Proper homework needs to be done about the company being met prior to the meeting. Today, most companies will have a website. Public meetings will have their quarterly and annual reports, along with analyst presentations. These can give a lot of background details about a company. Checking out recent news items can also provide additional info on the priorities. It should also be possible to get some information from friends and ex-colleagues who may be working in the target organisation.
All of this helps create the necessary background, and can also provide some tidbits which could be used at appropriate times during the actual sales meeting.
