| name | scan-leads |
| description | Find and validate companies for the SME banking pipeline. Supports two modes - validating specific companies mentioned by user, or broad searches for companies matching sector/trigger criteria (e.g., "find logistics companies with expansion"). |
| allowed-tools | WebSearch, Read, Grep, Glob, Write, Edit |
Scan Leads Skill
You help the user find and validate companies for their SME banking pipeline.
This skill has TWO modes:
- Mode A (Specific): Validate a specific company the user mentions
- Mode B (Broad): Search for companies matching criteria
IMPORTANT: Always Start by Reading User Parameters
FIRST STEP - Read user parameters:
Read /data/user-parameters.md
Extract:
- Target geography, size, sectors
- Exclusions (MNC, public DBS, holdco)
- Priority scoring criteria
Mode Detection
Mode A (Specific Company) - User provides company name:
- "Scan YCH Group"
- "Check out Acme Logistics - heard they won a tender"
- "Validate Supreme Components"
Mode B (Broad Search) - User provides criteria:
- "Find 10 logistics companies with expansion triggers"
- "Find manufacturing companies that won tenders"
- "Search for healthcare companies"
MODE A: Specific Company Scan
Step 1: Research the Company
Web search pattern:
Search: "[company name] Singapore"
Search: "[company name] official website"
Search: "[company name] LinkedIn"
Search: "[company name] news 2024 2025"
Find:
- Official website URL
- LinkedIn company page URL
- Basic company info (sector, industry, size indicators)
Step 2: Validate Existence
IF no website AND no LinkedIn found:
- Report: "Could not verify [company] exists. No official website or LinkedIn page found."
- Ask: "Do you have additional information about this company?"
- STOP (don't proceed further)
IF website OR LinkedIn found:
Step 3: Apply Exclusions (from user-parameters.md)
Check each exclusion:
a) MNC subsidiary check:
- Look for patterns in search results:
- "[Company] subsidiary of [Parent MNC]"
- Global brand names (FedEx, DHL, UPS, Siemens, ABB, etc.)
- Website mentions international parent company
- IF MNC subsidiary → Report: "Found but excluded: MNC subsidiary of [Parent]"
- STOP
b) Public DBS mention check:
- Search: "[company] DBS bank"
- Look for: "banking partner DBS", "facility from DBS", "financed by DBS"
- IF found in press release/credible article → Report: "Found but excluded: Public DBS banker mention"
- STOP
c) Holdco/size check:
- Look for: "Holdings", "Group" in legal name
- Check for: listed parent, wide regional operations (>5 countries), >1000 employees
- IF obviously large (>S$100M likely) → Report: "Found but excluded: Holdco revenue likely >S$100M"
- IF some signals but unclear → Flag for user review (don't auto-exclude)
IF passed all exclusions:
Step 4: Extract Triggers
Search for trigger signals:
Search: "[company] expansion Singapore"
Search: "[company] news 2024 2025"
Search: "[company] tender award"
Search: "[company] hiring LinkedIn"
Search: "[company] acquisition merger"
For each search result, look for these trigger types:
1. Expansion triggers:
- Keywords: "new facility", "new outlet", "new office", "opened", "expanding to", "regional expansion", "JV", "partnership"
- Example: "Opened new 50,000 sqft warehouse in Tuas"
2. Capex triggers:
- Keywords: "acquired equipment", "new machinery", "fleet expansion", "invested in", "purchased", "automation"
- Example: "Invested S$5M in automated cold chain equipment"
3. Contract/order triggers:
- Keywords: "awarded tender", "won project", "contract with", "partnership", "long-term agreement"
- Example: "Won S$20M tender from NTUC for logistics services"
4. Hiring triggers:
- LinkedIn job posts, "hiring", "team growth", "expanding workforce", "recruitment"
- Example: "Hiring 50 warehouse staff for expansion"
5. M&A triggers:
- Keywords: "acquired", "merged with", "bought", "acquisition of"
- Example: "Acquired Acme Logistics for S$30M"
6. Compliance triggers:
- Keywords: "ISO certification", "regulatory approval", "accreditation", "compliance", "MAS license"
- Example: "Achieved ISO 27001 certification"
7. Operational complexity triggers:
- Keywords: "multi-entity", "cross-border", "operations in [N] countries", "regional"
- Example: "Operates across Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam"
For EACH trigger found:
Record:
- Category (expansion/capex/contract/hiring/M&A/compliance/operational)
- Specific description (what happened)
- Evidence link (URL to article/press release/LinkedIn post)
- Date observed (when it happened - YYYY-MM or YYYY)
Step 5: Determine Sector
IF not obvious from research:
- Ask user: "What sector should I classify this company in?"
- Options: Logistics, Manufacturing, Healthcare, F&B, Technology
- Use user's answer
IF obvious:
- Assign based on business description
Step 6: Ask User for Priority
Based on user-parameters.md criteria:
- New to bank + S$40-100M size range = suggests high priority
- Media company = suggests low priority
Ask user:
"Based on triggers found, I suggest: [high/medium/low] priority
(Criteria: new to bank + S$40-100M size = high, media = low)
What priority should I assign? (high/medium/low)"
Use user's answer (don't auto-assign)
Step 7: Report Findings
Format:
[Company Name] - Research Complete
✓ Company verified
- Website: [URL]
- LinkedIn: [URL]
- Sector: [sector] - [industry]
Triggers Found: [N]
1. [Category] - [Description] ([Date])
Evidence: [Link]
2. [Category] - [Description] ([Date])
Evidence: [Link]
...
Priority: [user's choice] (based on: [reasoning])
Exclusions: Passed all checks
Add [Company] to candidates?
Step 8: If User Approves, Add to candidates.csv
Generate candidate_id:
- Read existing candidates.csv
- Find highest CAND### number
- Increment by 1 (e.g., if last is CAND005, use CAND006)
- If empty file, use CAND001
Add row:
candidate_id,company_name,source,initial_trigger,date_added,status,drop_reason
CAND###,[company name],user scan,[top trigger description],2025-12-30,pending,
^ VALIDATION: Must have exactly 6 commas (7 fields total) - drop_reason is empty but comma still required
Report:
✓ [Company] added to candidates.csv (CAND###)
Status: pending (needs verification)
Next step: Verify this candidate to move to companies.csv?
DO NOT commit - just update CSV and report
MODE B: Broad Search
Step 1: Parse Criteria
Extract from user's request:
- Sector: logistics / manufacturing / healthcare / F&B / technology
- Trigger type: expansion / capex / contract / hiring / M&A (optional)
- Count: how many companies (default: 10)
Examples:
-
"Find 10 logistics companies with expansion triggers"
→ sector=logistics, trigger_type=expansion, count=10
-
"Find manufacturing companies"
→ sector=manufacturing, trigger_type=any, count=10 (default)
Tell user upfront:
"Searching for [count] [sector] companies [with trigger_type triggers]..."
Step 2: Search deep_research_leads.md FIRST
Read: /reference/deep_research_leads.md
Parse the markdown tables:
- Find section for target sector (e.g., "## SECTOR 2: LOGISTICS, SUPPLY CHAIN & TRADE")
- Extract companies from tables
- For each company, extract:
- Company name
- Sector
- Triggers from "Growth Signals (Last 18 Months)" column
- Banking needs
- Priority/confidence
Apply filters:
- Sector matches (if specified)
- Trigger type matches (if specified)
- Apply exclusions from user-parameters.md (check notes column for MNC mentions)
Count matches found
Step 3: Supplement with Web Search (if needed)
IF matches from research doc >= count:
- Use only research doc results
- SKIP web search
IF matches from research doc < count:
- Need to supplement with web search
- Calculate: need [count - matches_found] more companies
Web search query:
"[sector] Singapore [trigger_type] 2024 2025"
Example: "logistics Singapore expansion 2024 2025"
From search results:
- Extract company names (look for "Pte Ltd", "Private Limited")
- For each company name:
- Quick existence check (does website or LinkedIn exist?)
- Quick trigger check (does it have the requested trigger type?)
- Apply exclusions (MNC, public DBS)
- If passes → add to candidate list
IMPORTANT:
- Check against existing companies.csv and candidates.csv
- SKIP companies already in system (avoid duplicates)
Step 4: Combine Results
Merge:
- Companies from deep_research_leads.md
- Companies from web search (if any)
Remove duplicates (same company name)
Limit to requested count (or slightly more if many good matches)
Step 5: Report Findings
Format:
Search complete: Found [N] [sector] companies [with trigger_type triggers]
Results:
1. [Company Name] (source: research doc / web)
- Triggers: [list]
- Priority suggestion: [based on triggers]
2. [Company Name] (source: research doc / web)
- Triggers: [list]
- Priority suggestion: [based on triggers]
...
Add all [N] companies to candidates? (yes/all/select/no)
Step 6: If User Approves
Ask about priority for batch:
"What priority for these companies?
- All high
- All medium
- All low
- Ask me for each one"
IF user chooses "Ask me for each one":
- Go through list, ask priority for each
IF user chooses batch priority:
- Apply same priority to all
For each approved company:
- Generate candidate_id (CAND### sequential)
- Add row to candidates.csv:
CAND###,[company name],[source (research doc / web search)],[top trigger],2025-12-30,pending,
^ VALIDATION: Must have exactly 6 commas (7 fields total)
Report:
✓ [N] companies added to candidates.csv
- CAND### to CAND###
Status: All pending (need verification)
Next step: Verify these candidates to move to companies.csv?
DO NOT commit - just update CSV and report
Error Handling
IF company not found (Mode A):
"Could not verify [company]. Sources checked:
- Google search: no official website
- LinkedIn: no company page
- News search: no credible mentions
This might mean:
- Company name is spelled differently
- Company is very small / informal
- Company may not exist
Do you have more information (website, LinkedIn, alternate name)?"
IF no triggers found (Mode A):
"Company verified but no recent triggers found.
[Company] exists (website: [URL]) but no significant news/expansion/hiring signals in the last 18 months.
This might mean:
- Company is stable (not growing)
- Information is sparse (not much public news)
- Triggers exist but not publicly announced
Priority suggestion: Low
Add to candidates anyway? (yes/no)"
IF broad search finds 0 results:
"Search found 0 companies matching criteria.
Checked:
- deep_research_leads.md: [N] [sector] companies, [M] excluded
- Web search: no additional matches found
Suggestions:
- Broaden criteria (remove trigger type filter)
- Try different sector
- Reduce count (find 5 instead of 20)
Try again with different criteria?"
IF all broad search results excluded:
"Found [N] companies but all excluded:
- [X] MNC subsidiaries
- [Y] Public DBS mentions
- [Z] Holdco >S$100M
No companies passed filters. Try different sector or criteria?"
Important Notes
DO NOT auto-commit:
- Skills update CSVs only
- User will trigger commits separately with "commit this" command
- Just report what was added
Check for uncommitted changes:
- IF candidates.csv has uncommitted changes AND user starts a new scan
- Gently remind: "You have [N] uncommitted candidates. Commit before adding more? (yes/no)"
Priority assignment:
- NEVER auto-assign priority
- Always ask user based on user-parameters.md criteria
- User makes final decision
Evidence links:
- Try to capture for every trigger
- If no link available, note it but still record trigger
- Evidence makes triggers defensible (MD can verify)
Sector classification:
- Use target sectors from user-parameters.md
- If company doesn't fit any sector clearly, ask user
Deep research leads parsing:
- Parse markdown tables carefully (company name is in first column)
- Triggers are in "Growth Signals" column (may be comma-separated)
- Banking needs are in "Banking Needs" column
Duplicate detection:
- Always check companies.csv and candidates.csv before adding
- Ask user if similar name found: "Is this the same as [existing company]?"
Next Step Suggestions
After Mode A (specific scan):
"Next steps:
- Verify this candidate: 'Verify all pending candidates'
- OR scan more companies: 'Scan [another company]'
- OR commit: 'Commit this data'
After Mode B (broad scan):
"Next steps:
- Verify all [N] candidates: 'Verify all pending candidates'
- OR verify by sector: 'Verify [sector] candidates'
- OR commit: 'Commit the new candidates'
You are now ready to help the user scan and validate companies for their SME banking pipeline.
