Business Research

[JimmehBone]

I want to sell to small business owners and local companies in my area. I would like to do research on these companies and already know what I want to talk about when I walk in. I found ways to find the company owners name and number of employee, some basic info. I thought income and tax info for business was public information, might be mistaken on that. Does anyone know of a website or a way to find out how much a company/business is worth? Hope the library isn't the only option... been in one uhh never

 

[PepDaddy]

Reference USA is a huge database offers tons of information on local business. You may get it for free through your public library, see if they offer remote access from home.

 

[rousemark]

I want to sell to small business owners and local companies in my area. I would like to do research on these companies and already know what I want to talk about when I walk in. I found ways to find the company owners name and number of employee, some basic info. I thought income and tax info for business was public information, might be mistaken on that. Does anyone know of a website or a way to find out how much a company/business is worth? Hope the library isn't the only option... been in one uhh never

Well, there has to be a first time for everything you do.. Truck on in.

 

[JimmehBone]

Thanks for the info, I checked their site. Looks like you need to be a library of some sorts to have access to it. I'll definitely put it to use.
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Well, there has to be a first time for everything you do.. Truck on in.

I'm going to put my big boy pants on tomorrow and give it a go lol.

 

[rousemark]

Thanks for the info, I checked their site. Looks like you need to be a library of some sorts to have access to it. I'll definitely put it to use.
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I'm going to put my big boy pants on tomorrow and give it a go lol.

Just don't make the mistake a lot of us have made.. Don't start thinking of research as "working" and use it as an excuse to not spend the majority of your time making calls. It is nice to have some information in advance of a call but it isn't absolutely necessary.
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BTW.. When you use infofree, you can get the business name, phone, address, contact person, number of employees, sales volume, business type, etc. It costs $49.95 per month for unlimited use but if you go through Mark's website, you can get it for half price.

offers.infofree.com

I have found the information to be accurate except when searching for high net worth folks. .

 

[DecisionMan]

I don't know the product you're trying to sell, so this may not be appropriate. But rather than working "all small businesses" in your area, perhaps specializing in one business-type may be better?

For example, if you pulled a good list of orthodontists with a few specifics about year opened, # employees, etc. and called them, you would eventually get to know that industry quite well, and know the common issues orthodontists face.

But does knowing a lot of detail about a variety of businesses really get you that much more?

Most business calling is all about getting to the company owner. Many of the issues are the same, in my experience, regardless of the type of business. They rarely have reviewed their buy/sell since opening day, valuations are non-existent or murky, existing insurance is typically term and owned incorrectly with wrong beneficiary arrangements. There's no DI coverage or BOH, and they have a variety of 'advisors' that don't understand insurance.