Sales Research

---
name: sales-research
description: >-
  Runs AI background research on a company (and optionally a contact) in the
  Zynkr platform CRM and writes a concise, sales-context zh-TW brief into the
  company's 備註/description field. This is a Claude Code stand-in for the
  platform's own "AI 背景研究" button (app/lib/ai/research.ts) — that feature
  only exists in the platform.zynkr.ai web UI and is NOT exposed through the
  connected `zynkr` MCP server, which only offers CRUD tools (create_company,
  create_contact, update_company, etc.), so there is no MCP call to trigger it
  directly. This skill closes that gap by doing the same job — targeted web
  research (what the company does, industry, size/HQ, notable facts, and why
  they might need Zynkr) — then writing the result back via update_company /
  create_company. Trigger EAGERLY whenever Peter says "trigger company
  research", "research this company", "研究這間公司", "查一下這間公司背景",
  "幫我查一下[公司名]", "look into [company]", "跑一下背景研究", or asks to
  research/enrich/look up a company or contact that is or is about to be in
  the Zynkr CRM — even if he only names the company and doesn't spell out
  "research." Also fire immediately after a company/contact gets created in
  this conversation if he asks for research on it in the same breath (e.g.
  "create a company for X, also trigger company research"). Do NOT fire
  automatically after every company/contact creation on your own initiative —
  only when asked, in this call or the next.
category: sales-consultant
project: sales-research
platform: claude
status: Done
author: Peter Tu
sheetId: "2.11"
input: "A company name/domain (and optionally a contact name), or an existing Zynkr CRM company_id / contact_id."
process: "Resolve the CRM company record → web research (what they do, size/HQ, facts, sales-fit angle) → dated zh-TW brief flagged unverified → append into description (read-merge-write) → optional task note for a named contact → report."
output: "The company's 備註/description field updated with a dated AI-research brief, plus an optional note-style task on a named contact — never overwriting prior content."
synergy: []
house-style: bound

---

# Sales Research

```bash
npx skills add https://github.com/peter-tu-zynkr/zynkr-skill-builder --skill sales-research
```

Given a company (and optionally a contact) in the Zynkr CRM, this skill runs targeted
web research on it — what it does, size/HQ, notable facts, and a sales-fit angle for
Zynkr's own products/services — and writes a concise, dated, zh-TW brief into that
company's 備註 (description) field, flagged as AI-researched and unverified. Trigger it
whenever Peter asks to research, look into, or check the background of a company or
contact tied to the CRM.

## Why this exists

Zynkr's own AI platform (`platform.zynkr.ai`) already has an "AI 背景研究" feature —
a button on the company/contact/deal detail page that runs a Claude tool-use loop
(`app/lib/ai/research.ts`, `generateBrief`: up to 8 web searches, `RESEARCH_MODEL`)
and saves a zh-TW markdown brief as a CRM note. It's genuinely good, but it's
**web-UI only** — the connected `zynkr` MCP server (`mcp__zynkr__*`) exposes only
CRUD tools (create/get/update/list for companies, contacts, deals, tasks, quotes,
KB) and has no research/enrichment tool to call from here. So from Claude Code
there's no way to press that button.

This skill is the workaround: it reproduces the *outcome* (a useful, sales-angled
background brief landing in the CRM) using tools Claude Code already has —
`WebSearch` / `WebFetch` for the research, `mcp__zynkr__*` for the CRM write —
without needing the platform's internal research route. Because it's a rebuild,
not the same audited pipeline, **always label the output as AI-researched and
unverified** — exactly the posture the platform's own feature takes (an aid to
the salesperson, not a source of truth).

## How this differs from its neighbours

- **sales-outbound** — enriches a contact from a *profile URL the prospect
  handed over* (LinkedIn/IG/Threads bio) as one step inside logging a whole DM
  conversation as a lead. It doesn't do open-ended company research.
- **consult-intake** — a weekly batch sweep of inbound consulting-inquiry
  emails into deals; doesn't research anything.
- **sales-research** (this one) — takes a company (± contact) already in, or
  about to enter, the CRM and does dedicated background research on it, on
  demand, independent of any particular conversation thread.

If the research turns up that this is a live consulting/demo lead worth a
human follow-up, say so in the report — but don't create deals or tasks beyond
what's described below; that's the calling skill's (or Peter's) job.

---

## Workflow

### 1 · Resolve the CRM company record

You need a `company_id` before you can write anything. Figure out which case
you're in:

- **Given an id directly** (e.g. from earlier in the conversation) → skip to
  step 2, no lookup needed.
- **Given a name/domain, record likely exists** → `mcp__zynkr__list_companies`
  and match by name/domain (case-insensitive, tolerate spacing/casing
  differences). Found → use that id.
- **No match, or Peter is asking you to create the company right now** →
  do the research first (step 2), then `mcp__zynkr__create_company` with the
  brief already embedded in `description` from the start — that's one write
  instead of create-then-append. Preview (`confirm` omitted/false), show
  Peter what would be created, then re-call with `confirm: true`.
- **Owner** — default to Peter (`mcp__zynkr__whoami` → `owner_id`) unless told
  otherwise.

A contact may be named alongside the company (e.g. "research this company for
Christina at JMP"). If so, resolve or note the `contact_id` too — you'll use
it in step 5.

### 2 · Do the research

Aim for a handful of targeted searches, not an open-ended crawl — this mirrors
the platform's own cap (max 8 web searches per brief):

1. `WebSearch` the company name (+ domain if known) to find what they do,
   industry, rough size, HQ/location, and any notable recent facts (funding,
   news, leadership).
2. If an official site/About page turns up, `WebFetch` it for anything the
   search snippet didn't cover.
3. If a contact was named, one more search on their name + company for
   role/background — skip if nothing surfaces, don't guess.
4. Think about the **sales-fit angle**: given what Zynkr sells (an AI platform
   with CRM/knowledge-base/automation features, plus AI-adoption consulting
   and training), why might *this* company plausibly be interested? Ground
   this in what the research actually surfaced (e.g. "manages a lot of manual
   CRM upkeep," "recently scaling a sales team," "reliant on spreadsheet
   workflows") — don't invent a pain point that wasn't evidenced.

If the research comes up thin (obscure company, no useful web presence), say
so plainly in the brief rather than padding it with generic filler.

### 3 · Structure the brief

Write in zh-TW, matching the platform's own tone — compact, sales-oriented,
not a Wikipedia dump. Use this shape:

```markdown
### 🔍 AI 背景研究 — <YYYY-MM-DD>
**公司概況：** 一兩句話：做什麼、產業、規模／總部
**值得注意：** 任何近況、資金、新聞（沒有就省略這行）
**銷售脈絡：** 為什麼可能對 Zynkr 感興趣的推論——扣緊研究中實際發現的線索
**聯絡人備註：** <僅在有指定聯絡人時才寫> 角色／背景
⚠️ AI 自動研究，未經人工查證 — 使用前請自行確認
```

Keep it to a short paragraph or two per section — this goes into a CRM notes
field someone will skim, not a report.

### 4 · Write it into the company record — append, never clobber

The company's `description` field is a shared notes area (address details,
prior context, etc. may already be there from earlier work). **Always
read-merge-write:**

- Existing company: `mcp__zynkr__get_company(id)` → take its current
  `description` → append the new brief below it (separated by a blank line) →
  `mcp__zynkr__update_company(id, description=<merged text>)`, preview then
  `confirm: true`.
- Brand-new company (step 1's create-now case): just set `description` to the
  brief directly in `create_company` — nothing to merge yet.

Never pass other fields you're not intentionally changing — `update_company`
only touches what you pass, so a bare `id` + `description` call leaves
everything else (address, tax_id, owner, etc.) untouched.

### 5 · Contact-level note (only if a contact was named)

Contacts have no `description`/notes field in this MCP — the closest
equivalent is a task. File one via `mcp__zynkr__create_task`:

- `contact_id`: the resolved contact
- `subject`: `AI 背景研究 — <contact name> · <YYYY-MM-DD>`
- `body`: the "聯絡人備註" portion of the brief (plus a one-line pointer back
  to the company record's fuller brief)
- Leave `due_at` unset — this is a record, not an actionable to-do.
- Preview, then `confirm: true`.

### 6 · Report

Tell Peter what you found and where it landed — a short summary of the brief
plus which record(s) got updated, e.g.:

```
研究完成並寫入 CRM 備註：

**JMP**（公司 id ...）
- 產業：統計/資料視覺化軟體，SAS 子公司
- 銷售脈絡：CRM 管理耗時 → 可能對 Zynkr AI 平台的 CRM 自動化功能感興趣
- 已附加到公司 description（保留原有內容）

⚠️ AI 自動研究，未經查證，回覆客戶前請自行確認關鍵事實
```

If the CRM write actually failed or you had to skip something (e.g. couldn't
resolve a company_id), say that plainly instead of reporting success.

---

## Things to be careful about

- **This is a workaround, not the platform's audited pipeline.** Always
  include the ⚠️ unverified disclaimer in what you write to the CRM — don't
  let a confident-sounding brief get mistaken for a vetted fact.
- **Never fabricate.** If web research doesn't surface something (size,
  funding, a contact's role), leave it out rather than guessing.
- **Never overwrite existing `description` content.** Read before you write,
  every time — this field may hold address/notes from other workflows.
- **Preview-then-confirm on every CRM write** (`create_company`,
  `update_company`, `create_task` all require `confirm: true` to actually
  apply) — show Peter the preview first if this is a new company being
  created, since that's a bigger commitment than appending a note.
- **Don't create deals, contacts, or companies you weren't asked to create.**
  If the company/contact doesn't exist and Peter only asked for "research,"
  ask whether he wants it created too rather than assuming.
- **Scope stays research + write-back.** If the findings suggest a real sales
  or consulting opportunity, flag it in the report — don't spin up a deal or
  hand off to another skill unprompted.

## House style

Writing style is **not owned by this file**. The house voice lives in two Google Docs under
`[@] 寫作指南` (`12DBdFz3SK22ie9im_ThFMI7IBRXsTZsV`), read at runtime:

- 《[2.0] Zynkr 通用風格指南 House Voice》 `10bOIQwRm9Pxwgct4hlwCwK_B4Pipai1HqBPZKzyRHSE` —
  the universal core, plus the addendum for this surface
- 《[3.2] 禁用詞清單 Forbidden Words》 `1N5sHLP4qzmmhpCGsi6KElxi1z0MFe4QZ0Q_35T10Uyg`

Read both before producing client- or reader-facing text, and scan the draft against 《[3.2]》
before handing it over. If Drive is unreachable, say so in the output rather than proceeding
unchecked. Never re-implement either list inside this file.