account-research-brief

name	account-research-brief
description	Use when preparing to engage a target account, researching a company before outreach, or building pre-call intelligence. Triggers: 'research this company', 'account brief for [company]', 'company research', 'what do I need to know about [company]', 'pre-outreach research'.
version	1.0.0

Account Research Brief

Produce a comprehensive 1-page company intelligence brief in 2-3 minutes using WebSearch. Everything a GTM engineer needs to engage a target account — from company overview to ready-to-use outreach angles.

Steps

1. Collect Input

Ask the user for:

• Company name (required)
• Your product/service (optional) — if provided, engagement angles will be tailored to the user's offering. If omitted, angles stay generic but actionable.
• Target persona title (optional) — focuses the Decision Makers section on that role. Default to CRO / VP Sales / Head of Growth if not specified.

Do NOT proceed until you have at least the company name.

2. Company Overview

Run 1-2 WebSearch queries (e.g., "{company} what does it do", "{company} funding crunchbase").

Gather:

• What they do (one paragraph, plain language)
• Founded year and HQ location
• Company size — employee count, revenue range if public
• Funding stage and total raised (for startups / private companies)
• Key product(s) or service(s)
• Recent news from the last 90 days (1-3 headlines with URLs)

If any data point is not findable, write "Not found" — NEVER fabricate company data.

3. Decision Makers

Run 1-2 WebSearch queries (e.g., "{company} CEO founder", "{company} {target persona title}").

Gather:

• CEO / Founder — name, short background (prior companies, notable achievements)
• Target persona — name and title of the person matching the user's specified role (or CRO / VP Sales / Head of Growth by default)
• LinkedIn activity themes — what topics they post or comment about (if findable)
• Recent public content — podcast appearances, conference talks, blog posts, tweets
• Org structure clues — approximate size of their sales / marketing / growth team (from LinkedIn headcount or job postings)

4. Technology Stack

Run 1-2 WebSearch queries (e.g., "{company} tech stack job postings", "{company} integrations partners").

Gather:

• CRM platform (Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.)
• Marketing automation (Marketo, Pardot, HubSpot, etc.)
• Outreach / sales engagement tools (Outreach, Salesloft, Apollo, etc.)
• Other known tools from job postings, integrations pages, G2 profiles, case studies
• Stack gaps — if the user provided their product/service, note where their product could fit

5. Recent Signals

Run 1-2 WebSearch queries (e.g., "{company} news 2026", "{company} hiring jobs").

Gather and present as a table:

Signal	Detail	Date	Source

Signal types to look for:

• Fundraise announcements
• Hiring patterns (what roles are they adding? volume?)
• Product launches or major feature releases
• Partnership announcements
• Press mentions or media coverage
• Leadership changes (new C-suite, VP hires)

ICP cross-reference: If docs/icp.md exists in the project, read it and cross-reference the signals above against the ICP's buying signal list. Flag any matches explicitly (e.g., "MATCH: ICP buying signal 'Series B+ fundraise' — Company raised Series C in Jan 2026").

6. Competitive Landscape

Run 1-2 WebSearch queries (e.g., "{company} competitors", "{company} vs alternatives").

Gather:

• 3-5 main competitors
• How the target company positions itself vs. competitors (messaging, pricing tier, feature differentiation)
• Recent competitive moves — pricing changes, feature launches, market entries
• Market dynamics that affect them (regulation, consolidation, shifts in buyer behavior)

7. Engagement Angles

Based on ALL findings from steps 2-6, generate 3-5 outreach angles.

Each angle must include:

1. Angle name — a short label (e.g., "Hiring Surge Play", "Stack Gap Angle")
2. Finding — the specific research finding that makes this angle relevant
3. Value connection — how this finding connects to a pain point or opportunity
4. One-sentence opener — a ready-to-send first line for email, LinkedIn, or cold call

Rules:

• If the user provided their product/service, make every angle specific to their offering.
• If they did not, keep angles generic but grounded in the research (never vague).
• Each angle must tie to a SPECIFIC finding, not a generic observation.

8. Write the Brief

Write the output file to docs/accounts/{company-name-slug}.md.

The slug is the company name lowercased with spaces replaced by hyphens and special characters removed (e.g., "HubSpot" becomes hubspot, "Scale AI" becomes scale-ai).

Create the docs/accounts/ directory if it does not exist.

Use this structure for the output file:

# {Company Name} — Account Research Brief

**Website:** {url}
**HQ:** {location}
**Researched:** {YYYY-MM-DD}

---

## Company Overview

{One paragraph on what they do, key products/services}

- **Founded:** {year}
- **Employees:** {count or range}
- **Revenue:** {range or "Private"}
- **Funding:** {stage, total raised, last round date}

### Recent News
- {headline} — {source} ({date})
- ...

---

## Decision Makers

**CEO / Founder:** {name}
- {background, 1-2 sentences}

**{Target Persona Title}:** {name, if found}
- {background, activity themes, recent content}

**Team Size Clues:** {what's known about sales/marketing/growth org size}

---

## Tech Stack

| Category | Tool(s) |
|----------|---------|
| CRM | {tool} |
| Marketing Automation | {tool} |
| Sales Engagement | {tool} |
| Other | {tools} |

{If user provided their product: "**Stack Gap:** {where your product fits}"}

---

## Recent Signals

| Signal | Detail | Date | Source |
|--------|--------|------|--------|
| {type} | {detail} | {date} | [{source}]({url}) |
| ... | ... | ... | ... |

{If ICP cross-reference was done: "**ICP Signal Matches:** {list matches}"}

---

## Competitive Landscape

**Main Competitors:** {list}

**Positioning:** {how they differentiate}

**Recent Competitive Moves:** {notable shifts}

**Market Context:** {dynamics affecting them}

---

## Engagement Angles

1. **{Angle Name}**
   - *Finding:* {specific research finding}
   - *Value Connection:* {why this matters / pain point}
   - *Opener:* "{ready-to-send first sentence}"

2. **{Angle Name}**
   - *Finding:* ...
   - *Value Connection:* ...
   - *Opener:* "..."

3. ...

---

## Sources

- [{title or description}]({url})
- ...

After writing the file, tell the user the file path and offer to refine any section.

Tools

• WebSearch — primary tool. Run 5-10 searches per company to cover all sections. Prioritize speed over exhaustive coverage.
• Read — check if docs/icp.md exists for ICP cross-referencing in the signals section.
• Write — output the final brief to docs/accounts/{company-name-slug}.md.

Rules

1. Speed is the value. The entire brief should take 2-3 minutes. Do not over-research. Run searches in parallel when possible. One or two searches per section is enough.
2. Use WebSearch aggressively. 5-10 total searches per company. Batch independent searches into the same message to run them in parallel.
3. Always cite sources. Every claim must trace back to a URL in the Sources section. Include the URL inline in tables where applicable.
4. Never fabricate. If a data point is not findable after searching, write "Not found." Never guess at revenue, funding, employee count, or names.
5. Keep it to one page. The brief should be concise and scannable. No filler paragraphs. Use tables and bullet points. A busy salesperson should absorb the whole thing in 3 minutes.
6. No internal references. This skill is part of a public playbook. Never reference Earleads, Notion databases, Apify, internal agents, or any proprietary tooling.
7. Works universally. This skill works for any B2B company researching any target account. Do not assume a specific industry, company size, or GTM motion.
8. Create directories as needed. If docs/accounts/ does not exist, create it before writing the file.