Insights — B2B Lead Generation & Prospecting — 3 min read
B2B Prospect Research: What Should You Know Before Contacting a Company?
Ten minutes of the right research changes the first conversation. Here is what to find out — and what to skip.
In short
Before contacting a B2B company you should know what the company does, what has recently changed there, the evidence and source for that change, why it may be relevant to what you sell, who is responsible for that area, how to reach them through a verified route, and what you will say first. Anything beyond that is usually optional.
Prospect research is the difference between "just reaching out" and having something worth saying.
It does not need to be exhaustive. It needs to cover the few things that make the approach relevant.
The prospect research checklist
| Item | What to capture |
|---|---|
| Company | What they do, where, rough size and structure |
| Trigger | The recent event that makes contact timely |
| Evidence | The source and date for that event |
| Relevance | Why it connects to what you sell |
| Decision-maker | The person or role responsible for the area |
| Contact route | Verified email, phone or introduction route |
| Angle | The first point you will make, and why |
What to skip
Deep financial analysis, the full organisation chart and every news item from the last five years rarely change the first message. Save detailed research for when there is genuine interest.
Finding the right contact
Match the role to the requirement. A new warehouse build is usually led by operations or a project manager; a system change by IT or finance; a supplier review by procurement. The managing director is sometimes right, but often not.
Contact details: verify, never guess
Guessed email formats bounce, harm your sender reputation and waste time. Where a verified direct address is not publicly available, use a verified switchboard, a published role address or a professional network instead, and say so in your notes.
Writing the first message from the research
A good first message fits in a few sentences: the evidence, why it may matter, and a low-effort next step. For example: "Congratulations on the contract with Network Rail announced last week. Projects of that size usually need extra site welfare capacity quickly. Would it help to have a short conversation about availability in the North West?"
Data protection
In the UK, business-to-business outreach should use business contact details, be relevant to the recipient's role, identify the sender clearly and respect opt-outs. Take advice for your specific situation.
Doing it at scale
Research is the part of prospecting salespeople most often skip. Evans' Opportunity Engine delivers this research for each opportunity — company, trigger, evidence, contact, route, approach and draft email — from £695 + VAT/month.
Not enough deliberate new-business activity?
The Opportunity Engine identifies target accounts and real commercial triggers so new business stops depending on who happens to call.
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