This skill helps find and qualify potential customers for your product or service through systematic research and analysis.
When to Use This Skill
Use this skill when you need to:
- Find companies that would benefit from your product
- Identify decision makers and their contact information
- Research specific market segments or industries
- Build targeted prospect lists
- Plan outreach strategies
- Qualify leads based on criteria
- Research competitor customers
- Find early adopters or beta users
Research Workflow
1. Understand the Product
First, analyze what you're selling:
- Read product description/repository
- Understand core value proposition
- Identify key features and benefits
- Determine ideal customer profile (ICP)
- Note technical requirements or integrations
2. Define Target Criteria
Establish search parameters:
- Industry: Which sectors benefit most?
- Company size: Startups, SMB, Enterprise?
- Geography: Location requirements?
- Technographics: What tech stack do they use?
- Budget indicators: Funding, revenue, growth stage?
- Pain points: What problems do they face?
3. Research Strategy
Use multiple research approaches:
Company Discovery:
- Industry-specific searches
- Tech stack searches (e.g., "companies using Cursor AI")
- Recent funding announcements (Crunchbase, TechCrunch)
- LinkedIn company searches
- Y Combinator batches
- Product Hunt launches
- Conference attendee lists
- Industry associations
Decision Maker Identification:
- LinkedIn profile searches
- Company org charts
- Apollo.io or similar databases
- GitHub contributor searches (for dev tools)
- Twitter/X for thought leaders
- Industry forum moderators
4. Lead Qualification Scoring
Score each lead on:
- Fit Score (1-10): How well do they match ICP?
- Intent Score (1-10): How likely are they to buy?
- Priority (High/Medium/Low): Overall ranking
Fit Criteria:
- Uses complementary tools (+2)
- In target industry (+2)
- Right company size (+2)
- Geographic fit (+1)
- Recent growth indicators (+2)
- Budget signals (+1)
Intent Criteria:
- Recent funding (+3)
- Hiring for relevant roles (+2)
- Posted about related problems (+3)
- Active in community (+1)
- Recent tech stack changes (+1)
5. Information Gathering
For each qualified lead, collect:
Company Information:
- Company name and website
- Industry and sector
- Employee count
- Location (HQ and offices)
- Funding status and amount
- Tech stack
- Recent news or milestones
Decision Maker Details:
- Name and title
- LinkedIn profile URL
- Email (if available)
- Twitter/X handle
- Recent activity or posts
- Shared connections
Context & Insights:
- Why they're a good fit
- Specific pain points your product solves
- Recent company changes or needs
- Mutual connections or warm intro paths
- Relevant content they've shared
6. Outreach Strategy
For each lead, suggest:
Messaging Approach:
- Personalization hooks (recent posts, company news)
- Value proposition specific to their situation
- Relevant case studies or social proof
- Call-to-action (demo, trial, conversation)
Conversation Starters:
- Reference specific pain points
- Mention mutual connections
- Comment on their recent work
- Share relevant insights
- Offer immediate value
Timing Considerations:
- Best time to reach out
- Seasonal factors
- Company fiscal calendar
- Product launch cycles
Output Format
Structure lead research as:
# Lead Research Results
## Overview
- Total leads found: [X]
- High priority: [Y]
- Medium priority: [Z]
- Industries covered: [list]
## High Priority Leads
### 1. [Company Name]
**Fit Score**: 9/10 | **Intent Score**: 8/10 | **Priority**: HIGH
**Company Details**:
- Industry: [industry]
- Size: [employees]
- Location: [city, country]
- Funding: [amount/stage]
- Website: [url]
**Why Good Fit**:
- [Specific reason 1]
- [Specific reason 2]
- [Specific reason 3]
**Decision Maker**:
- Name: [Full Name]
- Title: [Job Title]
- LinkedIn: [URL]
- Email: [if found]
**Outreach Strategy**:
- **Hook**: [Personalization element]
- **Value Prop**: [Specific benefit for them]
- **CTA**: [Suggested ask]
**Conversation Starter**:
"Hi [Name], noticed [specific observation]. We help companies like [theirs] [specific value]. Would [specific outcome] be valuable for your team?"
---
[Repeat for each high-priority lead]
Research Sources
Free Sources
- LinkedIn (company pages, people search)
- GitHub (contributor activity, org repositories)
- Twitter/X (company mentions, decision maker posts)
- Crunchbase (basic funding data)
- Product Hunt (new product launches)
- HackerNews (who's hiring, show HN)
- Company blogs and press pages
- Industry publications
Paid Sources (if available)
- Apollo.io (B2B contact database)
- ZoomInfo (company & contact data)
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator
- Crunchbase Pro
- BuiltWith (tech stack data)
- SimilarWeb (traffic data)
Domain-Specific Strategies
For Developer Tools
Target:
- Engineering managers on LinkedIn
- GitHub users in relevant ecosystems
- Stack Overflow contributors
- DevTool Twitter communities
- Engineering blogs
- Tech conference speakers
For B2B SaaS
Target:
- Department heads (VP Sales, VP Eng, etc.)
- Companies in growth stage
- Recent funding announcements
- Job posts indicating expansion
- LinkedIn groups for industry
For Real Estate Tech
Target:
- Real estate investors and fund managers
- Property management companies
- Real estate brokerages
- REITs and institutional investors
- Real estate tech adopters
- Industry conference attendees
For AI/ML Tools
Target:
- Companies hiring ML engineers
- Y Combinator AI companies
- Users of complementary AI tools
- AI research labs
- Companies with AI in job descriptions
- AI Twitter/X community
Quality Standards
Ensure each lead entry:
- ✅ Has verifiable company information
- ✅ Includes decision maker name and title
- ✅ Explains why they're a good fit
- ✅ Provides concrete outreach strategy
- ✅ Includes at least one contact method
- ✅ Has accurate fit/intent scoring
- ✅ Contains actionable next steps
Avoid:
- ❌ Generic "spray and pray" lists
- ❌ Outdated contact information
- ❌ Unclear value propositions
- ❌ Missing decision maker details
- ❌ No personalization hooks
Examples
Example 1: Developer Tool
Product: AI-powered foreclosure auction analysis platform
Research Strategy:
- Search: "real estate investment companies Brevard County"
- Search: "property investors Florida foreclosures"
- LinkedIn: Real estate fund managers in Florida
- Search: "real estate wholesalers central Florida"
Sample Lead:
- Company: Sunshine State Capital
- Decision Maker: John Smith, Managing Partner
- Fit: 9/10 - Active foreclosure investor, 50+ properties
- Hook: Recent LinkedIn post about deal analysis challenges
- Value Prop: Automated lien discovery saves 5-10 hours per auction
Example 2: SaaS Tool
Product: Project management for AI developers
Research Strategy:
- Y Combinator W25 AI companies
- Companies using Cursor AI (via job posts)
- "AI startup" + "hiring" searches
- GitHub organizations with AI repos
Sample Lead:
- Company: VectorAI Labs
- Decision Maker: Sarah Chen, CTO
- Fit: 8/10 - 15 engineers, AI-first company, using Cursor
- Hook: Just raised Series A, hiring 10 engineers
- Value Prop: Built specifically for AI development workflows
Tips for Success
- Start Broad, Then Narrow: Cast wide net initially, then filter rigorously
- Verify Information: Double-check contact details and job titles
- Find Warm Paths: Look for mutual connections or shared communities
- Timely Research: Prioritize leads with recent trigger events
- Batch Similar Leads: Group by industry or use case for efficient outreach
- Track Results: Note which research methods yield best leads
- Refresh Regularly: Update lead list as situations change
- Respect Privacy: Use publicly available information ethically