Do you do research about any person before you meet him/her for the first time? Whom you meet, how you meet and what they think of you after the meeting should not be left to chance. Before I meet anyone of importance to me, I research who they are, their family, hobbies, achievements and failures, challenges and goals, has a Pet or not etc. Also about the company where he/she is working. What’s happening there? Any new product or their last quarterly result. The person I am meeting will find it very appreciative when you talk knowledgeably. Doing this is very easy these days. Some tools on how to do it:

Google. Running a searcg about someone on Google is the easiest way to know about anyone. A great approach when googling is to find out how active the person is online and how much information they share.

LinkedIn. Check who all they are connected to. What groups they are part of. Read their work history and summary. Summary will always reveal what they are professionally proud of. Also perhaps their goals and last activity

Social media. Twitter, Facebook are treasure trove of information about any one. Also explore the company account when he/she works.

Company/Personal website. Visit the website. Collect as much information as you can to know about their products/services. Also public listed companies will have their annual reports.

Setting out to know someone inevitably means understanding their problems or needs are. I have always experienced hobbies, pet or children are good relation building points. I have built some solid relationship with people having common interest like running, wildlife photography, and recently Baking.