Ever been in that meeting where someone drops a brilliant insight about your industry and everyone’s nodding along while you’re thinking “Where the hell did they learn that?”
They probably used the Back Search Method without even knowing it.
I stumbled across this technique from brain wizard Vera Birkenbihl years ago, and it’s been my secret weapon for quickly getting knowledgeable on any sales situation.
Here’s the hack: Start with the conclusions, then work backward.
Instead of reading an entire book on manufacturing processes when you’re selling to a factory tomorrow morning, just Google “manufacturing efficiency quotes” and boom – you’ve got distilled insights from experts who spent decades thinking about this stuff.
The beauty of Back Search is that quotes are concentrated wisdom. Someone already did the work of boiling down complex ideas into bite-sized brilliance.
Example: I was pitching to a healthcare exec last year. Spent a couple of minutes searching “healthcare innovation quotes” before the call. Casually mentioned, “As Edward O. Wilson said,
‘We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom.'”
The client literally said “EXACTLY!” and we were off to the races.
This works for any sales scenario:
- New industry? Quote search it
- Tough objection? Quote search it
- Need a compelling opener? Quote search it
Why this matters: Your customers don’t expect you to be an expert in their field. But they DO expect you to understand their challenges. Back Search gives you that understanding without the 300-page textbook.
