. Collecting too much data
More data doesn’t always mean better research. Sales reps can easily spend too much time collecting information that has little impact on the sales conversation. Instead of trying to know everything about a prospect, focus on information that can help you understand their business, challenges, priorities, and potential needs. Good sales research should make your outreach more effective, not turn into a never-ending research project.
4. Ignoring customer pain points
Researching a prospect’s company size, revenue, industry, and recent announcements is useful, but it doesn’t tell you everything you need to know. You also need to understand what problems the customer is trying to solve. Look for signals such as customer complaints, operational challenges, changing priorities, or gaps in their current processes. Understanding these pain points allows you to position your product as a solution rather than simply presenting its features.
5. Focusing only on company information
Knowing about the company is important, but sales research shouldn’t stop there. You also need to understand the individual you’re reaching out to. Their role, responsibilities, goals, recent professional activity, and priorities can help you understand what matters to them. The same company can have different challenges depending on whether you’re speaking to a sales manager, CEO, or operations leader. Research both the business and the person to make your outreach more relevant.
6. Failing to use research in outreach
Research has little value if it never makes it into your sales conversations. A common mistake is spending time researching a prospect and then sending the same generic message to everyone. Use what you’ve learned to personalize your emails, calls, and LinkedIn messages. For example, if you discover that a company recently expanded its sales team, you could connect that change to a challenge your product helps solve. The goal isn’t to mention every detail you found; it’s to use the most relevant insight to start a meaningful conversation.
7. Not updating research regularly
Sales research isn’t something you do once and forget about. Prospects change jobs, companies enter new markets, launch products, change strategies, and face new challenges. Make it a habit to update important prospect information regularly, especially before major sales conversations or follow-ups. Keeping your research current helps you recognize new opportunities and prevents you from relying on information that is no longer relevant.
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