How much should you know about a company before you call on them?

That's the question I put to a group of sales managers recently, and every one of them answered "as much as possible," "everything," or "all the hot issues." At the same time, a lot of them felt that finding the information was difficult, or would take their salespeople too much time.

The biggest challenges are: what's most important to know before making that first call, and where can you get it, quickly and efficiently?

Critical information would include industry and market challenges. What are those 'hot issues' they're facing right now? Who are their customers, and what are the trends that could affect future business with those customers? Key personnel names are important, too, from owners to company officers. Having the names of decision-makers is a must.

Fortunately, a lot of this information is available at a click of the mouse. Many companies are an open book on the World Wide Web. Their web sites often provide names, mission statements, even links to state and national associations who deal with the issues facing their industry. Many trade magazines are online, too. Access them, and you can usually access archives of articles and news stories on industry issues and statistics.

What's not on-line is often on file at the local library. With extensive trade magazine files (and their own online article archive), your research can be done faster, and with more detail. And, if you, yourself, aren't "online," you can access the web there, too.

Can there be a downside to this information explosion? The only one our manager group voiced was that some salespeople "spend so much time on line that they rarely meet face to face with prospects."