You will have a far more effective networking meeting with anybody if you have thoroughly researched their company or organisation and show an awareness of profit and turnover trends, acquisitions, major product launches, new business initiatives, competitive threats and industry trends. This means regularly reading financial newspapers and business publications to keep up with the very latest developments.

Additionally for researching specific companies prior to a networking meeting, phone for a copy of their annual report if they are publicly listed on the Stock Exchange.

The Stock Exchange websites are well worth visiting for comprehensive details on companies listed on the Worldwide Exchanges and for specific reports. It is also possible to key into their specific websites.

You can obtain company searches on proprietary companies by searching the Australian Securities and Investment Commission Website.

Another means of securing information on proprietary companies which are not covered in any of the above is to visit the company a few days before your meeting. Another option is search engines such as Google.