Company research in 3 minutes: framework and prompts
Before dialing or sending an email, reps visit the prospect's homepage, click randomly through 'About Us' and 'Mission' pages, skim generic press releases, and emerge 30 minutes later still ignorant of how the company generates cash or where it experiences friction. Selling hours evaporate, and daily outbound volume collapses.
Execute the 3-Minute Executive Extraction Protocol in Perplexity Pro or Claude 3.5:
Minute 1: Business Engine Extraction. Execute an extraction prompt mapping target monetization: core revenue streams, target buyers (B2B vs B2C), and delivery models.
Minute 2: Identifying Momentum Triggers. Scan Perplexity for trailing 90-day signals: capital expenditure, executive leadership additions, aggressive hiring across specific teams, or regulatory compliance milestones.
Minute 3: Formulating Commercial Pain Hypotheses. Based on organizational scale and vertical maturity, deduce 2 operational bottlenecks that anchor your cold outreach hook.
- BAD
- Rep cold dials and asks: 'Hi, I saw you do logistics, what exactly sets your fleet apart?'. The buyer immediately checks out, recognizing the rep failed basic homework.
- GOOD
- Rep processed the account URL through Perplexity in 90 seconds. Dials and says: 'Hi Peter, saw you just commissioned the 150,000 sq ft cross-docking terminal in Dallas last month. At that throughput volume, the typical operational bottleneck in the first 90 days is EDI manifest sync latency across regional line-haul carriers. How are your dispatchers handling yard exceptions currently?'. The buyer engages instantly.
Role: Senior Equity Research Analyst & B2B Sales Strategist. Analyze the target company at URL: [PASTE URL OR COMPANY NAME]. Generate an executive 3-minute briefing dossier structured as follows: 1. REVENUE ENGINE (max 2 sentences): - How do they monetize and who is their ICP? 2. SCALE & FOOTPRINT: - Estimated headcount, physical operating facilities, and international presence. 3. TRAILING 90-DAY COMMERCIAL TRIGGERS: - Top 2 observable developments: product rollouts, capex investments, leadership additions, or hiring clusters. 4. OPERATIONAL BOTTLENECK HYPOTHESES (2 points): - What 2 structural pain points are most probable at their operational velocity? 5. EXECUTIVE CONVERSATION OPENER: - Exactly 1 high-conviction conversational hook referencing a verified fact, devoid of empty flattery. Constraint: Maximum 180 words total; must be readable on a mobile screen without scrolling.
Variations & alternative scenarios
E-commerce Variant: Inspect tech stack, checkout friction, carrier partnerships, and international shipping options.
Manufacturing Variant: Audit facility automation, ISO standards, and raw material supply chain dependencies.
Practical exercise
Pick 3 Tier-1 target accounts queued for outbound this week. Run each through the 3-Minute Executive Extraction prompt in Perplexity. Time the exercise: keep total prep under 3 minutes per account.