Where to Find It

We live in the information age, where knowledge abounds. The amount of information we are bombarded with can be rather daunting—we are exposed to over 1,000 pieces of information a day, most of it useless. As a sales entrepreneur, we cannot afford to be wading through reams of useless information. We need to identify and peruse sources of information that will deliver reliable, informative, intelligence about our customer. These sources include:

the internet

annual reports

Dun & Bradstreet

trade journals

the company receptionist

old files

newspapers

information brokers

business library

brochures/catalogs

company newsletters

industry associations

other sales entrepreneurs

friends in low places

their sales department


I am sure your experience will offer other avenues to gather company intelligence. One of the best ways to gather intelligence quickly is to call the company and ask to speak directly to one of their sales entrepreneurs. Introduce yourself, tell them that you are doing some homework, and ask for their help. This is a great source of rich information, often overlooked, and my bet is they will be willing to accommodate you. They are easy to reach as they are in the habit of returning phone calls. I also bet that when they hang up they will say to themselves, "Hey, great idea, maybe I should try that approach."

The company's receptionist is another excellent source of information. Receptionists are often willing to answer your questions and offer interesting tidbits. However, understand that they see a lot of one-dimensional, intrusive sales representatives come through the door, so initially they may be reluctant to help. Be professional, introduce yourself, and tell them why you need their help; you are doing your homework. You can also speak to someone who knows the workings of a company better than anybody else—it may be a foreman, a supervisor, a shipper/receiver, or a driver. These people are usually happy to chat with you.

The list of potential sources is endless. It all depends upon your creativity and commitment to the relationship. Ultimately, your potential customer will be impressed with your knowledge. It demonstrates an obvious respect for their time. Unquestionably, it's a first big step in differentiating yourself and neutralizing your competition, especially if they are hanging out at their adult daycare center being too busy to plan.

From time to time you may find yourself responding to unexpected inquiries where a potential customer has called your company. This call could be triggered by word-of-mouth, one of your advertisements, seeing you at a tradeshow, or it may be simply an inquiry. In any case, your objective is to get an appointment. Resist the temptation to sell them on the telephone. Sell the appointment instead. However, during the initial telephone conversation learn as much as you can about them to ascertain their potential.

If there is potential, sell the appointment and then do your homework prior to the call. A strategy that has proven very effective for me when we get unexpected inquiries is to call their receptionist and ask if he or she would mind putting together a corporate package. This may include an annual report, brochures, and other items such as a company newsletter or quarterly flyers. I then send a courier to pick up the package within 24 hours of the call. When I show up to the appointment knowledgeable about their business, customers are impressed. Once again it's about being planned and prepared.

When is the optimum time to do your planning? I'm sure you answered "during non-selling hours." Right answer. Don't use valuable selling hours to plan. As we discuss in Chapter 4, ideally your planning is done before or after selling hours, not during. However, sometimes selling hours provide the only opportunity to call receptionists or other sales entrepreneurs. Even so, use your limited selling hours wisely.