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Skill: Prospect Research Brief

What This Skill Does

Generates a 1-page intelligence brief on a target account before an outreach, discovery call, or strategic meeting. Covers company background, business signals, likely pain points, buying triggers, and personalization angles — so every touchpoint feels researched and relevant.

When to Use

  • Before sending a cold outreach to a key account
  • Before a discovery or demo call with a new prospect
  • When preparing for an executive meeting with a strategic account
  • When a rep says "I don't know enough about this company to reach out"

Inputs Required

Before running this skill, ask the user for:

  1. Company name and website URL
  2. Target contact name and title (if known)
  3. Your solution — what you sell and the core problem it solves
  4. Call/outreach goal — what outcome are you trying to drive?

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1 — Company Intelligence Gathering

Research and compile the following (use web search for current information):

Company Basics:

  • Founded, HQ, employee count (and growth trend)
  • Funding stage and most recent round (amount, date, lead investor)
  • Revenue range (if public or estimated)
  • Business model (what they sell, to whom, how)
  • Key products/services

Recent News & Signals:

  • Last 90 days: press releases, news articles, product launches
  • Executive hires or departures (especially C-suite)
  • Acquisitions or partnerships
  • Expansion announcements (new markets, new offices)
  • Any public challenges (missed earnings, layoffs, regulatory issues)

Digital Presence:

  • LinkedIn follower count and posting frequency (signals growth focus)
  • Key themes in their recent LinkedIn content
  • Job postings that signal priorities (what are they actively building?)

Step 2 — Contact Intelligence

Research the specific person being contacted:

Professional Background:

  • Current role and time in role
  • Previous companies and titles
  • Career trajectory (rising star, seasoned exec, recent hire)

Online Presence:

  • LinkedIn activity — what have they posted or engaged with recently?
  • Any talks, podcasts, or articles they've published
  • Shared connections or warm paths in

Inferred Priorities:

  • Based on their title and tenure, what is likely their #1 KPI?
  • What would make them look good to their boss?
  • What would stress them out or keep them up at night?

Step 3 — Pain Point Hypothesis

Using company signals + contact profile, build a hypothesis:

PAIN HYPOTHESIS:
"Based on [signal — e.g., 'recent Series B and rapid hiring'], [Company] is likely
experiencing [pain — e.g., 'difficulty tracking and coaching a fast-growing sales team'].
[Contact Name], as [Title], probably feels this as [specific manifestation — e.g.,
'inconsistent ramp times and forecast unpredictability']. Our solution addresses this by [...]."

Step 4 — Personalization Hooks

Identify 3 specific angles to personalize outreach:

Hook 1 — Trigger Event: Something that happened at the company recently (funding, product launch, hire)

Hook 2 — Content Engagement: Something the contact posted, shared, or said publicly

Hook 3 — Mutual Signal: Shared connection, shared experience, shared perspective on an industry trend

Step 5 — Assemble the Research Brief

═══════════════════════════════════════════════
ACCOUNT BRIEF: [Company Name]
Prepared: [Date] | Contact: [Name, Title]
═══════════════════════════════════════════════

COMPANY SNAPSHOT
Industry: | Size: | Stage: | HQ:
Founded: | Revenue est.: | Website:

RECENT SIGNALS
• [Signal 1 — what happened + why it matters]
• [Signal 2]
• [Signal 3]

CONTACT PROFILE
Name: | Title: | Tenure:
LinkedIn: | Previous:
Likely KPI: | Likely Pain:

PAIN HYPOTHESIS
[One paragraph connecting signals to pain to your solution]

PERSONALIZATION HOOKS
1. [Trigger event hook]
2. [Content/public hook]
3. [Mutual/warm signal hook]

RECOMMENDED OPENING LINE
"[First sentence of outreach — hyper-specific, not generic]"

CALL GOAL
[One sentence — what outcome are you driving from this interaction?]

KEY QUESTIONS FOR DISCOVERY
1. [Question to confirm hypothesis]
2. [Question to understand current state]
3. [Question to surface urgency or trigger]
═══════════════════════════════════════════════

Output Format

Deliver:

  1. Completed 1-page Account Brief (from template above)
  2. 3 personalization hooks (ready to use in outreach)
  3. Recommended opening line for cold outreach
  4. Top 3 discovery questions for the call

Pro Tips

  • Spend 10–15 minutes max on research per account — this brief should take 15 minutes total
  • The job posting section is criminally underused: if a company is hiring 5 SDRs, they have a sales growth problem. If they're hiring a data engineer, they have a data problem. Hiring = priorities.
  • Never use research to show off ("I saw you posted...") — use it to add value ("Given what you're building...")
  • The best opening line references something specific that could NOT apply to any other company
  • Keep the brief to one page — if it's longer, you're researching, not selling