Sales Research Really Matters. Here Are 3 Tips for Being Great At It.

What do top-performing salespeople – defined as those who are nearly twice as likely to exceed quota, compared to their peers – do differently?

As part of a LinkedIn and Ipsos analysis of 2,000+ sellers, they adopt three “deep sales” habits others ignore. The first one –

Prioritize high-potential accounts. That largely comes down to, as the headline of this blog suggests, research

“In today’s sales environment, it’s no longer enough to just be good at diagnosing the client’s problem and coming up with a solution,” JB Sales CEO John Barrows said. “If you’re not doing your research and bringing insights to the table that get the client to think differently, then you’re not getting asked to the table anymore.”

Why does research matter so much? And how can you be great at it?

Let’s dive in.

Let’s start with why sales research matters so much to begin with: buyers want it.

Let’s start with the why. Why does sales research matter so much?

Because B2B buyers expect it. We surveyed 500+ of them, and those buyers told us the top three things a seller can do to increase their likelihood of buying that salesperson’s solution. 

All three come down to research.

Let’s take them one-by-one:

• Demonstrate a clear understanding of our business needs. Clearly falls into the research category (and discovery), this comes down to really understanding the person and the company they operate in.
• Demonstrate a clear understanding of our industry and competitors. Again, this comes down to consistent research, as buyers want sellers who really know their industry
• Reach out to me when I’m considering a new product or service. This is more research of the individual prospect and knowing when to reach out. Sales intelligence tools can really help here.

“B2B buyers at all levels operate with a simple philosophy — understand how I work, what I care about, and my role in the organization,” Accenture SVP Neil Padwardhan said. “Advise me on a tailored solution that will not just solve my problem today, but also contribute to revenue in the long term. My advice to salespeople is to really take the time to dig deep because sales is never about the sale itself. Instead, it’s about the relationships you build along the way.”

Neil nailed it. In summary, buyers want sellers who reach out when they are ready, possess knowledge about themselves and their company, and can credibly discuss the industry they operate in.

Three actions for getting better at sales research – and increasing your chances of exceeding quota.

How can you become great at sales research? Focus on these three areas:

1. Top-performing salespeople aren’t just experts on specific companies, they are experts on the industry they sell into.

In our research, we found the majority of salespeople do at least some research into the companies they sell into. That’s a good thing – you should, at the very least, understand how the company you’re trying to partner with makes money, for example.

But buyers see that as table-stakes. What top–performing sellers do differently is they prioritize industry research as well.

Overall, 62% of top-performing sellers spent their time learning more about an account’s industry — trends, competitive landscape, and so on. Conversely, only 20% of low-performing sellers prioritize industry research. 

“I encourage our teams to do their homework,” Muck Rack CRO Bryan Hamblin told us. “Everybody says do your research. But we say do the homework that can really distinguish you from what I'll call the surface-level research that comes from reading a website or reading a bio. I’m talking about the deep stuff that really shows you understand prospects and customers. To do that, you need to give your customers the answer to the assignment they didn’t even know they had.”

To do the type of “homework” Bryan is outlining, you need to become a “student of the game” of whatever industry you sell into. Read trade journals, browse LinkedIn, go to conferences; whatever it takes to deeply understand what you sell into.

Then, you can start to give the sort of strategic advice buyers crave, and – to Bryan’s point – highlight problems your customer didn’t even know they had.

How Sales Navigator can help: A few ways.

First off, with Account IQ, you can do company research and get the competitive landscape in a click. This empowers you to spend more time researching and less time searching the web for information about that company.

Being a true industry expert is a commitment, but Sales Navigator can help there as well (beyond Account IQ). David Fisher outlined one approach he uses – he has a Lead List just of influencers in the space he sells into, and gets alerted every time they post. This way, he can stay up-to-date on the latest trends.

Same goes for your most influential customers and prospects. 

2. Use Sales Intelligence software to help you identify which companies are the best fit for your solution.

Another thing top-performing sellers do differently than their peers –

They accept that they don’t have all the answers. Instead, they rely on tools to guide their sales strategy.

Specifically, top-performing sellers are 4.1x more likely than low-performing sellers to utilize intelligence tools to identify areas of opportunities across accounts. And top-performing sellers also utilize sales intelligence technologies to identify contacts, as they are 1.8x more likely to use them to identify members of the buying committee, when compared to low-performing sellers. 

Here’s why this matters – buyers tell us they are much more likely to take a meeting with a salesperson if they are actively shopping for a product (no surprise there). But, how are you, the salesperson, going to realistically know when someone is shopping for a solution?

You most often won’t. But sales intelligence tools can, as people shopping for a solution leave digital footprints that show they are eager to buy.

How Sales Navigator can help: As the leading sales intelligence platform, Sales Navigator clearly plays a role here. But here are three specific functionalities that can really help:

• Buyer and Category Intent. Our buyer and category intent scores show you who is interested in either your specific product or your category overall. Both of these are search filters within the platform as well.
• Account Hub. If you upload your book of business into Sales Navigator, Account Hub will effortlessly prioritize your accounts, based on growth potential, buyer intent, or risk alerts. This allows you to focus on the accounts that are more likely to close. 
• Alerts. Imagine being notified the minute one of your accounts goes on a hiring spree? Or gets a new round of funding? Or hires a new leader? You can, through Sales Navigator Alerts, as all indicate a greater likelihood of wanting to buy. 

Bottom line, investing in Sales Navigator gives your entire sales team the real-time, comprehensive foresights needed to prioritize their books.

3. Research a buyer before you reach out.

Last but not least. Thanks to your commitment to industry research, buyers will see you as a strategic advisor. And, by using sales intelligence software, you are laser-focused on which accounts to focus on.

Now is the time to reach out to specific buyers. But, before you do that, once again – sales research is key.

Top-performing sellers know this is as important as ever, as 95% said they are doing more research on prospects than they were doing a year ago. That number is much lower for low-performing salespeople.

“Probably the area I spend the most amount of time on before a sales call is research on that person,” TokenEx Sales SVP Amanda Georgoff told us. “Are they on Twitter? Are they on LinkedIn? And what are they posting? Where did they go to college, what is the arc of their career, where do they live, where have they worked? What are their hobbies, how do they like to spend their time? Do they talk about their family at all?”

Yes, of course – buyers want a strategic advisor to help their business move forward. But they are still people, and they want someone who is going to understand them as people as well.

Take steps to understand them before reaching out to give yourself an advantage. Top-performers are already doing this.

How Sales Navigator can help: Once again, Sales Navigator Alerts can play a role here. With them enabled, you’ll be alerted the minute any of your key contacts posts on LinkedIn or is mentioned in the news.

That’s great intel for understanding what’s top-of-mind for them and what they most care about.

A second way – Teamlink. With Teamlink, you can see if the prospect you’re trying to reach is connected to anyone you know. If they are, it’s a great way to get a wealth of information on them, said HubSpot SVP Kimbler Dieter.

“Prior to a meeting with a customer, I will go on Sales Navigator and see who we're connected with,” Kimberly said. “I can't tell you the number of times it's allowed me to navigate a relationship with the customer faster because I was able to look at our mutual connection, reach out to that connection prior and say, ‘hey, do you know ‘so and so’ – I'm meeting with them next week. What can you tell me about them? What can you tell me about their decision making? What can you tell me about the company, the culture, the brand, the experience? Tell me everything that you know.’ It always allows me to move faster in building that trust and relationship with the customer.”

Bottom line, this data on what top-performing sellers confirms what many already know – customer and industry research has a very long-tail payoff. The key is making it a habit and always showing up informed and ready.

For that, don’t be afraid to seek some help, in the form of the right tools.

Discover the other habits that nearly double your chances of exceeding quota in our new Deep Sales Playbook here.