Have You Read Your Customer’s Latest Annual Report?

It’s that time of year again.

For your top three customers, can you answer the following questions:

How did they perform financially last year, compared to their competitors and their own expectations?

What were the major drivers of the results they achieved?

What do they plan to do differently this year?

What is their vision statement?

What are their principal strategies and initiatives?

What challenges and opportunities do they face in the year ahead?

If you had no trouble answering these questions in detail, pat yourself on the back, but don’t get too complacent. These questions—and others—are the bare minimum you should know to qualify as a true consultative salesperson.

If you had trouble, don’t despair, because the answers are readily available to you.

This is my annual lecture to B2B salespeople: by this time of year, every one of your customers has published its annual report, or its fraternal twin, the 10-K form. There is quite simply no excuse for not getting your hands on a copy and reading it.

Actually, let me take back that last statement. There are good reasons not to read your customer’s annual report:

• You’re content selling to lower levels
• You already make enough money
• You’re an order-taker, so it would be a waste of time

If none of these excuses apply to you, immediately leave this page, go to the investor relations section of your customer’s web site, and download their annual report. Then read the damn thing.

And if your top customers are privately-held and don’t publish an annual report, read the one for their top publicly-held competitor.