Research target accounts before outreach
For each target account, the system gathers firmographics, recent news, hiring and technology signals, then writes a short note on why the account fits and who to contact, with sources linked. Reps start from a brief instead of a blank tab. For sales teams doing research between calls.
Function: Sales · Industry: Any industry
Research target accounts before outreach
6 steps
At a glance
- Trigger
- An account is added to a target list or reaches a trigger event.
- Typical inputs
- Target account list and ICP rules
- Data provider records
- Company site, filings and news
- Existing CRM history and exclusions
- Systems it usually connects to
- Salesforce
- HubSpot
- Apollo
- Clay
- How the work splits
4 rules, 1 model, 1 person steps
How it runs, step by step
6 steps, each tagged by what does the work. Rules are fixed logic, a model reads or drafts, and a person decides.
- Rules Fixed logic in code
- Model AI reads or drafts, with a confidence score
- Person A named person decides
- 1
Check the exclusions
RulesCustomers, open opportunities and do-not-contact accounts are removed before any research is spent on them.
- 2
Enrich the account
RulesFirmographic and contact data are pulled from your providers and de-duplicated against the CRM.
- 3
Research and summarize
ModelA model reads the company's site, recent news and job posts, and writes a note on what changed and why it may matter, linking each claim to its source.
- 4
Score the fit
RulesICP rules score the account, and the reason for the score is written on the record.
- 5
Decide to pursue
PersonThe account owner reads the note and decides to work, park or drop the account.
- 6
Write back to the CRM
RulesApproved notes and contacts are saved with their sources and dates, and stale notes are refreshed on a schedule.
Where people approve
The decisions that stay with your team, whatever the confidence score says.
- Sales leadership approves the ICP rules.
- The account owner approves any note before it reaches outreach.
- Contacts are checked against suppression lists before use.
KPIs to track
What to measure, before and after. Targets come from your own baseline.
- 01Accounts with a current research note
- 02Rep minutes of research per account
- 03Contact data bounce rate
- 04Notes the rep marked as wrong or useless
Questions about this workflow
How do you stop the notes from containing invented facts?
Every claim in a note links to a source page, and notes with no source for a claim leave it out. Reps can open the source in one click, and a wrong note is a flag that feeds back into the process.
Which data providers does it use?
Whichever you already pay for. We build around your accounts and their terms, rather than adding a new source.
Which steps use rules, a model and a person?
Rules: check the exclusions; enrich the account; score the fit; write back to the CRM. Model: research and summarize. Person: decide to pursue. Rules are fixed logic in code. A model reads or drafts and reports its confidence. A named person decides.
What do we need to start?
Typically: target account list and ICP rules; data provider records; company site, filings and news; existing CRM history and exclusions. You also need read access to Salesforce, HubSpot, Apollo and Clay, or the equivalents you use. A workflow audit measures your volumes and past cases first, then gives a fixed price for the build, so you can decide with real numbers.