"so What Does Your Company Do?" - Plan Your Sales Calls

Want to look really dumb? When you show up for a sales meeting with a new company

, ask "So what does your company do?" This is like saying, "Look, I really didn't take any time to do any sort of research about your company and quite honestly that's a lot of effort. I am really hoping that you have problems and I will get the order."

You should always do research on a company before you go and see them. In this day and age, the internet has so much information and chances are there will be information on the company that you are going to see. At the least, understand what business they are in and see what is going on in their industry.

Here are some potential pieces of information that you should try to find out:

1. Is this location a head office or satellite office?

2. What does the company do?

3. What industry are they in? It could even be industries.

4. Financial information, such as revenues, net income and others, if available.

5. What problems does their industry face?

6. What problems does the company face? Such as growth problems, missed financial targets, etc.

The information above is just a starting point. Only you can decide how what and how much information you would like to uncover. Typically you could use Google or one of the search engines to get some initial information. Obviously you would type the company name in the search box and see what results come up.

Another search you can use is in Google News to see if the company is in the news. Once you start doing research, you will find what works for you.

Other areas that you can look at could include using services like Hoovers or Crush, which provide a very in depth overview of a company including; key people such as C-level and Vice President level, financial information, subsidiaries and such.

One great source for information from public companies includes their quarterly and annual financial reports. Often times you will see what the company is planning on focusing on in the CEO's letter to shareholders.

Doing even just a little bit of research on a company will at least prep you for your call and it shows that you care enough to at least put the time in. This will show the prospect that you will care about them as a client too.

by: Chris Hamilton

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