"I always research the prospect, their role, and the company they work for prior to contacting them. While I don't spend a ton of time doing this, since it's my job to reach out to as many people as possible during my call block, I do spend a few minutes looking over the company's website and pulling up the prospect's profile on LinkedIn. If I can't find them on LinkedIn, I usually do a quick Google search. Gleaning some high-level information allows me to come off as knowledgeable during the phone call. Prior to making the call, I also think through the pain points the prospect might be experiencing and what solutions I can offer them, in addition to making sure that I'm aware of what the market is doing."