Spend five minutes on someone's profiles and posts before meeting them. Aim for familiarity, and stop well short of stalking.
The idea
Five minutes of homework puts you ahead of most people. Chris Fralic of First Round Capital told me founders routinely pitch him with no sign they've researched anything except that his firm has money. It's a low bar. A web search is table stakes. And a current title is the least interesting thing you'll find. Look for what they do outside work, the arc of their career, and what they post about. The goal, as Chris puts it, is familiarity, without getting creepy or stalky.
How to do it
Start with what you already have: links in your CRM, their email signature, their card.
Search their name. Add their city if it's common. (Luckily, Zvi Band is pretty unique.)
Check LinkedIn for job changes, interests and nonprofit boards.
Skim what they've posted or written lately, and reread your past email threads with them.
Find one non-work thing to ask about. Two minutes is enough for that.
Jot it in your notes before the meeting.
Example
Calibration from Chris: mentioning that someone's vacation photos look great is fine. Asking about their kids by name when you've never met them is too far. And for a rare, high-value relationship, deeper research can pay off. Before a Berkshire Hathaway event in Omaha, Chris read up on a senior executive who was hosting, learned he'd been editor of The Harvard Crimson, and gave him a 1942 issue of the paper as a thank-you. The exec was floored and pointed out that Jack Kennedy had been an editor around then. No ask attached.
Watch out for
Research is for showing you like them as a person. I once watched someone torpedo a first meeting by opening with "I really value what you do in the defense space."
Show You Like Them: Lead with liking ("you matter") over utility ("you're useful to me"); use their name, ask about what they care about, and listen.
The Meeting Checklist: Review your notes, recall your intent, bring an offer, do small talk, get curious, share honestly, look for help to give, recap to-dos.
CAPITAL: Investigate: The I in CAPITAL. Learn and record what matters about your key people, so you can show them you actually know them.
Remembering Names: Let four seconds pass, use the name later, build a weird association, and when it's gone anyway, just admit it and ask.