Sales Pitching

Sales Pitching Like a Pro
Having trouble getting your foot in the door? Do your research on the top dog of your prospect company, and watch the doors fly open.

By Tony Parinello   |   June 13, 2005


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Sales Pitching Like a Pro
Having trouble getting your foot in the door? Do your research on the top dog of your prospect company, and watch the doors fly open.


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  I hear it over and over from the top officers that I personally know and from the interviews on my weekly Entrepreneur Sales & Marketing show: "Salespeople don't take the time to find out what's going on in my world before they give me their pitch."

Maybe, just maybe, that's why it's getting increasingly more difficult to land appointments with the person at the top of the business totem pole, the person I affectionately call "VITO," the very important top officer. Before you can even think of pitching the top officer of a company, you have to undertake a little due diligence to find out everything you can about the VITO's company. In other words, what are his or her priorities today and over the next quarter? There are a few ways of finding this out:

1. Go on the web. Plunge your browser into www.hooversonline.com or any of the other reputable services currently available that will give you names, numbers, e-mail addresses and other important company information. By the way, don't automatically assume the information is totally accurate. Change is a way of life at the top, and individuals tend to move around without public notice. Always verify all information before you send any correspondence or make a telephone call (more on this later). A simple Google search of your prospect and his or her company will also yield valuable information.

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