What Do You Know About Your Customers ?

After I wrote a post that Brandon used over at SalesTeamTools.com, I started thinking about what we, as salespeople, need to know about current and potential customers.

I’ve come up with a preliminary list of things you need to know, but I’m hoping you can add to it and then we can disseminate it, with all credit to those who contribute, at some point in the future.

Here’s my list, feel free to add to it and assume your place in the big link leak in the future.

1) Their business, their customers and theirmarket, their primary product.

2) How big they are and their place within their market.

3) Who does the real buying ? Who has influence on those buying decisions ?

4) How often do they buy and in what quantity ?

5) What was their total revenue last year ? How much of that is influenced by your product ?

6) Who is their biggest, most problematic competitor ? How much product do you sell to that competitor ?

7) What’s their financial standing ? Do they pay their creditors on time or use the money for as long as possible and try to use their suppliers to finance their ventures ?

What news have they announced that might affect the product you sell them ?

9) Do they need your product ? Do they value your company or just tolerate you ?

10) What other problems do they have that you can sell the solution for ?

There’s the stater fluid, now you need to add more coals or the fire won’t last long.

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