Lead Generation is only the first step. How do you go about ensuring your first contact meeting is a success?

Thanks to Emma Brudner from the Hubspot Sales blog, I’ve summarised the 14 best places to research before you call. There isn’t a “bad” way to go about researching a potential client in preparation for a meeting or call, however there are some more effective avenues and certain techniques to help maximise efficiency.

As long as you are doing some background study on the basic information and challenges of your prospects you place yourself in much better position to understand your prospective client and build a long and prosperous business relationship. So here we go…

14 best places to Research Buyers before a Sales Conversation

• LinkedIn –  (if you only have time to research one aspect use LinkedIn)
• Buyer’s Twitter Account
• Company’s Twitter Account
• Company’s Press and Media Releases Page
• Competitor Press and Media Releases Page
• Financial Statements
• Blogs
• Facebook
• Your Marketing Automation System
• Your CRM System
• Google the Company
• Google the Prospect
• Quora
• Glassdoor

Clearly not all these options are as important in all countries or even applicable in different industries. For example an IT or software development company probably has a presence across Twitter, via Google search and LinkedIn, whereas information on a building company would be more likely to be found via LinkedIn or a Google company or prospect search. So select the ones that are right for your location and market.

You can read Emma Brudner’s full article here for all the detail.