Account Research Brief

---
name: account-research-brief
description: "Use when a rep or marketer needs to research a target account before outreach, a first meeting or an account-based campaign. Organizes public information into a one-page brief covering business context, strategic priorities, likely pains, buying committee, triggers and a recommended entry angle, with every claim tied to a source and confidence level."
license: MIT
metadata:
  title: "Account Research Brief"
  category: "outbound"
  author: "carolina"
  summary: "Turn public information about a target account into a sourced one-page brief with priorities, likely pains, buying roles and an entry angle."
  tags: "account research, abm, prospecting, buying committee, sales prep"
  version: "1.0"
  updated: "2026-10-19"
---
# Account Research Brief

This skill turns scattered information about a company into a one-page brief that tells a seller what matters to this account right now, who is likely involved in a purchase, and how to open the conversation. It separates facts from inferences so nobody walks into a call repeating a guess as truth.

## When to use

- Before first outreach to a high-value account.
- Before a discovery call or executive meeting.
- When planning an account-based campaign for a short list of named accounts.
- When a new rep inherits an account and needs to get up to speed.

## What you need

Ask for these first:

1. **Account name and website.**
2. **What you sell** and the problem it solves, so the research focuses on relevant evidence.
3. **Purpose:** cold outreach, discovery call, executive meeting or campaign planning. This changes depth.
4. **Material the user already has:** CRM notes, past emails, call notes, earlier opportunities.
5. **Public sources the user can paste or the assistant can access:** company site, news, annual reports or investor letters, job postings, leadership interviews or podcasts, press releases, review sites, social posts.

If the assistant cannot browse, ask the user to paste source text and say which sources would be most valuable to collect.

## Process

1. **Capture the basics.** Industry, business model, size, locations, ownership (public, private equity, venture-backed, founder-owned), main products and customers. Keep it to what affects the sale.
2. **Find stated priorities.** Look for what leadership says publicly: annual report themes, earnings call language, press releases, executive interviews, careers page messaging. Stated priorities are the strongest hooks because the buyer has already committed to them.
3. **Read the hiring pattern.** Job postings reveal investment areas and pain. A cluster of openings in one function, or postings that describe a process you improve, often signal a gap.
4. **Identify triggers.** Recent events that change priorities: leadership changes, funding, acquisitions, expansion, layoffs, new regulation, product launches, a major customer win or loss.
5. **Infer likely pains.** Connect priorities and triggers to the problem you solve. Mark each pain as *stated* (they said it), *strongly implied* (evidence points to it), or *hypothesis* (plausible, unverified).
6. **Map the buying committee.** List likely roles: economic buyer, champion, users, technical evaluator, procurement or legal. Add names only when they come from a source; otherwise describe the role. Note who may oppose the change and why.
7. **Check existing relationships.** Past opportunities, current customers in the same group, shared connections, former customers now working there.
8. **Recommend the entry angle.** Pick one priority or trigger to lead with, the person to approach first, the proof point that fits, and two or three questions to ask. Say why this angle beats the alternatives.

## Output format

```
ACCOUNT BRIEF: [company]   Prepared: [date]   Purpose: [...]

Snapshot
- What they do: ...
- Size / locations / ownership: ...
- Relevant products or teams: ...

Strategic priorities (with source)
1. ... [source, date]
2. ...

Recent triggers
| Event | Date | Why it matters to us | Source |

Likely pains
| Pain | Evidence | Confidence (stated / implied / hypothesis) |

Buying committee
| Role | Name (if sourced) | What they care about | Stance (supporter / neutral / risk) |

Existing relationships: ...

Recommended entry angle
- Lead with: ...
- First contact: ...
- Proof to use: ...
- Questions to ask:
  1. ...
  2. ...

Gaps: [what we still need to learn]
```

## Quality checklist

- Every factual claim cites a source and date, or is labeled as an inference.
- Pains carry a confidence level.
- The brief fits on one page; background that does not change the approach is cut.
- People are named only when a source supports it; no guessed names, emails or titles.
- There is one clear recommended angle with reasoning.
- Questions to ask are open-ended and tied to the hypotheses.

## Common mistakes

- **Encyclopedia instead of brief.** Founding year, office count and mission statement rarely change how you sell. Include what changes the approach.
- **Presenting guesses as facts.** Saying "your team is struggling with X" when it is a hypothesis damages credibility in the first minute. Phrase hypotheses as questions.
- **Stale information.** A leadership change or acquisition can make old notes useless. Check dates on every source.
- **Single-threading.** Researching only the contact you plan to email misses the economic buyer and the people who can block the deal.
- **No point of view.** A brief that lists facts without recommending an angle leaves the rep to do the hardest part.
- **Inventing personal details.** Never fabricate contact data or personal information. Use only what is publicly and professionally relevant.

## Example prompts

- "Research this company before my discovery call tomorrow. We sell data compliance software."
- "Build account briefs for these five target accounts in our ABM program."
- "Here's their annual report and three job postings. What are their priorities and where do we fit?"
- "Who is likely on the buying committee for a sales tool at a 1,000-person manufacturer?"
- "I inherited this account. Summarize what I need to know and how to re-open the conversation."