account-research

Account Research

Get a complete picture of any company or person before outreach. This skill always works with web search, and gets significantly better with enrichment and CRM data.

How It Works

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     ACCOUNT RESEARCH                             │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  ALWAYS (works standalone via web search)                        │
│  ✓ Company overview: what they do, size, industry               │
│  ✓ Recent news: funding, leadership changes, announcements      │
│  ✓ Hiring signals: open roles, growth indicators                │
│  ✓ Key people: leadership team from LinkedIn                    │
│  ✓ Product/service: what they sell, who they serve              │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  SUPERCHARGED (when you connect your tools)                      │
│  + Enrichment: verified emails, phone, tech stack, org chart    │
│  + CRM: prior relationship, past opportunities, contacts        │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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Getting Started

Just tell me who to research:

• "Research Stripe"
• "Look up the CTO at Notion"
• "Intel on acme.com"
• "Who is Sarah Chen at TechCorp?"
• "Tell me about [company] before my call"

I'll run web searches immediately. If you have enrichment or CRM connected, I'll pull that data too.

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Connectors (Optional)

Connect your tools to supercharge this skill:

No connectors? No problem. Web search provides solid research for any company or person.

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Output Format

# Research: [Company or Person Name]

**Generated:** [Date]
**Sources:** Web Search [+ Enrichment] [+ CRM]

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## Quick Take

[2-3 sentences: Who they are, why they might need you, best angle for outreach]

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## Company Profile

| Field | Value |
|-------|-------|
| **Company** | [Name] |
| **Website** | [URL] |
| **Industry** | [Industry] |
| **Size** | [Employee count] |
| **Headquarters** | [Location] |
| **Founded** | [Year] |
| **Funding** | [Stage + amount if known] |
| **Revenue** | [Estimate if available] |

### What They Do
[1-2 sentence description of their business, product, and customers]

### Recent News
- **[Headline]** — [Date] — [Why it matters for your outreach]
- **[Headline]** — [Date] — [Why it matters]

### Hiring Signals
- [X] open roles in [Department]
- Notable: [Relevant roles like Engineering, Sales, AI/ML]
- Growth indicator: [Hiring velocity interpretation]

---

## Key People

### [Name] — [Title]
| Field | Detail |
|-------|--------|
| **LinkedIn** | [URL] |
| **Background** | [Prior companies, education] |
| **Tenure** | [Time at company] |
| **Email** | [If enrichment connected] |

**Talking Points:**
- [Personal hook based on background]
- [Professional hook based on role]

[Repeat for relevant contacts]

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## Tech Stack [If Enrichment Connected]

| Category | Tools |
|----------|-------|
| **Cloud** | [AWS, GCP, Azure, etc.] |
| **Data** | [Snowflake, Databricks, etc.] |
| **CRM** | [e.g. Salesforce, HubSpot] |
| **Other** | [Relevant tools] |

**Integration Opportunity:** [How your product fits with their stack]

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## Prior Relationship [If CRM Connected]

| Field | Detail |
|-------|--------|
| **Status** | [New / Prior prospect / Customer / Churned] |
| **Last Contact** | [Date and type] |
| **Previous Opps** | [Won/Lost and why] |
| **Known Contacts** | [Names already in CRM] |

**History:** [Summary of past relationship]

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## Qualification Signals

### Positive Signals
- ✅ [Signal and evidence]
- ✅ [Signal and evidence]

### Potential Concerns
- ⚠️ [Concern and what to watch for]

### Unknown (Ask in Discovery)
- ❓ [Gap in understanding]

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## Recommended Approach

**Best Entry Point:** [Person and why]

**Opening Hook:** [What to lead with based on research]

**Discovery Questions:**
1. [Question about their situation]
2. [Question about pain points]
3. [Question about decision process]

---

## Sources
- [Source 1](URL)
- [Source 2](URL)

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Execution Flow

Step 1: Parse Request

Identify what to research:
- "Research Stripe" → Company research
- "Look up John Smith at Acme" → Person + company
- "Who is the CTO at Notion" → Role-based search
- "Intel on acme.com" → Domain-based lookup

Step 2: Web Search (Always)

Run these searches:
1. "[Company name]" → Homepage, about page
2. "[Company name] news" → Recent announcements
3. "[Company name] funding" → Investment history
4. "[Company name] careers" → Hiring signals
5. "[Person name] [Company] LinkedIn" → Profile info
6. "[Company name] product" → What they sell
7. "[Company name] customers" → Who they serve

Extract:

• Company description and positioning
• Recent news (last 90 days)
• Leadership team
• Open job postings
• Technology mentions
• Customer base

Step 3: Enrichment (If Connected)

If enrichment tools available:
1. Enrich company → Firmographics, funding, tech stack
2. Search people → Org chart, contact list
3. Enrich person → Email, phone, background
4. Get signals → Intent data, hiring velocity

Enrichment adds:

• Verified contact info
• Complete org chart
• Precise employee count
• Detailed tech stack
• Funding history with investors

Step 4: CRM Check (If Connected)

If CRM available:
1. Search for account by domain
2. Get related contacts
3. Get opportunity history
4. Get activity timeline

CRM adds:

• Prior relationship context
• What happened before (won/lost deals)
• Who we've talked to
• Notes and history

Step 5: Synthesize

1. Combine all sources
2. Prioritize enrichment data over web (more accurate)
3. Add CRM context if exists
4. Identify qualification signals
5. Generate talking points
6. Recommend approach

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Research Variations

Company Research

Focus on: Business overview, news, hiring, leadership

Person Research

Focus on: Background, role, LinkedIn activity, talking points

Competitor Research

Focus on: Product comparison, positioning, win/loss patterns

Pre-Meeting Research

Focus on: Attendee backgrounds, recent news, relationship history

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Tips for Better Research

1. Include the domain — "research acme.com" is more precise
2. Specify the person — "look up Jane Smith, VP Sales at Acme"
3. State your goal — "research Stripe before my demo call"
4. Ask for specifics — "what's their tech stack?" after initial research

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Related Skills

• call-prep — Full meeting prep with this research plus context
• draft-outreach — Write personalized message based on research
• prospecting — Qualify and prioritize research targets