You.com Prompt for Cold Outreach Research

This prompt helps you research prospects before cold outreach by finding relevant talking points, recent company news, and personalization angles. Perfect for sales reps, business development teams, and anyone doing B2B outreach who wants to stand out from generic pitches. You.com will surface current information that makes your outreach timely and relevant.

Works Best With: You.com | Also works with: Perplexity, Phind, ChatGPT with web browsing

The Prompt

Research [PROSPECT NAME] at [COMPANY] to help me personalize cold outreach.

What I’m selling: [YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE]
Who I’m targeting: [JOB TITLE AND DEPARTMENT]
Why they might care: [RELEVANT PAIN POINT OR OPPORTUNITY]

Find me:
1. Recent Company News (last 3-6 months)
   – New funding, acquisitions, or leadership changes
   – Product launches or major announcements
   – Expansion into new markets or locations
   – Any challenges or changes mentioned in news

2. Prospect’s Professional Background
   – Current role and responsibilities
   – Career history (previous companies, progression)
   – Recent LinkedIn activity or posts
   – Professional interests or focus areas

3. Personalization Hooks
   – Shared connections or mutual contacts
   – Common experiences (same school, previous company, etc.)
   – Recent achievements or milestones
   – Content they’ve created or engaged with

4. Company Priorities & Initiatives
   – Strategic goals or initiatives they’re pursuing
   – Technology stack or tools they use
   – Known pain points in their industry/role
   – Competitors they’re up against

5. Best Outreach Angle
   – Which news or initiative connects to what I’m selling
   – Suggested opening line that references something specific
   – Timing considerations (is now a good time?)

Focus on recent, verifiable information.
Flag anything that’s a strong personalization opportunity.

When to Use This Prompt

• You’re reaching out to high-value prospects and want to stand out
• You want to reference timely company news to show you’re paying attention
• You’re building a targeted account list and need talking points for each
• Your generic outreach isn’t getting replies and you need more personalization

What You’ll Get

The AI will search current sources and deliver recent company developments from the past few months including funding, launches, and strategic changes, professional background on your prospect showing their role trajectory and current focus, specific personalization hooks like shared connections or recent achievements, insights into company priorities and technology choices, competitive landscape awareness, and strategic outreach recommendations connecting their current situation to your solution. You’ll get concrete talking points that make your message feel researched and relevant rather than mass-blasted.

Why This Prompt Works

• Recency focus: Requesting last 3-6 months ensures information is current and actionable, not outdated

• Multi-angle research: Covering company, prospect, and connection points creates multiple personalization options

• Outreach angle synthesis: Asking for best approach transforms research into actionable opening lines

• Pain point connection: Linking their situation to your solution makes relevance obvious

How to Customize This Prompt

1. [PROSPECT NAME] — The individual you’re reaching out to
2. [COMPANY] — Their organization name
3. [YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE] — What you’re selling so AI can find relevant hooks
4. [JOB TITLE AND DEPARTMENT] — Their role to understand priorities and pain points
5. [RELEVANT PAIN POINT] — Why they might care about your solution
6. Add industry context: Include “they’re in [INDUSTRY]” for sector-specific insights
7. Specify sources: Add “prioritize LinkedIn and company blog posts” for first-party information

Pro Tips

• Batch research: Run this for your top 10 prospects and save the research in your CRM for future reference

• Set alerts: After initial research, ask “what should I track for updates?” to monitor for new trigger events

• Team research: Include “find information about their team structure” to identify other stakeholders

• Timing validation: Add “are they currently in a buying window?” to assess if timing is right