5 Things B2B Sales Reps Should Learn About Prospects' Businesses

A little research goes a long way in the B2B industry. As a B2B sales rep, you'll experience greater success by researching prospects' businesses before pitching your products or services to them. During this research stage, there are several things you should try to learn about their businesses.

#1) Who Are Their Competitors?

Before reaching out to a prospect, you should identify his or her business's competitors. All businesses have competitors. Regardless of industry or sector, there are probably multiple businesses selling similar products or services. By understanding which businesses compete with the prospect's business, you can create a more compelling sales pitch that increases your chances of landing a new buyer.

#2) What's Their Biggest Challenge?

You should also try to learn the biggest challenge the prospect's business is currently facing. Like with competition, all businesses face challenges. Challenges consist of obstacles that prevent or restrict a business from achieving its goals. If you know the business's biggest challenge, you can offer a product or service as a solution.

#3) How Much Revenue Do They Generate?

Another key piece of information to learn is revenue. If you're going to pitch a B2B-related product or service to a prospect, you'll need to have a general understanding of his or her business's revenue. You can often find a business's revenue published on its official LinkedIn Company Page. Alternatively, publicly traded companies must disclose their revenue, as well as other financial information, on a quarterly basis.

#4) Who Are Their Senior Managers?

It's a good idea to identify the business's senior managers. Senior managers are upper-level managers who direct and lead the work of other employees, including other managers. Because of their high level of authority, they are typically decision-makers. Senior managers can make purchasing decisions for their respective business. As a result, senior managers are invaluable prospects for B2B sales campaigns. If you know the senior managers of a prospect's business, you can contact them to pitch your B2B company's product or service.

Be sure to learn about the senior managers. go to their LinkedIn page, find out what's important to them as well as level of responsibility. This will help you to build a business case to ensure approval of your product or service. 

#5) What's Their Forecasted Growth?

Finally, you should try to identify the business's forecasted growth. In other words, how fast is the prospect's business expected to grow in the coming months and years? Some businesses may publish this information on their LinkedIn Company Page or their website. If you know the business's forecasted growth, you can use a more customized approach to pitching your B2B company's product or service.

By doing a bit more research on a company and combining that with the project description on the project report, you should be well prepared to have an in-depth conversation that shows the prospect that you took the time to understand their needs before making a call. These type of efforts do go a long way.