2 posts tagged with "prospect research"

🟢 Series Difficulty: BASIC (Part 2 of 10) — No AI experience needed. This is your first hands-on use case.

Every SDR knows the drill. You get a name and a company. Maybe a job title if you're lucky. And then the clock starts: LinkedIn profile, company website, recent news, Crunchbase, BuiltWith, G2 reviews, LinkedIn posts... fifteen tabs later, you've spent 20 minutes and you're still not sure if this person is worth calling.

Now multiply that by 50 accounts a day.

This is the research bottleneck, and it's the single biggest destroyer of SDR productivity. Not because the research isn't valuable — it absolutely is. Personalized outreach based on real intel dramatically outperforms generic messaging. The problem is that the time investment doesn't scale.

Until now.

In this post — Part 2 of our 10-part Claude Code + MarketBetter series — we'll show you exactly how to use Claude Code to build complete account dossiers in 30 seconds or less. And how to pair that with MarketBetter's visitor identification signals so you're never wasting research time on the wrong accounts.

If you haven't read Part 1 yet, start there — it explains what Claude Code is, why SDRs should care, and the overall thesis behind this series. But if you're ready to get your hands dirty with your first real AI workflow, this is where it starts.

What You'll Need​

Before we dive in, make sure you have:

• Claude Code installed and ready to use (your team's sales ops or RevOps lead can help with setup — it takes about 5 minutes)
• MarketBetter account with visitor identification enabled (book a demo if you don't have one yet)
• A list of accounts you want to research (even 3-5 will do for your first try)

That's it. No coding skills. No special training. If you can type a sentence, you can use Claude Code.

The Old Way vs. The New Way​

The Old Way: Manual Research (15-25 Minutes Per Account)​

Here's the typical SDR research workflow:

1. LinkedIn Profile (3-5 min) — Find the contact, read their bio, check recent posts, look at career history
2. Company Website (3-5 min) — About page, product pages, recent blog posts, press releases
3. News & PR (2-3 min) — Google the company name, check for recent funding, acquisitions, partnerships
4. Tech Stack (2-3 min) — BuiltWith or Wappalyzer to see what tools they use
5. Hiring Signals (2-3 min) — Check their careers page or LinkedIn jobs for relevant openings
6. Social Presence (2-3 min) — Twitter/X activity, any podcast appearances, speaking engagements
7. Compile Notes (2-3 min) — Write it all up in your CRM or a doc

Total: 15-25 minutes for a single account.

At 50 accounts per day (a typical SDR target), that's 12-20 hours of research. More hours than exist in a workday. So what actually happens? SDRs skip the research and send generic outreach. Response rates drop. Pipeline suffers. It's a vicious cycle.

The New Way: Claude Code + MarketBetter (30 Seconds Per Account)​

Here's the same workflow, reimagined:

1. MarketBetter alerts you that Acme Corp visited your pricing page twice this morning
2. You paste one prompt into Claude Code:

"Research Acme Corp (acmecorp.com). I need: company overview, recent news (last 90 days), their tech stack, current job openings (especially in sales/marketing), key decision makers with LinkedIn profiles, and any personalization hooks I can use for cold outreach. Format it as a one-page brief."

3. Claude Code delivers a complete dossier in 20-30 seconds
4. You scan the brief, pick your angle, and reach out — with the same quality of personalization that used to take 20 minutes

That's not hypothetical. That's the actual workflow. Let's break down exactly how to do it.

Step-by-Step: Building Your First Account Dossier​

Step 1: Start With a Signal (Not a Cold List)​

The biggest mistake SDRs make with AI research tools is researching the wrong accounts. If you research 50 accounts but only 3 of them were actually in-market, you wasted time on 47 accounts.

This is where MarketBetter comes in. Instead of guessing who to research, you start with confirmed intent signals:

• Website visitors — Companies visiting your site, especially pricing or product pages
• Return visitors — Someone who came back after going dark (a huge signal — see Part 9: Never Let a Lead Go Cold)
• Person-level identification — Not just "someone from Acme Corp" but "Sarah Chen, VP of Sales at Acme Corp" visited your site

When you know who's looking at your site right now, your research has immediate, actionable value. You're not building a dossier for "someday." You're building a dossier for a call you're about to make.

For more on how intent signals work, read our guide to intent data.

Step 2: Craft Your Research Prompt​

The quality of your dossier depends on the quality of your prompt. Here's a template that works consistently:

The Basic Dossier Prompt:

"Research [Company Name] ([domain]). Give me:

1. Company overview — what they do, size, funding stage, HQ location
2. Recent news from the last 90 days — funding, product launches, partnerships, executive changes
3. Their tech stack — what tools/platforms they use, especially [your category]
4. Current job openings — focus on [relevant departments]
5. Key decision makers — [target titles like VP Sales, CRO, Head of Marketing] with LinkedIn profile URLs
6. 3 personalization hooks I can use for cold outreach

Format this as a scannable one-page brief. Keep it concise."

The Deep-Dive Prompt (for high-value accounts):

"Deep research on [Company Name]. I sell [your product/solution] to [your ICP].

I need:

1. Full company profile — founding year, employee count, revenue range, funding history, key investors
2. Their current go-to-market approach — how do they sell? Do they have an SDR team? What does their outbound look like?
3. Pain points they're likely facing based on their size, growth stage, and recent activity
4. Competitive landscape — who else are they likely evaluating?
5. Recent content from their executives — LinkedIn posts, blog articles, podcast appearances, conference talks
6. Tech stack analysis — current tools, potential gaps where [your solution] fits
7. Champion mapping — who would be the buyer, influencer, and end user for [your product]?
8. 5 personalized outreach angles ranked by likely effectiveness

Be specific. Use real data. Flag anything you're uncertain about."

Step 3: Review and Refine​

Claude Code will return a structured brief. Here's what a typical output looks like:

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ACCOUNT DOSSIER: Acme Corp

Company Overview

• B2B SaaS, marketing automation platform
• ~350 employees (LinkedIn), HQ in Austin, TX
• Series C ($45M, led by Sequoia, June 2025)
• Growing ~40% YoY based on job posting volume

Recent News (Last 90 Days)

• Launched new AI features for email personalization (Jan 2026)
• Named in G2's "Best Marketing Automation" for mid-market (Feb 2026)
• VP of Engineering departed (LinkedIn activity suggests Dec 2025)

Tech Stack

• Salesforce CRM, HubSpot Marketing, Outreach for sequences
• No visitor identification tool detected
• Using Clearbit for enrichment

Job Openings (Relevant)

• 3 SDR roles (posted last 2 weeks) — scaling outbound
• 1 Demand Gen Manager — suggests inbound isn't enough
• 1 RevOps Analyst — building out operations

Key Decision Makers

• James Wilson, CRO (LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jwilson)
• Maria Garcia, VP of Sales (LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mgarcia)
• David Park, Head of Growth (LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dpark)

Personalization Hooks

1. They're hiring 3 SDRs — they're clearly investing in outbound. Your solution helps SDR teams perform at scale.
2. The VP of Engineering departure may signal internal shifts. Tread carefully but it's a potential change catalyst.
3. Their recent AI email features suggest they value automation — they're already bought into the AI thesis.

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Review this in 60 seconds. Highlight the hooks you want to use. Move to outreach.

Step 4: Connect the Signals​

Here's where the magic happens. You're not just looking at Claude Code's research in isolation — you're layering it with MarketBetter's behavioral data.

MarketBetter tells you: Maria Garcia from Acme Corp visited your pricing page twice yesterday and your case studies page this morning.

Claude Code tells you: Acme Corp is hiring 3 SDRs, just raised Series C, and their CRO recently posted about scaling outbound.

Your outreach writes itself: "Maria, I see Acme is building out the SDR team — congrats on the growth. When companies hit your stage, the biggest question is usually 'how do we maintain personalization at scale?' That's exactly what we help with..."

That's not a cold email. That's a warm, relevant, perfectly-timed message. And it took you 2 minutes total.

Batch Research: The Power Move​

Once you're comfortable with individual dossiers, level up to batch research. This is where Claude Code really shines.

The Batch Research Workflow​

1. Export your MarketBetter daily signal list (the companies showing intent today)
2. Feed Claude Code the entire list:

"I have a list of 15 companies that visited our website today. Research each one and give me a brief for each with: company size, what they do, one key recent development, and the best personalization angle. Rank them by likely fit for [your ICP]. Here's the list:

1. Acme Corp (acmecorp.com)
2. Beta Industries (betaindustries.io)
3. Gamma Solutions (gammasolutions.com) ..."

3. Claude Code returns 15 mini-briefs, ranked by fit
4. You focus your morning on the top 5

Instead of spending your entire morning researching, you spend 5 minutes reviewing Claude Code's output and then the rest of your morning selling.

Advanced Prompt Patterns for SDRs​

Here are some specialized prompts for common research scenarios:

The "Pre-Meeting" Deep Dive​

"I have a meeting with [Name], [Title] at [Company] in 2 hours. Research them like my career depends on it. I need: their career history, recent LinkedIn activity, anything they've published or said publicly, mutual connections, their company's recent news, and 3 talking points that will make me sound like I've known their business for years."

(For a complete meeting prep workflow, see Part 8: Meeting Prep That Doesn't Suck.)

The "Competitor Customer" Research​

"I need to research [Company] as a potential customer. They currently use [Competitor]. Research what they might be frustrated with based on [Competitor] reviews on G2 and Reddit. Find their most likely pain points and suggest an angle for approaching them about switching."

(More on competitive intelligence in Part 5.)

The "Trigger Event" Research​

"I just saw that [Company] announced [trigger event — new funding, executive hire, product launch]. Research everything about this event and how it creates an opportunity for us to reach out with [our solution]. Give me the angle and draft an email opening."

The "Reactivation" Research​

"[Company] was a prospect 6 months ago but went cold. Research what's changed since then — new leadership, new funding, new challenges, shifts in their tech stack. Help me find an angle to re-engage them."

Common Mistakes to Avoid​

1. Researching Without Intent​

Don't just research random accounts because you can. Start with a signal — a website visit, a LinkedIn engagement, a trigger event. Research is only valuable when it leads to action.

2. Over-Researching​

Claude Code can give you pages of information. You don't need pages. You need 3 things: who to contact, what to say, and why now. Everything else is noise.

3. Not Verifying Key Claims​

Claude Code is incredibly capable, but it can occasionally get details wrong. If your outreach hinges on a specific fact — "I saw you just raised Series B" — verify it before you reference it. Nothing kills credibility faster than getting a basic fact wrong.

4. Copy-Pasting Without Personalization​

Claude Code gives you raw material, not finished outreach. Always add your own voice, adjust for tone, and make it feel like something a real human would write. (More on this in Part 3: Writing Hyper-Personalized Cold Emails.)

Making It a Daily Habit​

The SDRs who get the most value from Claude Code don't use it sporadically. They build it into their daily routine:

Morning Sprint (15 minutes):

1. Check MarketBetter for overnight website visitors and intent signals
2. Feed the top 10-15 accounts into Claude Code for batch research
3. Review the dossiers, pick your top 5, and plan your outreach

Before Every Call (2 minutes):

1. Quick Claude Code research on the specific person you're about to call
2. Scan for recent LinkedIn posts, company news, or mutual connections
3. Walk into the call with context

End of Day (5 minutes):

1. Research tomorrow's follow-up targets
2. Use Claude Code to draft follow-up messages for today's conversations
3. Queue them in MarketBetter for morning delivery

For the full daily routine, check out Part 10: The Complete AI SDR Playbook.

The ROI of AI-Powered Research​

Let's put real numbers on this:

• Time saved per account: ~18 minutes (from 20 minutes to 2 minutes)
• Accounts researched per day: 50 (up from 10-15)
• Hours reclaimed per day: ~3 hours (redirected to selling)
• Expected impact on pipeline: 2-3x more conversations with researched, personalized outreach

That's not incremental improvement. That's a fundamentally different job.

Try This Today​

Here's your action item:

1. Pick 3 accounts that you're planning to reach out to this week
2. Open Claude Code and use the Basic Dossier Prompt from above for each one
3. Compare the output to what you'd have found doing manual research
4. Time yourself — how long did Claude Code take vs. how long you'd normally spend?

Most SDRs who try this have a reaction somewhere between "wait, that's it?" and "I've been doing this manually like a fool." Either way, you'll never go back.

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This is Part 2 (🟢 Basic) of our 10-part series on Claude Code + MarketBetter for SDRs. Next up: Part 3: Writing Hyper-Personalized Cold Emails at Scale →

Ready to pair AI research with real-time buyer intent signals? Book a MarketBetter demo to see visitor identification in action.

🔴 Series Difficulty: ADVANCED (Part 8 of 10) — Combines research, behavioral data, and multi-step workflows into an automated system.

You booked the meeting. Nice work. Now the real anxiety begins.

Who is this person? What does their company do? What did they look at on your website? What have they been talking about on LinkedIn? Do you share any mutual connections? Are they evaluating competitors? What should you lead with?

Most SDRs handle meeting prep one of two ways:

Option A: The 30-second glance. Quick peek at their LinkedIn profile, maybe a Google search. Walk into the meeting knowing their title and company name. Hope for the best.

Option B: The 45-minute deep dive. Open 15 tabs. Read every LinkedIn post. Stalk their company's news page. Check Crunchbase. Look at their tech stack. Write notes. Realize you've spent your entire morning prepping for one meeting.

Neither is great. Option A means you're underprepared and it shows. Option B means you prepared brilliantly for one meeting but didn't have time for anything else.

There's an Option C. In Part 8 of our Claude Code + MarketBetter series, we'll show you how to generate a comprehensive one-page prospect brief in under 3 minutes — for every single meeting on your calendar.

Why this is an Advanced post: In Part 2, you learned to research a single prospect. That was a one-step process: give Claude Code a name, get a dossier back. Meeting prep is different — it's a multi-step system that combines Claude Code research with MarketBetter's behavioral data, processes multiple meetings in a batch, and generates structured outputs for different meeting types (discovery vs. follow-up vs. executive). You're also layering in techniques from Part 5's competitive intel and Part 6's lead scoring to create briefs that are more strategic, not just informational.

The One-Page Brief: What You Actually Need to Know​

Before we get into the workflow, let's define what a great meeting prep brief contains. You don't need everything — you need the right things:

The Essential Six​

1. Person profile — Career history, role tenure, what they've done before this job, key LinkedIn activity
2. Company snapshot — What they do, size, growth stage, recent news (last 90 days)
3. Website behavior — What pages they visited, how many times, how recently (from MarketBetter)
4. Likely pain points — Based on their role, company size, and industry, what are they probably struggling with?
5. Talking points — 3 specific things you can reference that show you did your homework
6. Mutual connections — Anyone in your network who knows them or works at their company

That's it. Six categories, one page. You can review it in 2-3 minutes before the call and walk in prepared.

The Auto-Research Workflow​

Step 1: The Morning Brief Batch​

Every morning, check your calendar for the day's meetings. Then batch-process your prep:

"I have 4 meetings today. Research each prospect and generate a one-page brief for each:

1. Sarah Chen, VP of Sales at Acme Corp — Meeting at 10:00 AM
2. James Miller, CRO at Beta Labs — Meeting at 1:00 PM
3. David Park, Head of Growth at Gamma Solutions — Meeting at 2:30 PM
4. Lisa Wang, Director of Revenue Operations at Delta Tech — Meeting at 4:00 PM

For each person, I need:

Person Profile:

• Current role and how long they've been in it
• Previous roles (last 2-3 positions)
• Recent LinkedIn activity (topics they post about, articles they share)
• Education or notable affiliations

Company Snapshot:

• What the company does (one sentence)
• Employee count and growth trend
• Recent news (funding, product launches, leadership changes, last 90 days)
• Key competitors in their space

Likely Pain Points:

• Based on their role and company stage, what are they probably dealing with?
• What challenges are common for someone with their title at a company of their size?

Talking Points:

• 3 specific things I can reference to show I've done my homework
• Include at least 1 reference to their recent LinkedIn activity or public statements

Conversation Starters:

• 2-3 open-ended questions that will get them talking about their challenges

Format each brief to be scannable in under 3 minutes. No fluff."

Claude Code processes all 4 in 3-5 minutes. You now have meeting prep for your entire day — done before your first coffee is cold.

Step 2: Layer in MarketBetter Signals​

Now add the behavioral intelligence that only MarketBetter can provide. Check each prospect's website visit history:

• Pages visited: Did they look at pricing? Case studies? A specific product page? This tells you what they care about.
• Visit frequency: A prospect who visited 5 times in the past week is more serious than a one-time visitor.
• Visit timeline: Did they visit before or after agreeing to the meeting? Visiting after suggests they're actively evaluating.
• Multi-person visits: Is anyone else from their company browsing your site? This could indicate a buying committee forming.

Add these signals to your brief. Now you know not just WHO you're meeting, but WHAT they're already interested in.

Example:

"MarketBetter shows Sarah Chen visited our pricing page 3 times this week and our case studies page twice. Two other people from Acme Corp (titles unknown) visited our integrations page yesterday."

What this tells you: Sarah is past the "what does this product do?" phase. She's evaluating price and looking for social proof. Multiple visitors suggest she's not the only decision maker — there's likely a buying committee. Lead with ROI and case studies, not a product demo.

Step 3: The 5-Minute Pre-Call Review​

Ten minutes before your meeting, pull up your brief and do a final review:

1. Scan the key facts — Name pronunciation, title, company basics
2. Check MarketBetter one more time — Any new website activity since this morning?
3. Pick your opening — Which talking point or conversation starter feels most natural?
4. Identify your ask — What's your goal for this meeting? Next steps, intro to another stakeholder, demo scheduling?
5. Deep breath — You're prepared. You know more about this person than 95% of SDRs who take this meeting.

The Prospect Brief Template​

Here's what Claude Code's output looks like in practice:

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MEETING BRIEF: Sarah Chen, VP of Sales — Acme Corp​

Meeting: Tuesday 10:00 AM | Duration: 30 min | Type: Discovery

👤 PERSON

• VP of Sales at Acme Corp since March 2025 (~11 months)
• Previously: Director of Sales at XYZ Co (3 years), Senior AE at BigCo (2 years)
• Background: Promoted internally from SDR → AE → Director → VP. Knows the trenches.
• Recent LinkedIn: Posted about "the myth of the 100-activity day" (2 weeks ago). Shared an article about AI in sales with comment "skeptical but curious" (last week). Commented on a post about SDR burnout.
• Education: UCLA, Business Economics

🏢 COMPANY

• Acme Corp: B2B SaaS, marketing automation platform
• ~350 employees, Series C ($45M, June 2025)
• HQ: Austin, TX
• Recent: Launched AI email features (Jan 2026), hiring 3 SDRs and a Demand Gen Manager
• Competitors: HubSpot Marketing, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign

🌐 WEBSITE ACTIVITY (MarketBetter)

• Visited pricing page 3x this week (Mon, Tue, Wed)
• Visited case studies page 2x
• 2 other Acme Corp visitors on integrations page yesterday
• First visit was 2 weeks ago (shortly after her "AI in sales" LinkedIn post)

🎯 LIKELY PAIN POINTS

1. Scaling SDR team (hiring 3 new reps) while maintaining quality outreach
2. New SDR ramp time — she came from the trenches and knows how long it takes
3. Pressure to show ROI on Series C investment — sales needs to grow fast

💬 TALKING POINTS

1. Reference her LinkedIn post about the "100-activity day myth" — ask what she thinks the right metric is
2. Mention the SDR hiring — "building a team from scratch is exciting but brutal. How are you thinking about ramp time?"
3. Her "skeptical but curious" comment about AI — perfect opening to discuss practical AI applications without over-promising

❓ CONVERSATION STARTERS

1. "I saw your post about rethinking activity metrics for SDRs — what does the ideal day look like for your team?"
2. "With 3 new SDRs coming on, what's your biggest concern about getting them productive quickly?"
3. "You mentioned being 'skeptical but curious' about AI in sales — what would change skeptical to convinced?"

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That brief took Claude Code about 45 seconds to generate. You can review it in 3 minutes. And you'll walk into that meeting better prepared than Sarah's last 10 sales calls combined.

Advanced Meeting Prep Techniques​

The "Second Meeting" Prep​

First meetings are about discovery. Second meetings are about depth. Adjust your Claude Code prompt:

"I had a first meeting with [Name] last week. Here's what I learned: [paste your notes]. We have a second meeting tomorrow.

Research what's changed since our last conversation (any new company news, LinkedIn activity, market developments). Also:

1. Based on what they told me, what follow-up questions should I ask?
2. What competitive alternatives might they be evaluating?
3. Draft a brief agenda for the second meeting that builds on our first conversation
4. What objections should I be prepared for?"

The "Executive Meeting" Prep​

When you're meeting a C-suite executive, you need different preparation:

"I have a meeting with the CEO of [Company]. This is different from a typical SDR meeting. Research:

1. Their public speaking history — keynotes, podcasts, interviews
2. Their strategic vision for the company (based on public statements)
3. Board members and investors (who's influencing their decisions?)
4. Their management style and communication preferences (based on their public persona)
5. Business-level talking points — not feature-level, but ROI and strategic value"

The "Multi-Stakeholder" Prep​

When MarketBetter shows multiple people from the same company visiting your site, you might have a buying committee forming:

"I have a meeting with [Name] at [Company], but MarketBetter shows 3 other people from the company also browsing our site. Research:

1. Who are the other likely stakeholders? (Based on typical buying committee for our product)
2. What does each stakeholder care about? (VP Sales cares about pipeline, CFO cares about cost, etc.)
3. How should I tailor my messaging to address all stakeholders even though I'm only meeting one?
4. What questions should I ask to uncover the rest of the buying committee?"

Connecting Meeting Prep to Your Full Workflow​

Meeting prep doesn't exist in isolation. It connects to everything else in this series:

• Part 2: Prospect Research gave you the initial dossier. Meeting prep goes deeper.
• Part 3: Cold Emails got you the meeting. Now you deliver on the promise of that personalized outreach.
• Part 6: Lead Scoring told you this prospect was worth pursuing. Meeting prep confirms and refines that assessment.
• Part 9: Follow-Up starts immediately after the meeting. Your prep notes become the foundation of your follow-up sequence.

After the Meeting: Closing the Loop​

Great meeting prep doesn't end when the meeting starts. Here's how to maximize the value:

Immediate Post-Meeting (5 minutes)​

"Here are my notes from the meeting with [Name] at [Company]: [paste raw notes]

Organize these into:

1. Key pain points they mentioned
2. Decision criteria and timeline
3. Other stakeholders involved
4. Competitive alternatives they're considering
5. Specific next steps agreed upon
6. Draft a follow-up email that recaps the conversation and confirms next steps"

Update Your CRM​

Use the organized notes to update your CRM with structured information, not a wall of text. Your future self (and your AE, if you're handing off) will thank you.

Trigger the Right Sequence​

Based on how the meeting went, set up the appropriate MarketBetter sequence:

• Meeting went well, next steps agreed → Nurture sequence with relevant content
• Meeting went well, need to loop in other stakeholders → Multi-threading sequence
• Meeting was lukewarm, needs more time → Soft-touch follow-up sequence
• Meeting didn't go well → Long-term nurture or remove from active sequence

Try This Today​

Here's your action item:

1. Check your calendar for tomorrow's meetings
2. Run the Meeting Brief Batch prompt from Step 1 above for every meeting tomorrow
3. Add MarketBetter website visit data to each brief
4. Review each brief for 3 minutes before the meeting
5. After each meeting, note whether the prep helped and what you wish you'd known

Track your results for a week. Most SDRs report that AI-prepped meetings convert at a significantly higher rate than unprepared ones — because the prospect can tell you've done your homework, and they respect your time because you respect theirs.

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This is Part 8 (🔴 Advanced) of our 10-part series. Next up: Part 9: Never Let a Lead Go Cold →

MarketBetter shows you exactly which pages your prospects visited before the meeting. Walk in knowing what they care about. Book a demo.