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Lesson 2 of 6 · 25 min

How to Research Prospects Before You Call

Find the right company, the right person and one reason to talk, in a few minutes.

In this lesson1. Five minutes of research beats fifty generic calls2. Find the right person3. Write one line of context4. Worked example: from a job post to a meeting5. Common research mistakes

Five minutes of research beats fifty generic calls

Good research gives you a reason to call that matters to the prospect. Look at the company website, recent news, job postings and the person's LinkedIn profile. Job postings are especially useful: a company hiring many support staff may struggle with customer questions; one hiring developers may be building a new product.

  • Company website: what they sell and to whom
  • News: funding, expansion, new offices
  • Job postings: problems they are hiring for
  • LinkedIn: the person's role and recent posts

Find the right person

Call the person who owns the problem your company solves. For software builds that might be a founder, a CTO or a product head. For customer support tools, an operations or support head. If you reach the wrong person, ask politely who handles that area. Referrals inside a company are a strong opening.

Write one line of context

Before each call or message, write one line: why this company, why now. For example: hiring three support agents in Pune, likely handling many repeat questions. This line becomes your opening and keeps you from sounding scripted.

Worked example: from a job post to a meeting

Arjun notices a retail chain posting jobs for customer care executives in four cities. He finds the head of customer experience on LinkedIn, reads a post she wrote about festive season rush, and calls with a short line about handling repeat questions during busy seasons. She agrees to a short meeting with his senior colleague.

Common research mistakes

Research can become a way to avoid calling. Set a time limit per prospect and move on.

  • Spending thirty minutes on one company
  • Researching the company but not the person
  • Using facts without a reason they matter
  • Reading only the home page
Key takeaways
  • Use website, news, job postings and LinkedIn.
  • Call the person who owns the problem.
  • Write one line of context per prospect.
  • Time-box research to a few minutes.
Try it

Research five companies in one industry. For each, write the person to contact, the source of your insight and your one line of context.

Check your understanding

1. Why are job postings useful for research?

2. Who should you aim to call?

3. What is the risk of long research?

← PreviousWhat Does an SDR or BDA Do? Daily Work and Targets ExplainedNext lesson →Cold Calling Script for Beginners: Opening, Questions and the Ask
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Templates from our playbooks

Copy ready templates with when to use each one and why it works.

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