How do you research your prospects before an advertising sales presentation?

Agree; first it really comes down to understanding who the key players are within whatever market your product/service suits best. Once you’ve identified those target companies you have to be a little more strategic than just picking up the phone and calling…. This is where “LinkedIn” comes truly handy. Figure out key contacts within that company; and dig a little deeper…. Check out their profiles and their associates. There is nothing wrong with calling the normal business number first and “asking for help” from whomever a answers. Ask them if they have a minute; then ask them if they could help you with answering a few questions because “you are doing some market research” people like to feel of value and certainly like to assist.

Both LinkedIn and Crunchbase are excellent resources. LinkedIn & Sales Navigator specifically to find the people to talk to, Crunchbase for insights on the client. LinkedIn in particular can save many hours in the sales process by finding the right person first time. Specifically for Advertising Sales in UK though, I would strongly recommend Alf Insight, which is by far the best insight tool I have used as it also includes detailed shares of wallet by media channel.

Define your ideal customer profile (ICP) for targeted advertising success. Specify factors like industry, size, location, revenue, and pain points. Tools like LinkedIn and Crunchbase help filter prospects aligning with your criteria. A precise ICP streamlines focus, ensuring your advertising services resonate with businesses poised to benefit the mos

- Identify your ideal customer profile: Determine the characteristics of the customer most likely to benefit from your product or service. - Learn about their business and industry: Research the company’s background, products, services, and the industry landscape. - Find out who makes the decisions: Identify key decision-makers and influencers within the organization. - Discover their goals and challenges: Understand their business objectives, pain points, and what success looks like for them. - Analyze their current advertising strategy: Review their existing advertising efforts, channels, and campaigns.

Before an advertising sales presentation researching prospects involves understanding their business target audience and challenges. This includes analyzing their website social media presence and competitors checking their advertising history and reviewing industry trends. It helps tailor a proposal that aligns with their goals and offers relevant solutions. To identify your ideal customer profile define the demographics, behaviors and needs of your best clients. Focus on their industry company size pain points purchasing habits and goals. This ensures you target prospects who benefit most from your product or service increasing the likelihood of successful sales.

In addition, be sure to scan their financial reports which can often be an indication of where the company intends to invest.

Before an advertising sales presentation research prospects by studying their business model target audience competitors and recent marketing efforts. Explore their website social media and press releases. Analyze industry trends and challenges and use tools like LinkedIn and industry reports to understand their position in the market. This preparation ensures tailored solutions.

When you have a lot of clients it can be really hard to keep on top of. But one thing I've used for the entire decade I've been working in Sales is to search for news on the client I'm going to see the day before and read/browse 2-3 pieces. Usually you can use that information in one of 3 ways: 1) Insights to add into the pitch itself to strengthen your proposal 2) You can speak about it to build rapport before the meeting 3) Not proactively mention it, but be aware of the news should the client speak about it or hint at it (usually this is when it's more negative)

Sí, deberías conocer su industria antes de sentarte a hablar con ese cliente. Pero mejor te irá si ya has trabajado en ella. Intenta buscar clientes parecidos a los que ya tienes y puedes ayudar.

Visiting the company's website and social media profiles to understand their mission, vision, products, and typical customer. Analyzing their current advertising strategy, what channels, platforms, formats, and messages they are using. It also includes Understanding their specific marketing objectives.

For the UK market I would recommend ALF Insight here for Advertising Sales as it provides the decision makers and usually their contact details.

El peor error en una reunión de ventas (sacando cosas gravísimas) es ir a una reunión con una persona que no puede tomar la decisión. - Si sale bien, tendrás que repetir toda la reunión con el tomador de decisión. - Si sale mal, perdiste el tiempo.

To research prospects before an advertising sales presentation review their website social media and recent news to understand their business model target audience and current campaigns. Analyze competitors' strategies and customer feedback. Use tools like LinkedIn for insights on key decision-makers. Tailor your pitch to address their specific challenges and goals. "Discover their advertising goals and challenges by asking questions about their current campaigns, target audience, and brand positioning. Identify key performance indicators they value and understand their marketing pain points. This ensures you align your advertising solution with their needs delivering value and measurable results."

Analyse the prospects' digital foot print before going into a digital advertising sales pitch. For local businesses, research on Google to find out how they are doing in organic search results (or use paid tools like Ahrefs or SEM Rush), whether they are doing any paid ads, have a look at Facebook and Instagram and their activity level there, check out the Google My Business profile and the number of reviews they received. Check out their website and rate it in terms of design, device compatibility, call-to-actions, etc.

Analyze Current Strategies: Review their advertising channels and formats, such as social media or PPC, to identify strengths and weaknesses. Budget Insights: Understand their advertising spend to gauge investment levels and potential ROI, using tools like SEMrush for deeper insights. Performance Metrics: Examine how they measure success, focusing on KPIs like engagement rates or conversion metrics to identify gaps. Competitive Landscape: Investigate competitors' strategies and performance to find market opportunities and differentiate your proposal. Website Behavior: Utilize analytics tools like Google Analytics to assess website traffic patterns and user behavior for tailored recommendations.

Be creative!! You can’t sell you have to sell without selling in a non-ccheulant sorta way. You have to have the mindset they need you; you don’t need them; and you are always busy. Whether you are or are not; you pretend you are and cut meeting short saying you e got another one across town to get to and suggest that you pick back up same day next week. Amazing how many owners will say okay sure. That’s building rapport and piquing their curiosity as to what more you have to share or offer.

Homework Be creative Figure out what other services they use frequently befriend that service rep; I can’t tell you how many sales and accounts I’ve landed via a Sysco Food Rep. This guy told me he always looked for my car and would wait until I left to go pitch and get weekly orders. I asked him why that was and he said “you always put these owners in the best mood and my food sales for the week double!” That being said I said well let’s tag team this operation together you sell the food I sell the marketing and we can share our book of contacts and connections. We crushed it collectively!