Insights in Sales and Client Services: A Human-Centred Approach
Moments of clarity rarely arrive with a thunderclap. More often, they sneak in quietly — an observation here, a question there — until things align. In that moment, clarity cuts through complexity. A new perspective emerges — an insight.
They are not facts. They are not data points. Insights are the connective tissue between understanding and action. And when uncovered, they become the hidden force behind transformation, whether you’re designing a product, reimagining a public service, or taking your client engagements to the next level.
But what is an “Insight”? Archimedes had one in the bath. Newton under a tree. You’ve likely had your mid-shower, mid-jog, or mid-meeting. That sudden, thrilling “Aha!” moment? That’s the essence of an insight.
Neuroscience teaches us that insights often arrive when the mind is in a relaxed, open state — alpha brainwaves gently humming — before spiking with a gamma burst that signals a new connection. Dopamine floods in, anchoring the idea with a satisfying emotional hit. But beyond the biology, there’s a deeper truth: insights change how we see. They reframe. They reveal. They challenge assumptions. And crucially, unlock action.
How do Designers use Insights?
Designers teach us to suspend judgment, hold back from interpretation and, at first, just to observe. This enables us to revisit those observations later, with less of our own biases, from the perspective of the human beings (the users) we’re designing for — By asking why what we observe might be happening?
A famous Stanford D-School example comes from rural India. A team of ethnographers was in a hospital and observed numerous donated incubators unused and collecting dust. As they explored why that might be, during their research, they observed mothers warming their babies with heated bricks, which led them to the insight…
The real need wasn’t an incubator — it was reliable, portable warmth without electricity or hospital access.
Idea: The Embrace Warmer — a $25, electricity-free infant warmer using phase-change material for sustained heat.
Result: Improved outcomes for over 300,000 infants in 20+ countries.
How do sellers use Insights?
In sales, “insights” aren’t as ambitious. The most well-known definition of a sales insight is the Challenger Sales definition of a Commercial Insight:
- Highlights a unique seller strength
- Challenges customer assumptions
- A catalyst for action
While valuable, we’re a million miles from Archimedes, Newton or the Stanford D-School, in particular, all the thinking is seller/product-centred. Which misses the point.
At True & North, we don’t see Sales and Client Leadership as just about solving today’s problems, instead, we seek to ‘look around corners’ and anticipate clients’ future needs.
In our work, we see sellers (and their clients!) derive huge benefit when they prepare for client interactions by applying the rigour and empathy of the design process pragmatically — including applying insights with more ambition than is the norm in sales.
Alright, smartie pants, how do True & North do it?
1. Observe
Borrow an Empathy Map from Design Thinking to gather a broad set of observations from the client’s world. Forcing the sellers to park their agenda and products (at least for now) and be genuinely curious.
2. Hypothesise
Consider observations from the client’s perspective with deep curiosity, asking what the observations might mean for the client and how they might feel? Capture these as questions.
3. Prioritise
Now and only now, bring the seller’s products and services into the equation. Consider which observations and hypotheses are most important to the client, and of those, which the seller might be able to help with. Those that make the cut have the potential to be synthesised into an insight.
4. Synthesise
We teach our clients to synthesise insights as questions that are used early in the conversation.
Our clients — Meta, Samsung, Publicis, among others — value this application of insights and human-centred innovation in sales above all else.
Check out this video that shares a short summary of the benefits of insights in sales and client services.