After a previous post about the ‘Top 7 Tips for Cold Calling’ – I had an email asking me, how EXACTLY do you research a business – so here are the ways that I have researched a business before making contact.
Some I think are obvious – others less so…
1. Check the company website: Start by visiting the company’s website and looking for information about their products, services, and values. This can help you to understand their business and identify areas where your radio stations product or service could be useful and help them – especially if you see that they started out strong in one area, but that seems to have fallen off – or if they have a feature or product that gets less attention that it should – tailor your pitch to that.
2. Look for news articles and press releases: Search for news articles and press releases about the company, as well as any recent events or developments that may be relevant to your pitch. From local news sites to press releases they (again) may have on their site. Brushing up on the news of their company can make all the difference.
3. Check their social media: Check the company’s social media profiles, including LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. This can help you to get a sense of their company culture and what types of content they share, and who is the focus of it – is it a staff member, members of the public, products, services – take note.
4. Use online directories: Use online directories such as Yelp, Yellow Pages, or Google My Business to gather information about the company’s location, phone number, and customer reviews. In fact customer reviews are so vital at this point that it should be much higher on this list.
5. Look for industry reports: Search for industry reports or market research that may provide insights into the company’s industry and competition. We have a bedding company which is independent competing against 4 other companies in the area (which are all franchises), the independent survives because they react to industry reports faster than the others, does lots of market research, and is not afraid to be different.
6. Use LinkedIn: Yes I said this in ‘Check Their Social Media’ but you need to do this seperatly to check out their CEO and their employees. See if you have any mutual connections that could help you to make a warmer introduction. Or discover what has been happening behind the scenes at work.
Overall, conducting thorough research before making a cold call can help you to understand the company’s needs and interests, and tailor your pitch accordingly. By taking the time to research the business, you can increase your chances of making a successful sale.
