AI prompts

15 AI Prompts for Sales Prospecting and Account Research

For sellers who use Claude, ChatGPT or Perplexity to prepare for an account.

You leave with a set-up prompt, 15 research prompts in working order, a fact check that catches invented details and a sample of its output.

By Intandemly team · Updated 9 Oct 2026 · 8 min read · Free, no sign-up

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What you'll get

  • 16 copy-ready blocks
  • 1 table
  • 8 min read
  • Set-up prompt (run once)
  • 1. Account snapshot
  • 2. Stated priorities
  • 3. Trigger events
  • 4. What the hiring says
  • 5. Tools and incumbent suppliers
  • and 10 more

How to use it

  1. Step 1: Gather sources for one account: annual report or filings, recent news, careers page, leadership page and profile text.
  2. Step 2: Run the set-up prompt once. It makes "unknown" an acceptable answer, which is worth more than a confident invention.
  3. Step 3: Work through prompts 1 to 14 in order, pasting the source text each one asks for. Without sources the model fills gaps from memory, and its memory may be out of date or wrong.
  4. Step 4: Run prompt 15, then check every unverified line yourself before it reaches an email.
  5. Step 5: Save the one-page brief to the account record.

Do not paste confidential customer data into a tool your company has not approved.

These prompts work in Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity or any capable assistant. They are written to be run in order, in one conversation, for one account. Budget 30 to 45 minutes per account the first time.

Part 1: Set-up

Set-up prompt (run once)

Set-up prompt (run once)
You are helping me research one company so I can have a useful first conversation with people there. I sell [what you sell, in one sentence] to [type of company]. The problem we solve is [problem, in the customer's words].

Rules for this whole conversation:
- Use only the sources I paste, or web results you can link to. Cite the source for every factual claim.
- If something is not in the sources, write "unknown". Do not guess names, numbers or dates.
- Keep facts and your own inferences separate, and label inferences as "inference".
- Write in plain English and keep answers short.

The account is [company name], [website]. Confirm you understand, then wait for my first source.

Part 2: Understand the company

1. Account snapshot

1. Account snapshot
From the sources below, write a snapshot of [company] in 150 words or fewer: what it sells, to whom, where it operates, its approximate size and how it makes money. Then list three things you could not establish from the sources.

Sources:
[paste About page, company profile or annual report summary]

2. Stated priorities

2. Stated priorities
Read the text below from [company]'s [annual report / earnings call / CEO letter]. List the strategic priorities management states for the next 12 to 24 months. For each give: the priority in their words, a direct quote, and which function is likely to own it. No more than six.

Text:
[paste]

3. Trigger events

3. Trigger events
From the news items and announcements below, list events from the last 12 months that could change how [company] buys [your category]: leadership changes, funding, acquisitions, expansions, new products, regulation, restructuring, major contracts. For each give the date, the source and one line on why it matters to someone selling [what you sell]. Sort newest first.

Items:
[paste headlines and links, or ask the tool to search and cite]

4. What the hiring says

4. What the hiring says
Here are current job posts from [company]. What do they suggest about (a) the tools and systems in use, (b) teams that are growing, (c) problems they are trying to fix? Quote the line that supports each point and mark each as fact or inference.

Job posts:
[paste]

5. Tools and incumbent suppliers

5. Tools and incumbent suppliers
Using the job posts, case studies and public pages below, list the tools, platforms and suppliers [company] appears to use for [your area]. For each: the evidence, how confident you are (high, medium or low) and what it means for a supplier of [what you sell]. Do not add any tool that is not supported by the sources.

Sources:
[paste]

Part 3: Map the people

6. Where the decision sits

6. Where the decision sits
Based on the leadership page and profiles below, describe how [company] is organised around [function or problem area]: who leads it, who they report to and which neighbouring teams would be affected by a change. Mark any gaps as "unknown".

Sources:
[paste leadership page and profile text]

7. Buying committee hypothesis

7. Buying committee hypothesis
For a purchase of [what you sell] at a company like [company], list the roles likely to be involved: decision maker, budget owner, technical evaluator, day-to-day owner, finance, procurement, legal or security, and possible blockers. For each role give the likely job title at this company, a named person only if one appears in the sources I have pasted, what they care about and what would make them say no. Label the whole answer as a hypothesis to be tested.

8. Stakeholder brief

8. Stakeholder brief
Here is public profile text for [name], [title] at [company]. Write a brief for a first conversation: their remit, career path in two lines, topics they post or speak about, what they are probably measured on, and two questions they would find worth answering. Use only what is in the text. No guesses about personality.

Profile text:
[paste]

9. Who to approach first

9. Who to approach first
Given the buying committee hypothesis and the stakeholder briefs so far, recommend the order in which to approach three people at [company], with one line of reasoning for each. Say what I should try to learn from the first person that would make the second conversation better.

Part 4: Build the point of view

10. Problem hypothesis

10. Problem hypothesis
Using everything so far, write three hypotheses about how [problem we solve] shows up at [company]. For each: the evidence from the sources, what we would expect to see if it is true, and one question that would confirm or kill it. Rank them by strength of evidence.

11. Why now, why us

11. Why now, why us
Write one paragraph of 90 words or fewer that I could say aloud to a [role] at [company], explaining why this is worth their time now. Base it on the strongest hypothesis and a real trigger event. No adjectives about us, no claims about results, no statistics unless they appear in my sources.

12. First-conversation questions

12. First-conversation questions
Write ten questions for a first conversation with [role] at [company]: three about how things work today, three about the stated priority "[priority]", two about who else is involved in decisions like this, and two about timing. Each question must refer to something specific to this company.

13. Objections by role

13. Objections by role
For each role in the buying committee hypothesis, list the two objections they are most likely to raise about [what you sell] and what evidence would answer each one. Where we would have no good answer, say so plainly.

Part 5: Compile and check

14. One-page account brief

14. One-page account brief
Compile everything into a one-page account brief with these headings: Snapshot; Stated priorities; Trigger events with dates; Buying committee (role, name if known, what they care about); Strongest problem hypothesis; Why now; First three people to approach; Open questions. Keep it under 400 words. Keep the source citations.

15. Fact check

15. Fact check
Review the account brief. Make a table of every factual claim in it with three columns: the claim, the source it came from, and a status of "verified in source", "inference" or "unverified". Then list any names, numbers or dates I should confirm myself before using them in an email or on a call.

Prompt 15 is the one people skip and the one that matters most. Anything marked unverified stays out of your outreach until you have checked it.

Worked example (illustrative, not a real company)

Illustrative example

Part of what prompt 15 returned for "Northfield Logistics". The company and the facts are invented.

ClaimSourceStatus
Announced a second distribution centre in MarchCompany news pageVerified in source
Runs the warehouse system our customers useJob post for a systems analystVerified in source
The VP Supply Chain holds the budgetNoneInference
The planning team is short-staffedNoneUnverified

Two of the four lines cannot go into an email as fact. The budget line becomes a question for the first call. The last line is dropped.

Check before you send

  • Every claim I plan to use is "verified in source", and I have opened the source.
  • Every named person still holds the job. I opened their profile today.
  • Inferences are written as questions, not statements.
  • Nothing confidential went into a tool my company has not approved.
  • The brief is saved against the account, not left in a chat window.

Why this works on named accounts

Most teams use AI to send more: more emails, more variants, more sequences. Every competitor has the same tools, so buyers are buried in messages that look personal and say nothing. The better use is depth. Fifteen prompts per account is far too much work for a list of thousands and exactly right for a list of fifty. Run them on your top-tier accounts and you walk into the first conversation knowing the company's stated priorities, who is likely to be involved and what each of them will ask. AI has made volume cheap. Understanding one account well is still rare.
How account-based selling works →

Common questions

Which AI tool is best for account research?

Any capable assistant: the prompts are plain instructions. Use one that cites web sources, or paste the sources yourself.

Can I trust what an AI tool says about a company?

Not until you have seen the source. The set-up prompt makes "unknown" an acceptable answer, and prompt 15 lists what to verify.

How long does this take per account?

Budget 30 to 45 minutes the first time. That is why it is for your top tier and not for a list of thousands.

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