ChatGPT Prompt to Research Prospects Before Outreach

This prompt turns ChatGPT into your prospect research assistant, gathering key intel about leads before you reach out. Perfect for sales reps, BDRs, and founders who want to personalize cold outreach without spending hours on LinkedIn stalking. ChatGPT will surface relevant talking points, pain points, and conversation starters that make your first message feel informed, not generic.

Works Best With: ChatGPT (GPT-4 recommended) | Also works in: Claude, Gemini, Perplexity

The Prompt

Research this prospect for me before I reach out:

Prospect details:
– Name: [PROSPECT NAME]
– Company: [COMPANY NAME]
– Role/Title: [JOB TITLE]
– LinkedIn URL (if available): [LINKEDIN URL]
– Company website: [COMPANY WEBSITE]

What I’m selling:
– Product/Service: [YOUR OFFERING]
– Main value prop: [HOW YOU HELP – e.g., “reduce customer churn,” “automate invoicing”]
– Ideal customer profile: [WHO YOU SERVE – e.g., “B2B SaaS companies with 20-100 employees”]

Research and tell me:
1. Their likely pain points based on their role and industry
2. Recent company news, funding, or changes (if publicly available)
3. Specific talking points I can reference in my outreach
4. Potential objections they might have
5. Best angle for my first message (problem-focused, opportunity-focused, or case study)

Format your response as a brief research summary I can reference while writing my email. Be specific, not generic.

When to Use This Prompt

• You have a list of prospects but need context before reaching out
• You want to personalize cold emails without spending 30 minutes per prospect
• You’re targeting specific companies or roles and need talking points
• You want to sound informed in your outreach, not like you’re blasting templates

What You’ll Get

ChatGPT will deliver a concise research brief with likely pain points based on their role and industry, recent company news or changes you can reference, specific talking points that show you’ve done your homework, potential objections so you can preempt pushback, and a recommended angle for your first message that aligns with their situation.

Why This Prompt Works

• Role-based insight: By providing their title and company, ChatGPT can infer common challenges for that role, giving you relevant talking points even without deep research

• Objection prep: Knowing likely objections upfront helps you address concerns before they become deal-killers

• Angle recommendation: ChatGPT suggests whether to lead with a problem, opportunity, or social proof based on the prospect’s context

• Time saver: 2 minutes with ChatGPT beats 20 minutes of manual LinkedIn/Google research while still giving you personalization ammunition

How to Customize This Prompt

1. [PROSPECT NAME] / [COMPANY NAME] / [JOB TITLE] — The more specific you are, the better the research
2. [LINKEDIN URL] / [COMPANY WEBSITE] — Optional but helpful; ChatGPT can pull context from public profiles
3. [YOUR OFFERING] — What you sell in plain language (e.g., “CRM software,” “SEO consulting,” “accounting services”)
4. [HOW YOU HELP] — The outcome you deliver, not features (e.g., “close deals faster,” “reduce manual data entry”)
5. [WHO YOU SERVE] — Your ideal customer profile so ChatGPT can assess fit
6. Add competitor context: Include “They might currently use [COMPETITOR]” to get positioning advice

Pro Tips

• Batch your research: Run this prompt for 5-10 prospects at once, save the outputs, then write all your emails in one session

• Combine with web search: Use Perplexity or ChatGPT with browsing enabled to pull real-time company news for ultra-fresh talking points

• Save winning angles: Track which research angles (problem vs. opportunity vs. case study) get the most replies, then double down

• Use for discovery prep: Even if they’ve already replied, run this before your first call to prep smart questions and talking points