So you’ve finally gotten through the gatekeepers and have a scheduled meeting with the Chief Executive Officer of the company you’re trying to land a contract with. Perfect! Here is what you’ll need to do before you ever shake that CEO’s hand or walk into that meeting room.
#1 Delve Into Their Business – Sure, you probably know a lot about their business from what you’ve researched so far in order to get through the filters and to the penthouse office. How much do you know about them, though, really, including their past? Well, if they’re publicly-traded, they will have quarterly investor calls, filings, annual reports, etc. Read them. Thoroughly.
#2 Know the CEO and Those S/He Works With – Get to know the CEO by reading the official bio, hunting down his or her social profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, and the like. Note friends and colleagues from those profiles and read about them as well. Don’t forget to Google them all and to click on the News link in your search to bring up the latest news items regarding the CEO and those around him or her.
#3 Identify the company’s strategic objectives – something you likely already know from your research – and which of those objectives are most important to the CEO. Form there, determine how you can leverage those with your offerings as pair ups and solutions.
#4 Benchmark the company against its competition. Identify the chief rivals of the company and then compare them to your prospect to see how they rank. A brutal assessment can be used as a way to break a stalemate or create leverage during a conversation. It also shows that you have a working, realistic (not suck-up) knowledge of the CEO’s business and where it stands.
#5 Watch the news and keep track of things that may or may not affect the CEO’s business or objectives. Many political or major events can affect a business no matter what industry it’s in. Some businesses are directly tied to politics or the news and shifts may mean big things for them. Trade journals and insider blogs and websites on the industry in question are also good sources of information.
Whatever you do, when you go to meet that CEO, be sure that you are as knowledgeable about the business and industry the CEO lives every day as you can be. Do not waste his or her time asking questions you should already know the answer to. You will give a far better impression if you have a solid knowledge of the industry at hand and where the CEO’s business fits within it.