First Research Builds Momentum as Industry Intelligence Leader

Company Demonstrates Strong Growth, Expands into New Markets and Opens New Headquarters

RALEIGH, NC – March 30, 2005 – First Research Inc., the leading industry intelligence company, announced today it has experienced significant growth over the past year, including 40% customer growth. As a result of this increasing customer demand, First Research has increased its staff by more than 50% and has moved into new corporate headquarters.

“Having spent years as a sales person, I learned firsthand that understanding my customer’s industry was critical to getting my foot in the door and building long-term relationships,” said Bobby Martin, First Research president and co-founder. “To us, this momentum simply means we are doing exactly what we set out to do when we created First Research - helping other sales professionals increase their chances of success.”

First Research arms sales teams with the industry intelligence needed to successfully engage sales prospects. Industry Profiles, First Research’s core product, provide the information sales professionals need to quickly learn about a target industry. Each Profile is updated quarterly and highlights critical industry trends, challenges and opportunities. Also included are dozens of powerful call preparation questions enabling users to engage clients and prospects in a dynamic conversation about the operations, finance, marketing, technology and business strategy aspects of the industry.

While First Research’s legacy lies in the banking industry, this recent growth has resulted from the company’s expansion into new markets including technology, telecom, accounting and professional services. The company has also established relationships with other leading companies dedicated to improving the performance of sales teams around the world. One such company is Huthwaite, a premier sales performance improvement organization and the creator of SPIN® Selling.

“Our research and experience has consistently demonstrated that preparation is one of the key components needed to achieve improved sales effectiveness, and we believe that First Research’s industry intelligence can provide the foundation for that preparation,” explained Jennifer Saunders, Huthwaite vice president of Marketing. “First Research performs the tedious task of combing through what can often be an overwhelming amount of information and distilling it into a quick and easy format that can help sales people engage prospects and walk away with customers.”

About First Research
First Research is the leading industry intelligence company that helps sales teams perform faster and smarter, open doors, and close more deals. First Research performs the “heavy lifting” by synthesizing hundreds of sources into an easy to digest format that a sales person can consume very quickly to better understand a prospect’s business issues. First Research updates each Industry Profile quarterly and pushes out email alerts to ensure that content is both timely and top of mind. Customers include leading companies in banking, technology, telecommunications, business process outsourcing, and professional services. Used by over 40,000 sales professionals, First Research can benefit any organization that has prospects in multiple industries. First Research is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information about First Research, please visit www.firstresearch.com.

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Media Contact:
Shawn Ramsey
Crossroads Public Relations (on behalf of First Research)
(919) 359-0947 (office)
(919) 621-0737 (mobile)
sramsey@crossroadspr.com

Kristin W. Bear
Crossroads Public Relations (on behalf of First Research)
(919) 784-0445 (office)
(919) 349-1856 (mobile)
kbear@crossroadspr.com