Have you ever just "winged it" to gain access to a key decision maker in a large prospective account? Odds are, if you did wing it, your luck quickly ran out shortly after you exchanged pleasantries because the decision maker was able to expose your lack of preparedness fairly easily. Don't let that happen again by following these homework tips.

Researching your prospect thoroughly before you've made that first attempt at contact will show that you care about the customer's business as much as you do any potential sale. Simply knowing contact information isn't enough to get anywhere with a decision maker on a complex deal. Today's decision maker is flooded with requests for meetings, committee participation, and ongoing management of the business. On top of that, savvy companies are getting more creative with their marketing to prospects so it's not as easy to cut corners.

What should you know about a prospect in order to have a decent chance at moving the process forward? For starters, understand exactly how they make money. "They make widgets" is not enough to help you understand how they make money. How do they make the widgets? Where do the parts come from, and how much does each part cost the company? Do they get their parts on time? Who else makes widgets? What differentiates your prospect's widgets from their competitors? If you were a customer, how would you go about buying products from your prospect, and how would you pay? Is the acquisition process easy or difficult to buy products from your prospect? Can you walk in the door and buy products, or do you have to visit a third party?

Next, you should have an idea of the business' objectives for the upcoming year, and it would be great to know what the company has planned for the next three to five years. By having this information, you may be able to craft solutions to help your prospect better achieve their goals. This is what solution selling is predicated. Align your selling goals with the prospect's business goals, and you'll be viewed as a trusted advisor versus "just" a sales rep.

What strengths does your prospect's company exhibit? Where are they weak? Do you offer a solution which can help minimize their exposure to weaknesses and maximize their strengths? Are there risks you can help them avoid or dilute? What is the prospect's target demographic? Can you help them further penetrate that demographic?

How does your prospect typically buy solutions similar to yours? Is there a committee involved, or will one person make the final decision? Be sure to adjust your selling process to match the buying process for your prospect and attempt to make buying from you as easy as possible.

With the advent of the Internet, finding this information online is rather simple now-a-days. If your prospect is employed by a public company, read over their annual and quarterly reports. There are letters from the CEO or Chairman that will give you good insight into the business and its objectives. If you're not adept at reading financial statements, focus instead on the narrative sections of the reports. They'll tell you enough to be effective in initial discussions with your prospect. If you do your homework well enough, you may even know more than your prospect about the ultimate direction of the business. How much do you think that will change the dynamic of the conversations? Knowing your prospect's company as well as you know the products and solutions you are selling will make you a valued resource and will increase your odds of winning a big sale.

One more thing to keep in mind when exploring a complex sale: always be able to answer the question "is this a win-win proposition?" If you have doubts about either side's ability to obtain a win at the end of the process, either re-position your solution or back out of the deal. The consequences are simply not worth the risk if both parties don't come out better for having entered into the relationship.