At a glance:
- Traditional research costs £50K+ for outdated data – sales development gives real-time feedback from actual prospects
- Outsourced validation costs 1/3 of traditional research with no internal hiring needed
- Case study: Client found unexpected market fit, built £760K pipeline in 3 months
- Ideal for £50K+ contract value companies testing new markets
That 100-page market research report sitting on your desk that cost more than my first car? It’s wrong.
A friend of mine learned this the hard way when he was leading sales for a SaaS company. He’d spent £50K on market research that told him manufacturing was the next big opportunity. Six months and two failed sales hires later, he realized he’d been wasting his time.
Table of contents
The Problem with Traditional Market Research
Traditional market research is static, outdated the moment it’s printed, and useless when things don’t go as planned.
Here’s what typically happens:
- Spend three months on market research
- Hire expensive industry experts
- Build out an entire sales team
- Finally talk to actual customers
- Realize your assumptions were wrong
- Hide from your board
A Better Approach to Market Testing
What if I told you there’s a way to test new markets that’s:
- Faster than traditional research
- Cheaper than building an internal team
- Actually based on real market feedback
- Won’t destroy your quarterly budget when it needs adjusting
Enter: The Sales Development Validation Framework
This isn’t theoretical research. This is real-world, in-the-trenches validation through strategic sales development.
Step 1: Start Small, Learn Fast
Instead of betting everything on market research, start with a focused sales development campaign. You’ll get real feedback from actual prospects before committing serious resources.
Step 2: Use Other People’s Resources (OPR)
Here’s where it gets interesting. Instead of building out an entire team, use an outsourced sales development agency. (Yes, I work at one – though my point stands regardless of who you work with.)
Why? Because:
- No long-term commitments
- Expertise on tap
- Scalable resources
- Built-in tech stack
Step 3: Gather Real Intelligence
Remember that £50K market research report I mentioned? Here’s what £50K in actual sales development gets you:
- 500+ conversations with actual prospects
- Real-time feedback on your value proposition
- Clear understanding of market pain points
- Actual pipeline (you know, revenue opportunities)
The Proof is in the Pipeline (a Real Example)
Let me tell you about one of our clients, Basware. They were absolutely certain their next target market was financial services.
They were wrong.
Through our sales development campaign, we discovered that while fintech companies weren’t interested, logistics companies were actively seeking their solution. Three months later, they had:
- £760K in qualified pipeline
- 15 hot opportunities
- A new market strategy
- One very relieved executive team
And it cost about 1/3 of what they would’ve spent on traditional market research.
How to Know if This Approach is Right for You
This approach might work for you if:
- Your product/service has an annual contract value over £50K
- You’re considering expansion into new verticals
- You’re tired of expensive market research that doesn’t drive sales
- You need real market feedback, not theoretical insights
The Bottom Line
You can keep doing market research the old way. Keep printing those MapQuest directions and hoping they’re still accurate.
Or you can use sales development as your GPS – giving you real-time feedback, adjusting when needed, and actually getting you where you need to go.
