---
# System prepended metadata

title: 3. Do your research
tags: [' M6', Week 2, ' H3']

---

---
tags: Week 2, H3, M6
---
# 3. Do your research
Now that you're in the right mindset of actively empathizing with the customer, there's one critical step we need to do before contacting anybody:

## Research!
:::danger
:warning: Researching sales leads prior to the initial sales call is **critical**. 
::: 
The information you discover through your research might be what gets your foot in the door with a potential prospect. 

Spending time doing the research before a call demonstrates initiative, and is the first building block in cultivating a relationship between the buyer and the seller. 

Having said this, **you shouldn't spend more than 5 or 10 minutes researching each lead**. In time, you will become an expert in finding just the right information in the most effective way possible. It's important you focus on the most relevant information only.

&nbsp;
## Cool! So what do I research and where?
We recommend covering the following for each of your leads and including it within your notes before you call them:

- **Qualification criteria:** do they match your ICP and IBP?
- **Most recent news on the company**
- **What their industry looks like**, including key competitors
- **Information on your contact person** that might be relevant in helping you understand who they are



Don't know where to look? Here are some ideas on sources you can use to perform your research.


- **Social channels - LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter**
Visit the company profile, check out their most recent posts, news and engagements. Make sure to also visit the person's LinkedIn profile and learn everything about them - where they live, where they worked before, their interests etc. All this can help you build rapport once you've managed to contact them!
- **Company webpage**
Check out their website, the team, culture and values, their blog...
- **Google**
Google the company and check what appears! Articles, videos, most recent news...
:::info
## Best-practice tip: pre-research your leads list

Here's one of our favourite best-practices:

- At the end of each day, select 10-30 leads that you prepare to be "ready to call" the next day. 
- Each lead is *ready to call* when you have:
    * **Basic contact details**. Phone - headquarter or personal, name and either email or LinkedIn)
    * **IBP and ICP qualified** Make sure their title corresponds to your IBP and the company corresponds to your ICP)
    * **A personalized pitch, script or message**. Have a clear idea on what you will say. Make sure you do some basic research on the prospect to personalize your outreach. 
- The next morning, jump straight into contacting these leads.
:::


Never go into a call without having done at least 5 minutes of research on your lead and their company! Similarly, make sure you don't spend hours and hours doing research as it wouldn't be effective.

The trick is to do just enough research to be able to personalized the approach and ensure you're reaching out to someone who has a high potential to become a client.

As usual, practice will make perfect. In time you will become an expert at doing just the right amount of research necessary 😉

Let's continue!

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