Prospect Research

---
name: prospect-research
description: >
  Activate for: prospect research, account research, company research,
  research prospect, account intelligence, who is, tell me about,
  background on, pre-call research, account profile, company profile,
  contact research, LinkedIn research, news on, what's happening at.
  NOT for: CRM data enrichment (use crm-enrichment), lead scoring (use lead-scoring), outreach message drafting (use outreach), pipeline analysis (use pipeline).
---

## RESEARCH WORKFLOW -- EXECUTE IN ORDER

### Phase 1: Input Collection

Collect before beginning research:

1. Prospect name and title
2. Company name and location
3. Context: what are you selling / what is the purpose of outreach?
4. Urgency: when is outreach planned?
5. Any prior relationship or interaction?

### Phase 2: Contact-Level Research

Gather via web search MCP (LinkedIn, company website, press):

WHO IS THIS PERSON?

- Current role: title, scope of responsibility, team size
- Time in current role (recent hire = impact-building mode = more receptive)
- Career trajectory: where they came from; pattern of progression
- Education and professional background (where relevant)
- Recent public activity:
  -> LinkedIn posts in last 30 days (topics, opinions, questions asked)
  -> Articles written or quoted in
  -> Conference appearances or speaking engagements
  -> Interviews or podcasts

SIGNAL INTERPRETATION:

- New to role (<18 months): HIGH receptivity -- still proving impact
- Long tenure (>5 years): LOWER receptivity unless strong pain signal
- Active LinkedIn poster on your problem area: HOT signal -- use as hook
- Recent promotion: HIGH receptivity -- new responsibility = new budget

### Phase 3: Account-Level Research

Gather via web search MCP, Companies House, Crunchbase:

WHAT DOES THE COMPANY ACTUALLY DO?

- Business model (not website boilerplate -- real revenue model)
- Market position: leader, challenger, niche player, regional specialist
- Key clients or customer segments (if publicly known)
- Revenue estimate (Companies House, Crunchbase, industry databases)
- Headcount (LinkedIn company page -- trend up/down/stable)
- Tech stack signals (job postings: what tools are mentioned?)
- Geographic footprint

WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW?
Search for news from last 90 days:

- Funding rounds (budget available; growth mode)
- Major contract wins (scaling pressure)
- Acquisitions or being acquired (change = opportunity)
- Leadership changes (new leaders = new priorities)
- Office or facility expansion (growth signal)
- Regulatory news affecting their sector
- Competitor pressure or market disruption
- Rapid hiring (growth) or layoffs (cost pressure)

### Phase 4: Signal Classification

Classify each finding:

HOT SIGNAL (outreach within 48 hours):

- Funding announced in last 30 days
- Major new contract announced
- New leadership in target role (<6 months)
- Active hiring surge in target department
- Prospect posted about your problem area in last 14 days
- Website pricing page visit (if tracking available)

WARM SIGNAL (outreach within 2 weeks):

- Job posting in target department
- Company expansion announcement
- Industry event attendance
- Prospect mentioned your problem area in last 60 days

WATCH (monitor; no immediate outreach):

- General industry news
- No specific timing pressure

### Phase 5: Pain and Fit Assessment

Cross-reference company situation against ICP and product fit:

- What is the most likely operational pain given their current situation?
- Where specifically does our product address that pain?
- What is the specific, stated outcome this prospect would care about?
- What positioning resonates best for this persona + situation?

### Phase 6: Hook Identification

Identify THE ONE THING that will make outreach feel personal:

- A specific post they wrote (quote the theme, not their words)
- A specific news event at their company (show you follow their market)
- A specific challenge visible in their job postings
- A specific industry trend that is affecting their business
- A mutual connection or shared experience (if genuine)

### Research Brief Output Format

# PROSPECT RESEARCH BRIEF

Prospect: [Name, Title | Company | Location]
Prepared: [Date] | Confidence: [HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW]
ICP Match: [STRONG / MODERATE / WEAK]

-- WHO IS [NAME]? --
Career: [trajectory summary]
Role scope: [responsibilities, team, tenure]
Activity: [recent posts, interviews, public signals]
Signal: [new to role / active poster / long tenure -- interpretation]

-- WHAT IS [COMPANY]? --
Model: [real business model, not marketing copy]
Revenue: [estimate + source]
Headcount: [current + trend]
Tech stack: [visible signals from job postings]
Position: [market position]

-- WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW? --
HOT: [event, source, date]
WARM: [signal, source, date]
WATCH: [context item]

-- THE SPECIFIC PAIN --
[2-3 sentences connecting their current situation to the problem
your product solves]

-- THE HOOK --
[One specific, verifiable thing to reference in outreach]

-- PRODUCT FIT --
Fit: [STRONG / MODERATE / WEAK]
Positioning: "[Recommended value frame for this prospect]"

-- RECOMMENDED FIRST TOUCH --
Channel: [LinkedIn / Email / Phone -- with reasoning]
Tone: [peer-level / educational / ROI-focused]
Goal: [discovery call / referral / event / content share]
See /outreach for personalised message draft.
================================================================

## NEVER DO THESE

- NEVER report unverified information without clearly labelling it as such
- NEVER conflate two companies with similar names -- verify the entity
- NEVER use research as a basis for outreach if ICP match is WEAK
  without flagging this prominently and recommending against investment
- NEVER fabricate LinkedIn activity, news, or company data
- NEVER produce a research brief without identifying at least one hook