By Emma Snider,

There’s no wrong way to go about researching a prospect in advance of a call. Yes, there are a few efficiencies to be gained, and some networks are more important to check than others, but as long as you’re doing your research, you’re already more than halfway there.

The only way a sales rep can truly fail is by going into a call totally cold. Buyers just don’t have the patience to answer basic questions whose answers are readily accessible with the most cursory Googling, nor do they have time to fill you on their challenges. If you pick up the phone without gathering any background information, at best you stand to annoy the person, and at worst, to be hung up on mid-sentence. But you can be sure there’s not going to be any money exchanging hands or contracts being signed.

You might not have time to check every box on this list before a call, and that’s okay -- just make sure to check at least a few. The more you can personalize your conversation to the prospect and their business, the greater the chance that you’ll capture their interest -- and hopefully their business.

1) LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a gold mine for prospect research. If you can only research your prospect on one platform before your call, make it LinkedIn.

Find your buyer on the network, and check out each of the following areas of their profile: 

*Experience at their current job – Most people list primary job duties or major projects they’ve worked on. This can help you get a sense of what falls under their jurisdiction, and what doesn’t.

*Experience at their former jobs – Customize your messaging based on their career history. Is this their first time making this kind of purchasing decision, or have they done this many times?

*Shared connections – If you have a connection in common with your prospect, make sure to bring it up during your conversation, and ask how they know this person. This could be a referral opportunity.

*Groups – Click through to their groups to see what’s being talked about.

*Recent activity – Take a look at what your buyer has recently shared and where.

2) Buyer’s Twitter Account

If your prospect has a Twitter account, you should spend a few minutes on their page to get a sense of what they’re interested in. Read a handful of the articles they’ve recently retweeted, or look into an issue they posted about. Click back through their feed to spot any major trends in their interests. 

3) Company’s Twitter Account

What kind of content and messaging has the company been promoting? Understanding how the company is presenting itself to its customers can help you better understand how to present yourself to your buyer.

4) Company’s Press and Media Releases Page

Scroll through the recent press releases and see if anything major has been announced such as leadership changes, product releases, financial statements, events, or customer wins.

5) Competitor Press and Media Releases Pages

If a competitor has made a significant announcement within the past few months, that will color the way your buyer looks at your offering -- either as a competitive advantage, or an unnecessary expense in the face of more pressing priorities. Figure your footing out before you pick up the phone.

6) Financial Statements

If your buyer works for a public company, it might be a good idea to check out its most recent financial reports on the SEC’s website. This will give you an idea of how the company is performing, as well as the problems it’s facing (check out “risk factors” sections).  

7) Blogs

Read what your buyer reads, and read what your buyer writes. If your prospect maintains a blog, be sure to read at least the last few posts and comment on them during your call. In addition, visit the websites of popular industry blogs and peruse the latest posts to learn more about the trends and challenges shaping the environment.

8) Facebook

Facebook is more of a personal social network, and so typically less important for researching purposes than LinkedIn or Twitter. Still, it might be helpful to check out your buyer’s Facebook profile to pick up a few personal tidbits about them. Just make sure to weave these into the conversation naturally, or you risk giving off an overly personal vibe. Also, this is another good place to see if you have any friends in common. 

9) Google the Company 

Conduct a search on the company to bring up any news stories that they've kept off their press page -- good or bad. Be sure to select third-party publications that are high-quality and reliable.

10) Google the Prospect

Search your buyer’s name in quotes to surface any other information about them that might’ve fallen through the cracks. Baking contest winner? Amateur trumpet player? Right on.