Consider the following scenario: Without a formal appointment, a seller stumbles into a conversation. She soon realizes she’s talking directly to a decision maker in her market. She connects well, uncovers needs and pain points with direct questions, builds trust, and discusses the value of her product in a way that matches his requirements. It is a textbook sales exchange. She closes the deal and makes a nice commission with no pre-work.

What did she have on her side that helped her succeed?

Success favors the prepared

This was a scenario one of my former sales VPs presented to new hires during training classes. Answers were predictable: Good needs analysis, natural sales ability, great product, confidence, and so on. He would always agree with their answers. “Sure, that was probably a factor in her success here. And all are important for any good seller.”

But he was always sure to add, “Her success came chiefly from one thing: Luck. Luck plus a well-prepared salesperson creates a sale. You can’t forecast around finding those lucky situations.  All you can do is prepare for them.”

This is not a new sentiment. In 65 AD, Roman philosopher Seneca first said “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” That might just make him the world’s first sales enabler.

Power of passive research

With time to prepare for a sales call, you can dig deep—using all sorts of tools and resources available. But often you’re presented with a selling opportunity that doesn’t afford you much time, if any, to prepare.

As a sales professional, no situation should catch you completely unprepared. With passive research, you don’t need to know who your client is to be ready for a meeting with them. There are a number of pieces of info you should always have on hand, so you can move confidently through a sales discussion regardless of what you know about the specifics of that client.

Here are just a few passive research topics:

• State of your industry: Know the trends, new technologies, new strategies being discussed in your field. 

• Your competition: Know their products, general pricing, and advantages. What they do better and worse than you?

• Success stories: Be ready with a success story from another recognizable company. If it’s a name in the buyer’s industry, even better.

• Your products: Don’t depend solely on a deck, glossy sheet or other physical resource for salient points and value proposition. Know your best points without a prop—because you may not always have one.

• Frequent client industries: Learn everything you can about your product’s most popular industries and vertical markets. If you sell largely to learning centers, learn everything you can about the business of running a learning center. You’re most likely to encounter an opportunity involving a learning center, so you can have the advantage of knowing that scenario well even before you encounter it.