Just because a project’s been sold doesn’t mean it’s landed.
You can deliver the work on time, answer the brief, and still walk away with nothing to show for it. No movement. No momentum. No change. The insight gets polite nods, then disappears into someone’s inbox.
In a small agency, that’s more than frustrating, and it’s potentially a reputational risk. It wastes the quality of your thinking, the value of your people, and the chance to do the kind of work that gets remembered.
Good research has always needed good delivery. But now, with AI handling more of the process, delivery is the differentiator. Clients are flooded with data, outputs, and decks that all look fine on paper. What they need is the part that hits, the bit that makes someone in the room say,
“Wait. This changes everything.”
That doesn’t come from the method. It comes from how the work is framed, presented, and sold inside their business.
And yes, that means borrowing from sales.
Because the job isn’t just to share what you found, it’s to show someone why they need to act, and what happens if they don’t.
Why Your Research Doesn’t Land (At a Glance)
- Research gets delivered, but it doesn’t drive change
- Decks are tidy, but the point isn’t clear or actionable
- Insight is shared, but not sold… and nothing happens
- Clients are flooded with data, not direction
- Researchers have the skills, but don’t always use them in delivery
- AI has streamlined the work, but made sharp communication more important than ever
Think Like a Marketer, Listen Like a Salesperson, Be a Researcher
Sales and marketing are separate functions, but both aim to do one thing: make someone understand the value of something and move toward it.
That’s the mindset researchers need. Not just sharing insight, but making it feel relevant, urgent, and clear.
From marketing, take audience awareness, message clarity, and the discipline to lead with what matters.
From sales, take curiosity, timing, and the skill of guiding a conversation in real time.
This isn’t about becoming someone else. Most researchers already have the same skills; they just need to use them more deliberately at the point of delivery.
What Salespeople Know That Researchers Should Steal
Sales isn’t about pressure or polish. At its best, it’s about helping the right person see the right thing at the right time, so they can make a decision and move.
That’s exactly what good research delivery should do. And the good news? You and your team are probably already doing most of it.
Salespeople don’t open with a feature list. They start with what matters. You do that too — when you build a discussion guide, shift approach mid-interview, or follow a hunch. You listen for hesitation. You go where the value is.
The same applies to delivery. Don’t start with the process. Start with the thing that makes someone sit up: the surprising shift, the misunderstanding, the risk.
Then say it clearly. No jargon. No qualifiers. You already know how to write a clean topline. Use that same instinct in the room.
“They thought you were a bank” will always land harder than
“There’s some brand misalignment present in the response set.”
And when someone reacts? Let it breathe. You’re trained to sit with silence in fieldwork — the same applies here. The most useful moment might not be a slide. It might be someone saying,
“Say that again!?”
When You’re Prepping to Present, Ask Yourself:
- What’s the moment that will make them say, “Hang on a second, what?”
- Are you opening with value or with process?
- Is there a slide that could be a story instead?
- Where can you pause and let the room react?
- Are you saying it simply enough that it could be repeated in a boardroom later?
Want to Get Better at This? Steal From These
You don’t need a framework or a course. You just need different inputs. These weren’t written for researchers, which is exactly why they work.
1. Made to Stick – Chip & Dan Heath
What makes an idea land and stay put? This book breaks it down clearly.
Read it with your next debrief in mind: what would make your message actually stick in their head?
2. Obviously Awesome – April Dunford
A book on product positioning that’s really about clarity.
Think about how you position your key finding — not just what it is, but how someone else will understand and use it.
3. Influence – Robert Cialdini
Still one of the best. Use it to spot where your work could lean into timing.
Read this and know where your work could lean into timing, social proof, and nudges to move someone toward action.
4. The JOLT Effect – Matthew Dixon & Ted McKenna
Modern sales thinking focused on indecision, not just persuasion.
Useful when you’re trying to get stakeholders past “we’ll think about it.”
5. Building a StoryBrand – Donald Miller
Messaging, stripped right back.
Apply this to your insight summary. Who’s the hero? What’s the problem? What happens next?
Where Aida Comes In
Strong delivery doesn’t need hours, a course, or a crash course in sales psychology. It just needs headspace. Enough breathing room to focus on what matters and how to say it clearly.
That’s where Aida helps.
Use Aida as part of your day-to-day research work. Let it handle the tedious parts: the admin, the transcripts, the repetition. It captures the conversation, highlights the moments that got a reaction, and gives you what you need to shape delivery that actually lands.
The thinking is still yours. Aida just gives you the room to make it count.
