How Much Time Should You Spend Preparing for a Sales Call?

If you're calling on a company for the first time, don't spend more time preparing than is necessary to find out its location and its worth to your company. Excessive research is not highly productive, because you can do much of your research on-site during the cold call. Ask questions; collect company materials, annual reports, and business cards of key contacts.

Prepare for the face-to-face visit only once you've scheduled an appointment with someone at the company. But don 't spend too much time preparing; it can become a form of procrastination. The real benefit of sales calls is to be in front of (or on the phone with) your prospect. Don't delay that opportunity any longer than necessary. Get on the phone, get on the Internet, and get in touch with companies or colleagues that do business with your prospect. Once you're confident enough to ask substantive questions about your prospect's industry and know that they've got enough business to warrant your time, you've spent enough time preparing.

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