Stage 5.Establish potential for each target. The combination of market survey material (the number of customers ready to buy at any one time, for example) with demographic data as to total target numbers, presents a simple estimate of the potential in sales. For example, a survey may have found that 21 percent of all school teachers are prepared to purchase a new briefcase at any one time. An average school board with 600 teachers would represent potential sales for 126 cases.