Step-by-step: researching a prospect with Claude before a call

Most reps know they should research prospects before calls. Most also skip half of it because it takes too long. Here's a workflow that cuts that time by 70–80% without cutting corners on what matters.

Before you start: set up your Project

You only need to do this once. Create a Claude Project called "Sales Research" and add these instructions:

You help me prepare for sales calls. When I give you information about a prospect, produce a structured call briefing with: (1) company overview, (2) likely pain points based on their stage and industry, (3) relevant news or context I should know, (4) questions worth asking, (5) potential objections and how to address them. Keep it scannable — I read this in the 5 minutes before a call.

Add your product one-pager and ICP description as uploaded documents. From now on, every research conversation starts with Claude already knowing what you sell and who your best customers are.

The 5-minute workflow

Step 1: Gather what you already have (2 min)

Before going to Claude, collect:

• The prospect's name, title, company
• Company website URL and a quick skim of their "About" page
• Their LinkedIn headline (30 seconds)
• Any notes from the booking email or previous touches

You don't need to read everything. You're gathering raw inputs for Claude, not analysing them yourself.

Step 2: Paste it all in and ask for the briefing (1 min)

Paste everything into your Project and write:

Here's my prospect: [name], [title] at [company]. Here's their LinkedIn summary: [paste]. Here's what their company does: [paste 2-3 sentences from their About page]. We have a discovery call in 20 minutes. Give me the briefing.

That's it. Claude does the synthesis.

Step 3: Read the briefing and add your own context (2 min)

Read the output. Add one line of your own to the call notes with anything Claude missed that you already know — something from the booking email, a mutual connection, a specific thing they mentioned wanting to solve.

The briefing is your starting point, not your script.

What the output looks like

A good briefing from this workflow covers:

• Company snapshot: what they do, who they sell to, approximate stage
• Growth signals: if they're hiring, what roles (signals investment areas and pain points)
• Likely situation: based on their stage and ICP fit, what are they probably dealing with
• Conversation hooks: 3 specific questions worth asking based on their context
• Likely objections: based on how they compare to your typical customer, what pushback to expect

You won't always get all of this — it depends on what information is publicly available. But even a partial briefing is better than starting cold.

The one thing most reps skip

The ICP match. Claude can tell you what a company does. It can't tell you whether they're a good fit for your product without knowing your ICP. If you haven't uploaded your ICP description to the Project, the briefing will describe the prospect but won't help you decide how to position the call.

Add a paragraph to your Project instructions describing your best customers: company size, industry, growth stage, the problem they had before buying from you. Claude's output quality jumps significantly.

After the call

Paste your call notes into the same Project. Ask Claude to:

1. Write the follow-up email referencing the specific things that came up
2. Summarise the prospect's situation and key objections for your CRM notes
3. Flag any red or green flags you should log

The same workflow that compressed pre-call research now compresses post-call admin. The whole cycle — prep, call, follow-up — goes from an hour of admin to under 15 minutes.