Lead Research Assistant

Lead Research Assistant

This skill helps you identify and qualify potential leads for your business by analyzing your product/service, understanding your ideal customer profile, and providing actionable outreach strategies.

When to Use This Skill

• Finding potential customers or clients for your product/service
• Building a list of companies to reach out to for partnerships
• Identifying target accounts for sales outreach
• Researching companies that match your ideal customer profile
• Preparing for business development activities

What This Skill Does

1. Understands Your Business: Analyzes your product/service, value proposition, and target market 2. Identifies Target Companies: Finds companies that match your ideal customer profile based on:

• Industry and sector
• Company size and location
• Technology stack and tools they use
• Growth stage and funding
• Pain points your product solves

3. Prioritizes Leads: Ranks companies based on fit score and relevance 4. Provides Contact Strategies: Suggests how to approach each lead with personalized messaging 5. Enriches Data: Gathers relevant information about decision-makers and company context

How to Use

Basic Usage

Simply describe your product/service and what you're looking for:

I'm building [product description]. Find me 10 companies in [location/industry]
that would be good leads for this.

With Your Codebase

For even better results, run this from your product's source code directory:

Look at what I'm building in this repository and identify the top 10 companies
in [location/industry] that would benefit from this product.

Advanced Usage

For more targeted research:

My product: [description]
Ideal customer profile:
- Industry: [industry]
- Company size: [size range]
- Location: [location]
- Current pain points: [pain points]
- Technologies they use: [tech stack]

Find me 20 qualified leads with contact strategies for each.

Instructions

When a user requests lead research:

1. Understand the Product/Service

• If in a code directory, analyze the codebase to understand the product
• Ask clarifying questions about the value proposition
• Identify key features and benefits
• Understand what problems it solves

2. Define Ideal Customer Profile

• Determine target industries and sectors
• Identify company size ranges
• Consider geographic preferences
• Understand relevant pain points
• Note any technology requirements

3. Research and Identify Leads

• Search for companies matching the criteria
• Look for signals of need (job postings, tech stack, recent news)
• Consider growth indicators (funding, expansion, hiring)
• Identify companies with complementary products/services
• Check for budget indicators

4. Prioritize and Score

• Create a fit score (1-10) for each lead
• Consider factors like:
• Alignment with ICP
• Signals of immediate need
• Budget availability
• Competitive landscape
• Timing indicators

5. Provide Actionable Output

For each lead, provide:

• Company Name and website
• Why They're a Good Fit: Specific reasons based on their business
• Priority Score: 1-10 with explanation
• Decision Maker: Role/title to target (e.g., "VP of Engineering")
• Contact Strategy: Personalized approach suggestions
• Value Proposition: How your product solves their specific problem
• Conversation Starters: Specific points to mention in outreach
• LinkedIn URL: If available, for easy connection

6. Format the Output

Present results in a clear, scannable format:

   # Lead Research Results

   ## Summary
   - Total leads found: [X]
   - High priority (8-10): [X]
   - Medium priority (5-7): [X]
   - Average fit score: [X]

   ---

   ## Lead 1: [Company Name]

   **Website**: [URL]
   **Priority Score**: [X/10]
   **Industry**: [Industry]
   **Size**: [Employee count/revenue range]

   **Why They're a Good Fit**:
   [2-3 specific reasons based on their business]

   **Target Decision Maker**: [Role/Title]
   **LinkedIn**: [URL if available]

   **Value Proposition for Them**:
   [Specific benefit for this company]

   **Outreach Strategy**:
   [Personalized approach - mention specific pain points, recent company news, or relevant context]

   **Conversation Starters**:
   - [Specific point 1]
   - [Specific point 2]

   ---

   [Repeat for each lead]

7. Offer Next Steps

• Suggest saving results to a CSV for CRM import
• Offer to draft personalized outreach messages
• Recommend prioritization based on timing
• Suggest follow-up research for top leads

Examples

Example 1: From Lenny's Newsletter

User: "I'm building a tool that masks sensitive data in AI coding assistant queries. Find potential leads."

Output: Creates a prioritized list of companies that:

• Use AI coding assistants (Copilot, Cursor, etc.)
• Handle sensitive data (fintech, healthcare, legal)
• Have evidence in their GitHub repos of using coding agents
• May have accidentally exposed sensitive data in code
• Includes LinkedIn URLs of relevant decision-makers

Example 2: Local Business

User: "I run a consulting practice for remote team productivity. Find me 10 companies in the Bay Area that recently went remote."

Output: Identifies companies that:

• Recently posted remote job listings
• Announced remote-first policies
• Are hiring distributed teams
• Show signs of remote work challenges
• Provides personalized outreach strategies for each

Reference Files

• `references/RESEARCH_REPORT.template.md` - Research report template with key findings, evidence, and recommendations
• `references/COMPETITIVE_ANALYSIS.template.md` - Competitive analysis template with market overview, competitor profiles, and SWOT

Tips for Best Results

• Be specific about your product and its unique value
• Run from your codebase if applicable for automatic context
• Provide context about your ideal customer profile
• Specify constraints like industry, location, or company size
• Request follow-up research on promising leads for deeper insights

Related Use Cases

• Drafting personalized outreach emails after identifying leads
• Building a CRM-ready CSV of qualified prospects
• Researching specific companies in detail
• Analyzing competitor customer bases
• Identifying partnership opportunities

Competitive Analysis: {{MARKET_OR_PRODUCT}}

Generated: {{TIMESTAMP}} Analysis Period: {{DATE_RANGE}} Analyst: {{NAME}}

---

Executive Summary

{{OVERVIEW_OF_COMPETITIVE_LANDSCAPE}}

Key Takeaways

1. {{TAKEAWAY_1}} 2. {{TAKEAWAY_2}} 3. {{TAKEAWAY_3}}

---

Market Overview

Market Size

Market Trends

1. {{TREND_1}}: {{DESCRIPTION}} 2. {{TREND_2}}: {{DESCRIPTION}} 3. {{TREND_3}}: {{DESCRIPTION}}

---

Competitor Profiles

{{COMPETITOR_1}}

Products/Services:

• {{PRODUCT_1}}: {{DESCRIPTION}}
• {{PRODUCT_2}}: {{DESCRIPTION}}

Strengths:

• {{STRENGTH_1}}
• {{STRENGTH_2}}

Weaknesses:

• {{WEAKNESS_1}}
• {{WEAKNESS_2}}

Recent Moves:

• {{DATE}}: {{ACTION}}

---

{{COMPETITOR_2}}

Products/Services:

• {{PRODUCT_1}}

Strengths:

• {{STRENGTH_1}}

Weaknesses:

• {{WEAKNESS_1}}

---

Feature Comparison

---

Pricing Comparison

---

Positioning Map

                    High Price
                        │
        Premium         │         Luxury
        {{COMP_A}}      │         {{COMP_B}}
                        │
Low Feature ────────────┼──────────── High Feature
                        │
        Budget          │         Value
        {{COMP_C}}      │         {{US}}
                        │
                    Low Price

---

SWOT Analysis (Our Position)

---

Competitive Advantages

Our Differentiators

1. {{DIFFERENTIATOR_1}}: {{WHY_IT_MATTERS}} 2. {{DIFFERENTIATOR_2}}: {{WHY_IT_MATTERS}}

Competitor Advantages to Address

1. {{COMP_ADVANTAGE_1}}: {{MITIGATION_STRATEGY}} 2. {{COMP_ADVANTAGE_2}}: {{MITIGATION_STRATEGY}}

---

Strategic Recommendations

Short-term (0-6 months)

1. {{RECOMMENDATION_1}} 2. {{RECOMMENDATION_2}}

Long-term (6-18 months)

1. {{RECOMMENDATION_1}} 2. {{RECOMMENDATION_2}}

Watch List

• {{EMERGING_COMPETITOR}}: {{WHY_TO_WATCH}}
• {{MARKET_SHIFT}}: {{POTENTIAL_IMPACT}}

---

Sources

1. {{SOURCE_1}} 2. {{SOURCE_2}} 3. {{INTERNAL_DATA_SOURCE}}

---

Quality Checklist

• [ ] All major competitors included
• [ ] Data is current (within 6 months)
• [ ] Feature comparison verified
• [ ] Pricing information accurate
• [ ] Strategic recommendations actionable
• [ ] Sources documented

Research Report: {{TOPIC}}

Generated: {{TIMESTAMP}} Query Type: {{BREADTH|DEPTH|FACTUAL}} Confidence: {{HIGH|MEDIUM|LOW}}

---

Executive Summary

{{3-5_PARAGRAPH_OVERVIEW}}

---

Key Findings

1. {{FINDING_1}}

• Evidence: {{SUPPORTING_DATA}}
• Sources: {{SOURCE_COUNT}} sources

2. {{FINDING_2}}

• Evidence: {{SUPPORTING_DATA}}
• Sources: {{SOURCE_COUNT}} sources

3. {{FINDING_3}}

• Evidence: {{SUPPORTING_DATA}}
• Sources: {{SOURCE_COUNT}} sources

---

Detailed Analysis

{{THEME_1}}

{{COMPREHENSIVE_ANALYSIS}}

Supporting Evidence

• {{EVIDENCE_1}} (Source)
• {{EVIDENCE_2}} (Source)

Implications

{{WHAT_THIS_MEANS}}

---

{{THEME_2}}

{{COMPREHENSIVE_ANALYSIS}}

Supporting Evidence

• {{EVIDENCE_1}} (Source)
• {{EVIDENCE_2}} (Source)

---

{{THEME_3}}

{{COMPREHENSIVE_ANALYSIS}}

---

Comparisons

---

Timeline

---

Gaps & Uncertainties

Information Gaps

• {{GAP_1}}: Unable to verify due to {{REASON}}
• {{GAP_2}}: Conflicting information from sources

Contradictions Found

Areas Requiring Further Research

1. {{AREA_1}} 2. {{AREA_2}}

---

Recommendations

Immediate Actions

1. {{ACTION_1}} 2. {{ACTION_2}}

Further Investigation Needed

1. {{INVESTIGATION_1}} 2. {{INVESTIGATION_2}}

---

Sources & References

Primary Sources

1. {{TITLE}} - {{DESCRIPTION}} 2. {{TITLE}} - {{DESCRIPTION}}

Secondary Sources

1. {{TITLE}} - {{DESCRIPTION}}

Academic / Technical

1. {{AUTHOR}} ({{YEAR}}). {{TITLE}}. {{PUBLICATION}}. URL

---

Research Methodology

Research Artifacts

• /tmp/research_{{TOPIC_1}}.md
• /tmp/research_{{TOPIC_2}}.md
• Final: /tmp/research_final_{{TIMESTAMP}}.md

---

Quality Checklist

• [ ] Multiple independent sources confirm key findings
• [ ] Contradictions and gaps documented
• [ ] Primary sources prioritized over secondary
• [ ] Methodology transparent and reproducible
• [ ] Confidence levels appropriate to evidence
• [ ] Actionable recommendations provided