The inside scoop -
using online information services, databases for company research - Industry
Trend or Event
Theresa W. Carey
Monday morning, the call comes in - a
client referral brings you a new lead. The prospect wants to meet you on
Thursday to negotiate a work arrangement. Sounds promising, right? After
all, she did come to you. And gaining new clients is the most challenging
business task, according to our 1995 Annual Reader Survey. So why waste time
researching her company when you could devote your energies to winning yet
another client? Because the more information you know about a prospect, the
easier it will be to clinch the deal and protect yourself from getting
stiffed on payment. "But there are only 48 hours before the meeting," you
say. Relax. You've got all the research tools - a phone, a computer, and a
modem - you'll need right on your desk.
Start at the Source The job you're hired for will be to solve a particular
problem. But before you can offer an appropriate solution, you need to first
identify the specifics of the problem. This key information should come from
the prospect. Ask such open-ended questions as, "What have you done in the
past to solve this problem?" and "What's your ideal outcome?" Her responses
will help you determine the scope of the situation and whether her
expectations for a solution are realistic.
Inquire about what the business does, who its customers and competitors are,
and the firm's position in the marketplace. It's also important to
understand the company's structure. Ask the prospect what her role is in the
company. Who does she report to and whom does she supervise? Is she the
final decision-maker? If not, who has the authority to sign on the dotted
line? Will the decisionmaker attend your upcoming meeting? It's always a
good idea to get to know as much of the staff as possible because if your
contact leaves the company, your business may go out the door too.
See if you can get the prospect to reveal a budget for the project. Also ask
her to send some company literature, including brochures, fact sheets, and
the latest annual report. Even the company phone directory might come in
handy because it often includes employees' titles and divisions as well as
their phone numbers. The data you've gathered so far should serve as the
foundation for more research.
Conduct an Online investigation Firing up that modem and logging on is the
quickest way to obtain an overview of a prospect's business. But it can also
be expensive. The more specific your information, however, the more
productive your online search.
The big three online services all offer access to Hoover's Business Reports
(hoover is the go word on all three services), which contains a blend of 10K
and business press data such as head count, office locations, and parent and
child companies for publicly traded firms. The service carries no
surcharges. But the data can be three months to a year old. The Company
databases on America Online (keyword: company) and CompuServe (go: company
research) contain Disclosure files that also provide 10K financial
information about publicly traded businesses. Prodigy offers a quick way to
grab Dun & Bradstreet reports off the Business/Finance menu.
Newspaper databases on commercial services can take some time to wade
through. But you can choose the one that covers your prospect's local area
and search articles about her company within the last five years (if the
publication's archives are available). To access this information, click on
the business icon in the Today's News area of America Online. Click the
business/finance button on Prodigy and type go: newspaper on CompuServe.
The Compuserve TRW credit report database (go: trw) provides summarized
financial statements of public and private companies for the past two years.
And although the fees for the reports are on the high side ($25 to $50),
they provide a lot of information in a very short time. The reports aren't
pretty - text is all caps and there's a lot of jargon - but some time spent
perusing a credit report can spare you a lot of time playing accounts
receivable clerk.
The first part of the TRW report shows the various lines of credit the
business has outstanding and its payment histories. A good credit risk will
have most of the payments in the Current or 1-30 Days Past Due column. If
you see a large percentage of debts in the 61-90 Days Past Due, or 90+ Days,
make sure you get most of your payment up front should you decide to do
business with this company.
Web crawlers can head over to the Telebase home page (http://www.telebase.
com). This is the spot for searching the IQUEST InfoCenter, which contains
more than 450 databases covering business, news, science, and technology
along with entertainment and government information. (IQUEST is also
available on Compuserve; go: iquest.) Some of the databases can only be
accessed via telnet, which means that (at press time) people using the
browsers on Prodigy, America Online, and Compuserve can't download these
reports.
Get the Lowdown at the Library Granted, you will have to leave your office,
but it'll be worth the trip because your public library offers a wealth of
data on publicly held companies. For example, these businesses are required
by the Securities and Exchange Commission to file such financial statements
as annual 10K and quarterly 4Q reports. You'll also find official charters
for incorporated businesses, environmental impact statements, and other
state-required documents.
You might uncover product announcements, personnel changes, and stock
trading data in the library's newspaper archives. Articles about the company
may list the names of company officers you should know. Dun & Bradstreet
reports are also available. But keep in mind that information contained in
these documents, such as the number of employees and internal hierarchy, can
be two to three years old and may not accurately reflect the prospect's
current situation.
Although few local libraries will have complaint records on file,
specialized business libraries often do. The Better Business Bureau will
tell you whether the company has a history of customer complaints. And the
state attorney general's office maintains a similar file.
I became a believer in including credit checks along with my other research
on every one of my potential clients after getting burned by a company that
was referred to me by a fellow consultant. Had I done some basic research on
that particular firm and its owner, I would have saved myself three weeks of
billable time as well as a trip to small-claims court to win a judgment.
COPYRIGHT 1996 Freedom Technology Media Group
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group |
