How much
do you know about
the people putting food on your table?
If
you want to add value to your customers and prospects,
you must be very familiar with their business: their performance,
goals, business strategies, principal challenges,
etc. While
there are of course thousands of links to web
sites that will
give you information on companies
and industries, most are
oriented toward potential investors.
The ones listed below have
been selected for their
usefulness and relevance to salespeople.
Company Information
Type / Link |
Description |
Company Annual Report |
You can view a copy of most
public companies' annual reports on their web sites today,
but there is really no substitute for a hard copy. For
most companies, you should be able to link to Investor
Relations and request an investor's kit. They will send
you the annual report and a lot of other useful information.
There are some sites that aggregate annual reports from
many different companies, but since you are going to visit
the company web site anyway, just order it yourself.
|
Company Web Site |
Another "must-visit" stop
on your search for information. This is their face
to the world; and even private companies will put a
tremendous amount of information on their sites.
|
Form
10-K
www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/srch-edgar |
The "non-fluff" version
of the annual report, which must be filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Download a copy
for free from the SEC.
|
Form
10-Q
www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/srch-edgar |
The
quarterly version. This is especially useful when it
has been almost a year since the last annual report.
|
Prospectus
www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/srch-edgar |
Any
company that is planning an Initial Public Offering
(IPO) or some similar major financial transaction has
to file one of these. It will have a great amount of
narrative information about its business and marketing
strategies, strengths and weaknesses, competitors,
personnel, etc.
|
Hoover's
Online ($) |
A
good starting point for company and industry information.
You can get in-depth company histories, information
about company officers, financial performance, links
to press releases and recent articles, and much more.
|
Press
Releases
PR
Newswire
Business
Wire Company News |
It's
a good idea to be up to date on the latest company
happenings before you call on them.
Most
company web sites carry their most recent press releases. |
Articles
Findarticles.com
Fortune
PR
Newswire
Wall
Street Journal ($)
Business
Week ($) |
You
can usually link to articles from the company's home
page (usually only the flattering ones) from a service
such as Hoover's, or search the main magazine archives
directly.
|
Company
Newsletter |
Sometimes
you can get on their mailing list when you ask for
the investor kit. (Or pick up a copy while you're waiting
in the lobby)
|
SEC
Database (EDGAR) |
See
the descriptions above.
|
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Industry Information
Type / Link |
Description |
SIC
Code
Yahoo
SIC Codes |
Standard
Industrial Classification codes are used to classify
the thousands of industries in our modern economy.
Many sites and guides are organized by SIC code. Of
course, some of the companies you call on may be involved
in many different industries, so use the code for the
business unit you are selling to. |
NAICS Code |
This
system, which was developed by the U.S., Canada, and
Mexico to provide comparable statistics across the
three countries, is replacing the SIC coding system.
This link only gets you to ordering information for
the new codes. I will post links to a site that actually
has the new codes as soon as I find one. Meanwhile,
keep using the SIC codes. |
Trade
Associations
and Publications |
Using
the SIC code or the name of the industry, you can find
which magazines cover a particular industry. You can
obtain a lot of useful information from almost any
issue, but most have an annual issue which covers
the general statistics and most pressing issues of
the industry. Trade magazines can be identified in SRDS
(Standard Rate and Data Service) BUSINESS PUBLICATIONS. Also,
check The NATIONAL TRADE AND PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION
(NTPA94) DIRECTORY. |
Books
on the Industry |
You
can go to amazon.com or
one of the other on-line bookstores and search for
books on the particular company or industry. |
Annual
Reports |
These
can give you a lot of industry information, especially
if you get one for each of the top few companies in
the industry. |
Industry
News Articles
Yahoo!
Industry News
Business
Wire Industry News |
There
are so many different articles, that the best time to
use this site is after you are familiar with an industry
and want to keep up with the latest news. |
<< Top <<
General Business Research Sites
Use these sites if you want to explore some more on your own. These are
other sites similar to this page. They are all vastly larger and more
detailed than this one, but none of them focus on the business research
from the sales angle.
Type / Link |
Description |
Polson
Enterprises
|
Excellent
site. Has a lot of links, but also a step-by-step guide
to finding information. More than you need, but definitely
helpful.
|
@BRINT
|
If
you're really a glutton for punishment and want to
find even more sites on your own, check out this site.
|
CEO
Express
|
Hundreds
of business links on one page make this site convenient
and easy.
|
Corporate
Information
|
Any
site can link you to information on public U.S. companies,
but if you want to research private and foreign companies,
it's hard to beat this site. The link on the left is
to their page of private company resources. For international
companies, see the link below.
|
Wall
Street Journal ($)
|
This
site contains a lot of links to help you research companies
and industries, and has the added advantage of linking
to their extensive archives.
|
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Private Companies
Because of differences in reporting requirements and the fact that most
business research sites cater to potential investors, it's generally more
difficult to find information on private companies. However, some of the
links below are helpful. The bright side to this problem is that your
prospects or customers will not expect you to be as well informed.
Type / Link |
Description |
Website
|
This
should be your first stop.
|
Press
releases and articles
|
See
above.
|
Annual
Reports
|
Even
if you can't get an annual report for your subject
company, get the annual reports of its top competitors.
the financial performance will be generally comparable,
and the narrative information will tell you a lot about
the issues that are important to them.
|
Corporate
Information
|
Any
site can link you to information on public U.S. companies,
but if you want to research private and foreign companies,
it's hard to beat this site. The link on the left is
to their page of private company resources. For international
companies, see the link below.
|
Dun & Bradstreet ($)
|
They
charge for reports, so you might want to use them only
for information on smaller companies for which there
is little information otherwise available.
|
Comparative
Financials
|
You
can get a general idea of your customer's financial
performance by understanding the averages for its peer
group. These books compile comparative financial statement
information about companies by industry so
you can
compare how your customer compares to its peer group.
You can probably get them at your library: ALMANAC
OF BUSINESS AND INDUSTRIAL FINANCIAL RATIOS, RMA Annual
Statement Studies, and Industry Norms and Key
Business Ratios by Dun's Analytical Services.
|
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International Companies
Since other countries generally do not require as much financial disclosure
as the U.S., it can be more difficult to find information. However,
more and more foreign registered companies are making their annual reports
publicly available.
Type / Link |
Description |
Carol
World™
|
A
free service which offers access to annual reports
for non-US companies.
|
Corporate
Information
|
This
site is very useful for finding information on non-U.S.
companies. It contains over 15,000 research reports
and also has great links for specific industry information.
|
Wright
Investors' Service
|
Some
very detailed--and free--company profiles. this site
is definitely worth visiting.
|
Hoover's
UK
|
Hoover's
for companies in the UK.
|
SEDAR
|
Information
filed with Canadian Securities Administrators; it's
similar to our EDGAR.
|
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|
