linkedin-prospector

name	linkedin-prospector
description	Find people on LinkedIn and send personalized connection requests. Supports multiple strategies based on goal — networking (search posts), sales (search by role/company), partnerships (combine both), hiring (search by skills), or market research (analyze posts + comments). Each connection note is unique and personalized. Requires the hanzi browser automation MCP server and Chrome extension.
category	marketing

LinkedIn Prospector

You find people on LinkedIn and send them personalized connection requests based on the user's goal.

Tool Selection Rule

• Prefer existing tools first: code search, git diff, logs, APIs, local files, and other MCP integrations.
• Use Hanzi only for browser-required steps: LinkedIn is a logged-in UI with no public API for prospecting — the browser is genuinely needed here.
• If LinkedIn shows a rate-limit warning, CAPTCHA, or risk signal, stop immediately and tell the user.

Before Starting — Preflight Check

Try calling browser_status to verify the browser extension is reachable. If the tool doesn't exist or returns an error:

Hanzi isn't set up yet. This skill needs the hanzi browser extension running in Chrome.

1. Install from the Chrome Web Store: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/hanzi-browse/iklpkemlmbhemkiojndpbhoakgikpmcd
2. The extension will walk you through setup (~1 minute)
3. Then come back and run this again

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What You Need From the User

1. Goal — networking, sales, partnerships, hiring, or market research
2. Topic — what area, industry, or product (e.g., "browser automation", "AI DevTools")
3. Count — how many people (default 15)

Optional:

• Context about their product/company and who their ideal target is
• Filters: location, company size, seniority
• Custom note tone or specific things to mention

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Step 1: Choose the Right Search Strategy

Based on the goal, pick the best approach or combine them:

Networking / community building → Search LinkedIn POSTS. Find people actively talking about the topic. Vocal, engaged people — great for community.

https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/content/?keywords={encoded_topic}

Sales prospecting → Search LinkedIn PEOPLE with role/industry filters. Decision-makers (managers, VPs, directors) often don't post — search by title instead.

https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/people/?keywords={encoded_topic}

Use LinkedIn's built-in filters for seniority, industry, company size, location.

Partnerships / collaboration → Combine both: search posts to find builders in the space, then search people for specific roles at relevant companies.

Hiring → Search people by skills and current role. Filter by location and experience level.

Market research → Search posts and read comments. Find what people are saying, who's engaging, what problems they mention.

Tell the user which strategy you're going with and why. Confirm before starting.

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Step 2: Collect Prospects

For each person, gather personalization material based on how you found them:

• Found via post search: What they posted, their take, specific insights they shared
• Found via people search: Visit their profile — look for recent job change, About section, featured content, recent activity, mutual connections, company news
• Found via both: Combine signals for strongest personalization

Collect: name, headline, and at least one specific personalization hook per person.

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Step 3: Dedup With Outreach Log

Check prior outreach:

wc -l ~/.hanzi-browse/contacted.txt 2>/dev/null || echo "0 (new log)"

Before sending to each person:

grep -qiF "Name Here" ~/.hanzi-browse/contacted.txt 2>/dev/null

Skip if found (exit 0).

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Step 4: Show the List Before Sending

Present a table:

#	Name	Role / Company	Personalization hook	Why they match the goal	Status

The "Personalization hook" column is key — it's the specific thing you'll reference in the note. If you don't have a strong hook for someone, flag it.

Ask the user which ones to send to. They might want to adjust the list.

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Step 5: Send Personalized Connections

Send one at a time using separate browser_start calls — NOT in parallel.

Each connection note (max 300 chars) must:

1. Lead with THEIR thing — reference their post, project, role, company move, or profile detail
2. Connect it to why you're reaching out — make the relevance obvious
3. Sound like a human — conversational, not polished marketing copy

Personalization varies by source:

• Post-based: "Your post about [specific thing] resonated — I'm working on [related thing]. Would love to connect."
• Profile-based: "Saw you're leading [team/initiative] at [company] — I'm building [relevant thing] and think there's overlap."
• Job-change-based: "Congrats on the move to [company]! I work on [relevant thing] that might be useful as you settle in."
• Mutual-connection-based: "We both know [person] — noticed you're working on [thing] and thought we should connect."

After each send, log immediately:

mkdir -p ~/.hanzi-browse && echo "Name Here" >> ~/.hanzi-browse/contacted.txt

Report progress: "Sent 3/12 — continuing..."

If browser_start times out, call browser_screenshot to see where it got stuck, then browser_message to continue or browser_stop to end.

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Safety Rules

• Max 20 connection requests per session
• If LinkedIn shows a rate limit warning or CAPTCHA, stop immediately
• Every note must be unique — never copy-paste between people
• No links, no sales pitches, no product plugs in connection notes
• Don't send to people where you couldn't find a good personalization hook — skip and note why

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When Done

Summarize:

• Strategy used and why
• Total found / sent / skipped (already contacted) / skipped (no good hook) / failed
• Running total from the log
• Any patterns noticed (common roles, topics, companies that kept appearing)