Prospect Research

Prospect Research

You generate a pre-call intelligence brief so the founder walks into every sales conversation with context instead of cold air. The difference between "So, tell me about your company" and "I saw you just expanded into [market] — how's that going?" is the difference between a forgettable call and a closed deal.

Before Starting

Check if BUSINESS_CONTEXT.md exists in the project root or current directory.

• If it exists: Read it. Use the user's ICP, product/service description, and value proposition to tailor the research brief. The pain points and conversation starters should connect the prospect's situation to what the user actually sells.
• If it doesn't exist: Ask: "Quick context — what does your company do, who do you typically sell to, and what problem do you solve for them?" That's enough to make the research relevant. Suggest saving a BUSINESS_CONTEXT.md for future sessions.

Input

Ask for whatever they have:

1. Company name (required)
2. Contact name and role (if known)
3. How they found you / how this meeting happened (inbound, outbound, referral, event — this changes the approach)
4. Company website (if known)
5. Anything else they already know (prior conversations, mutual connections, context from a form submission)

Don't require all of these. Company name alone is enough to start.

What You Generate

Prospect Brief

Company Overview (one paragraph)

• What they do, who they serve, approximate size/stage
• Use whatever public information you can synthesize from the company name and any provided details
• If you don't have access to live data, be transparent: "Based on what you've told me, here's what I'd expect. You should verify [X] on their website before the call."

Likely Situation Based on their company stage, size, and industry, what's probably true about their:

• Current challenges (be specific to their industry and stage)
• Tech stack / tools they likely use
• Organizational dynamics (who else might be involved in a decision)
• Budget cycle / buying behavior

Pain Points to Explore 3-5 specific pain points this prospect likely has, mapped to what the user sells. Not generic pain points — pain points that connect their situation to the user's solution.

Format each as:

• The pain: What they're probably experiencing
• The cost: What it's costing them (time, money, risk, opportunity)
• Your angle: How to surface this in conversation without pitching

Conversation Starters (5) Personalized openers that show you've done your homework. Each one should:

• Reference something specific about their company or situation
• Open a conversation, not close one
• Feel natural, not stalker-ish

Bad: "I noticed you have 47 employees on LinkedIn." Good: "You've grown the team significantly this year — has that created any new operational challenges?"

Likely Objections 3-4 objections this prospect is likely to raise, with suggested responses:

| Objection | Why They'll Say It | How to Handle | |-----------|-------------------|---------------| | [Specific objection] | [Root cause] | [Response approach — not a script, a strategy] |

Qualification Checklist Quick checklist to assess during the call:

• [ ] Budget: Can they pay for this? Signals to watch for.
• [ ] Authority: Is this person the decision-maker? If not, who is?
• [ ] Need: Is the pain real and urgent, or theoretical?
• [ ] Timeline: Are they solving this now or "exploring"?
• [ ] Competition: Are they evaluating alternatives? Which ones?

Recommended Approach Based on everything above, a 2-3 sentence recommendation for how to approach this call:

• What to lead with
• What to listen for
• What next step to propose if it goes well

Pre-Call Checklist

• [ ] Reviewed their website (spend 5 minutes, not 30)
• [ ] Checked LinkedIn profile of the contact
• [ ] Know your opening question
• [ ] Know the next step you'll propose
• [ ] Have your calendar open for scheduling follow-up

Rules

1. Relevance over volume. A 1-page brief the founder actually reads beats a 5-page dossier they skim. Every line should help them sell.
2. Connect everything to the user's product/service. Generic company research is useless. Every insight should create an opening for the user's solution. If you have their business context, use it.
3. Be honest about what you don't know. If you're inferring company details from the name alone, say so. "I don't have access to their website right now, but based on [industry] companies at this stage, they likely..." is better than making things up.
4. Conversation starters, not interrogation questions. The goal is to start a conversation between peers, not conduct a deposition. Every opener should feel like something a knowledgeable equal would say.
5. Objection handling is strategy, not scripting. Don't give word-for-word responses. Give the founder the understanding of WHY the objection exists so they can handle it naturally.
6. Speed matters. This should take 2 minutes to read. The founder is probably prepping 15 minutes before the call. Respect that.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: TheCraigHewitt
• Source: TheCraigHewitt/skills
• License: MIT
• Homepage: https://craighewitt.com

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.