One of the most critical steps during any ERP or CRM sales cycle is the research you perform prior to the initial contact with a prospect. Good pre-discovery can significantly streamline a sales cycle while contributing to building your relationship as a trusted advisor.

Sales teams who dedicate at least 30 – 60 minutes to learn about an industry they aren’t intimately familiar with, often put themselves in a strategic advantage over the other competitive “horizontal” sellers.

The reason is, individuals and companies alike, prefer to invest in experts. It’s a fact. Look at your own personal, consumer buying patterns. When given a choice between saving a few dollars to engage with a business who may understand your needs versus spending a premium to invest in a product and service that understand exactly your specific need. The majority of the time people lean towards the premium option.

Before your initial call you should know – What are the key metrics in the industry? What are the top three priorities for the CFO? What current trends and business opportunities drive the prospect’s industry?

How do you get started? In addition to the traditional research avenues – a company website, Bing or Google, LinkedIn, etc. there are several industry tools to aid you in becoming proficient and speaking your prospect’s “language”.

Three tools I rely on and recommend to partners, in order of preference:

• First Research – http://www.firstresearch.com/
• IBIS World – http://www.ibisworld.com/
• Hoovers (Note, Dun & Bradstreet owns Hoovers and First Research – http://www.partnersourcemap.com/Detail/Details/7026386d-3eec-4018-b53b-8391f8da88c4?languageId)

Prior to my post I contacted all three organizations to learn about discounts available to Microsoft partners. While they exist, the reps weren’t forthcoming on what discounts they provide to Microsoft partners. However, when you call remind them you are a MSFT partner and learn more.