The first step in the sales process......Do Your Homework!

You would be amazed at how many salespeople do not research their prospects prior to either calling on them or having their first meeting. No seriously, you would be amazed. This is the most crucial part of the sales process yet is missed by so many. If you do not learn about your prospective company prior to engaging with them, you are missing a big opportunity.

Here are a few research tips before engaging with your next prospect:

Get On The Google

Google the company. Simple but very effective. Here you will see if they are in the news, images and even videos they have released. This will give you a good understanding of what is currently happening within their company as well as how they go to market with their customers.

Visit The Company Website

First and foremost, read the About page. This little nugget will help you understand not only how long they have been in business but their values or guiding principles as an organization. Then look for press releases, this will give you loads of information such as have they recently entered into a strategic partnership with another organization or have they recently expanded into another area of the country or perhaps into another country. These are just a few examples of the wealth of information you will find.

LinkedIn

This is a great way to not only learn more about the company and their go-to-market strategy but you can learn about the people that form the organization. Follow the company’s page and most importantly look up the person or people you are trying to engage with. You might find that you graduated from the same university or one of the best, have mutual connections. Mutual connections are a great way to initiate an introduction.

Showing your prospects that you took the time to learn about their business will not only set you apart from the competition, it will also give you a knowledge base to work from when forming your strategy.