Sales research (pre-call planning)

The days of asking a buyer the question, “So, what do you do here at ABC Company?” are over. Buyers expect you to know what they do when meeting with them. You’ve booked the appointment with them because you know what they do and believe you can help them, right? Well, don’t ask that question then.

Here are six steps to finding out who’s who at an account and what’s going on.

1. Visit the website before the meeting.

2. Go to the “Careers” section of their site to see what jobs they’re hiring for. Do the open positions offer further insight on how well positioned you are (increases in production, software systems match what you offer, etc.)?

3. Go to the “Press Releases” section of their site to read all recent announcements (product launches, new executives, new locations opening, new partnerships formed).

4. Go to the “Management” section to see who’s who on the executive team. Are you meeting with one of these individuals? Why not?

5. Perform a search for the company at Google News. Also search Google for the company’s name plus the word “competitor,” to see who their competitors are (if you don’t already know) and what’s going on with them.

6. Perform a search on each key executive’s name at Google. You’ll discover what organizations they’re involved in, where they speak, maybe even what they do for leisure activities.

Doing these things will shed light on who you’re working with. You’ll be surprised at the things you can learn leveraging just Google and the company’s website.

I also recommend taking a look at our series about Pre-Call Research where we review various technologies you can use to make your planning activities a bit easier.