Dave Kurlan is a top-rated speaker, best-selling author, sales thought leader and highly regarded sales development expert.
I read this article on the Best-Kept Secrets of Sales Research.
First, I wouldn't call this sales research as much as market intelligence.
Second, I wouldn't exactly call this stuff secretive.
Deborah Penta, the incredibly successful CEO of PENTA Communications, a full-service Marketing Firm, routinely has her staff performing audits like this on behalf of her clients. Why don't the clients do it themselves? Clients won't get this type of honest feedback if they perform it themselves!
So the research or intelligence above may help you learn why you didn't get the business, perceptions about your company, its shortcomings, and the perceived advantages of your competition. But the author left out the most useful sales research - #6 (should be #1) the sales intelligence you get from evaluating the sales force. Only through a sales force evaluation can you find out why your salespeople aren't able to consistently get the results you want, address and overcome their perceptions and win more frequently. In other words, what do you have to change, not from a marketing message, but in and on your sales force? Access the many articles I've written that are based on sales research, data and science.
You've read before about the elite top 5% of all salespeople - those we have identified from the 500,000 salespeople we have assessed. Just last week I wrote an article - research really - about the difference between the top 5% and the bottom 5%. I just learned about an opportunity for some of the top 5% - the sales superstars - to speak in Taiwan! If you're interested in being considered for this honor, let Chiu Piling know by sending an email.
(c) Copyright 2009 Dave Kurlan