I am thinking of publishing a list of cold callers who have no idea what my company does. I will call it "Do Not Use." Are you with me?

One recent morning, I got a phone message from a man with an envelope company. He asked that I call him back when I had a few minutes.

I did. He made small talk trying to warm me up. This went something like, "Hey, are you still out there working hard like the rest of us? Heh-heh-heh."

Then he asked me, "Have you heard of our firm before?" I can play that game. "Do you know what my company does?"

"Uh, you're a print broker, right?"

Imagine a loud sigh. That would be mine.

I told him he had just broken the Golden Rule of cold calling: failing to do his homework before he dialed my number.

He had my name (but I had his "number") and my company name. How hard would it have been to Google me and check out my site? Not worth 2 minutes of his time?

If you don't do your homework on a prospect before you pick up that phone and dial, you don't deserve the business.

There are thousands and thousands of printing companies and related service providers out there, looking for your (and my) business. One way for you to narrow down your selection is simply this: work with someone who knows what you do.

In my buyers' panel at the GOA show last month (Graphics of the Americas in Miami Beach), a panelist made this very point. "Printers should find out what my company does before approaching me," she said. "Then and only then can they send me relevant materials."

Last week, a print production manager emailed me this:

"I have recently been inundated with sales calls from print sales reps. Some [are] long-time reps begging me for work and some [are] new reps trying to get their foot in the door. I realize how tough it must be for them in this economy, I really do. And it breaks my heart that I don't have enough work to keep everyone busy. I still need to do my job the best I can, always keeping a very close eye on money spent and getting the absolute best value without sacrificing quality for our print projects.

"That being said, why, oh why can't sales reps do a better job than calling me on the phone with the same old, same old I've heard a hundred times? It would totally blow my socks off if one of them took the time to research my company and what we do (it isn't that hard - we have a very comprehensive website) - THEN call me and tell me what they can do for me. Or send me printed samples of like projects or give testimonials about how they were able to save XYZ Company zillions of dollars on their project because they did whatever…"

My advice is simple. Take a look at your criteria for selecting service providers with whom to work. Add "has a clue about what I do" to that list.