What methods do you use to get to know your prospects before you meet with them? I'm here to tell you that you really need to do a lot more research and planning than you might imagine. The following are four categories that you should explore in depth before meeting with your prospect:
Industry
- Research your prospect’s industry
- Research their competitors
Company
- Obtain their literature
- Get to know their vendors
- Talk to their customers
- Talk to other employees at the company
- Talk to their sales department
Team
- Find out how your prospect fits into the team
- Find out who else on their team is going to be part of the decision
Individual
- Talk to people in your network who know them
- Look them up on LinkedIn
- Check out other sources like Facebook and Twitter
- Read articles or papers they have written
Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from the Sales Ninja blog, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”
Want our daily content delivered to your inbox? Subscribe to the Sales Ninja blog!
