Boost Your Opportunities

Boost Your Opportunities

Being ready pays off while making sales calls, much like in the Boy Scouts. It shows that you are a professional, saves time, and helps you anticipate queries and get past obstacles. With the abundance of research resources accessible nowadays, you ought to be able to uncover details about each potential client. You can search the Internet, newspapers, magazines, trade journals, friends, relatives, and your coworkers for useful information about your chances. But sometimes, even seasoned consultants and researchers have trouble finding the precise data required to assemble a strong prospect list.
The majority of committed researchers are aware that using industry-specific directories, portals, and jumpstations is quicker and easier than sifting through pages and pages of search results on the Internet.

Combination searches
To make finding websites easier, search engines compile databases of keywords and phrases. Nevertheless, each search engine handles this assignment differently, and the standards it employs to order and display results vary as well. It is worthwhile to go over the search engine optimization advice provided by each search engine. For example, you must enter "recruitment software" between quote marks in order to conduct a compound search on Google.com. If not, the search engine will return every page on software and hiring, numbering in the hundreds of thousands.
Idea exploration
Even if the precise term or phrase you type is not found on a web page, some search engines will use concept searches to find related web pages. Some let you choose related topics or weighted terms, which let you specify which keywords are most crucial to your search. For instance, Alter Vista provides Related Topics, while Google lets you look up synonyms.
Metasearch
You've undoubtedly spent some time repeating searches on various search engines because no single search engine can list every website on the Internet. A metasearch returns a combined list of results by simultaneously searching many search engine databases. You may find websites listed in databases you don't often use or weren't even aware existed after conducting a metasearch. You may find SearchAllInOne, Search.com, and Mamma.com to be three helpful metasearch engines.
What's Up on the Internet?
Thousands of new websites are posted to the Internet every day, but it typically takes several weeks for a new site to show up in the major search engines like Google, Yahoo, and MSN. This is because new website submissions are vetted and screened by the major search engines before being included to their databases. Using a search engine like Starting Point, which promptly lists fresh submissions, is one way around this. Numerous search engines and portals are available with a "What's New" option.
Directories of Search Engines
The directories of the majority of search engines let you focus your search results on particular niches, like business, sports, travel, education, health, entertainment, and employment. Yahoo, one of the biggest and most well-known directories, lets you rank the quality of the match to determine how relevant a website is to your keyword search. First in the list is the most likely match, and so on. Examine the directories available on Yahoo, Lycos, Infoseek, and Excite.
Newsgroups
Online newsgroups can also be a great place to find research information. All online discussion groups, forums, and bulletin boards are included under the umbrella term "newsgroup." For almost any topic you can think of, you can find a newsgroup on the Internet. For more detailed information about newsgroups, check out Usenet.org.uk and Deja.com (Google groups).
What role does a name play?
When a domain name or URL ends in.com, like www.swiftpro.com, it gives you top-level information about that website:
domains include.gov for government,.edu for education,.org for non-profit,.com for business, and.net for technology-related or commercial domains.
Local & Online Libraries
You can find a wealth of digital and paper resources to assist you in conducting prospect and potential new market sector research. You can purchase and download a large number of corporate reports, manuals, and trade magazines on the Internet. Many business periodicals are also accessible in the reference section of your local library at no additional cost.
Some valuable resources for business intelligence areAnnual reports of CompaniesDirectories and business guides (see Key British Enterprises)Journals of trade and businessDirectories of trade associationsOfficial publicationsnewspapers, both local and nationalmagazines with a specialtyMarket research reports (which are typically paid for)

Verifying the information provided by client prospects
You may have a list of prospective customers after browsing the internet, but you may not have all the contact details you need to add them to your database, call them for a sales pitch, email them, or send them direct mail. Try using some tried-and-true information services that have successfully made the transition from print and telephone to the Internet before you start using company directories that charge a fee.
You can get 50 free searches per day with BT Directory Enquiries online, a premium service that can be accessed over the phone. You can use the name, location, street, and postcode of the person or business you're looking for. The service offers contact details including address, phone, and fax numbers. BT Directory Enquiries are available at www.BT.com.
There is also a free search feature available in the Thomson Local Directory. The ability to send emails straight from the page listing and visit the business' website is the main distinction between this and BT's directory service. Askalix, Kellysearch, and Yell.com all provide free comprehensive online business listings. The European Business Directory and Kompass, which have listings for 1.9 million businesses across 75 countries, are excellent starting points if you're looking for information about European or international enterprises. They provide basic contact details at no cost.
Looking for potential candidates
Attracting top talent is just as crucial as expanding your clientele, particularly in fields like government, public service, education, legal, medical, and financial hiring. Many of you are already aware that the names, titles, direct contact information, and even biographies of the individuals who run these companies and organizations are readily available on their websites. Numerous academic institutions, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, legal practices, NHS hospitals, healthcare trusts, libraries, and multinational corporations have People Finder sections specifically designed for them on their websites. Finding these sites may take some time, but your efforts will be rewarded when you place a top professional in the public or private sector.
Charlie Trumpess, Marketing Manager, Swiftpro; Web: http://www.swiftpro.com/?a1; Swiftpro recruiting software

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