Playbook
How to read company evidence before you reach out
2026-07-07 · 4 min read
By TradeOcto Research Team · Reviewed 2026-07-07
A name and a website are not a reason to email someone. Evidence is. Here is what to check, in order, before an opportunity earns your time.
Category pages beat home pages
Home pages are marketing; category and product pages are operations. A distributor whose category tree matches your product family is a real channel. TradeOcto links the exact pages it used as evidence — open them.
Look for operational signals
Warehousing, dealer networks, B2B portals, hiring for sourcing roles — these signal a company that actually moves goods. One strong operational signal is worth more than ten adjectives on an About page.
Use the score to sort, not to decide
The Fit Score tells you where to look first, not who to trust. High scores with thin evidence deserve a skim; medium scores with strong category matches often hide the best deals.
Batch-research the shortlist
Once you have 10–15 candidates, ask one qualifying question across all of them — “Do they run a dealer network?”, “MOQ and certifications?” — and let the answers land as columns. Decide from a table, not from tabs.
Key takeaways
- Judge companies by category pages and operational signals, not home-page copy.
- Open the exact evidence pages TradeOcto links before you write.
- Qualify the shortlist with one batch-research question and decide from a table.