[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":116},["ShallowReactive",2],{"lesson-/academy/sdr/how-to-research-a-prospect-before-a-call":3},{"path":4,"data":5,"html":51,"toc":52,"prev":65,"next":71,"track":75},"/academy/sdr/how-to-research-a-prospect-before-a-call",{"title":6,"description":7,"primaryQuery":8,"secondaryQueries":9,"module":13,"order":14,"tier":15,"intent":16,"asset":17,"publishedAt":20,"author":21,"reviewedAt":22,"relatedTool":23,"challenge":24,"exercise":48},"How to Research a Prospect Before a Call (5-Minute Checklist)","Five minutes of pre-call research changes the conversation from 'let me tell you about us' to 'I see what you're dealing with.' This page gives you a 5-minute checklist — company, person, trigger, problem, angle — and the order that gets the most signal per minute.","how to research a prospect before a call",[10,11,12],"pre call research checklist","sales research process","how to research a company before a sales call",3,4,"B","transactional",{"type":18,"title":19},"checklist","The 5-minute pre-call research checklist","2026-09-10","closers","2026-09-24",null,{"type":25,"id":26,"brief":27,"buckets":28,"items":31},"sort","m3-l4-research-move","Six things you might do before a call. Which actually make the call better, and which are time-wasters?",[29,30],"Worth the minutes","Time-waster",[32,35,38,41,43,45],{"key":33,"text":34},0,"Read the company's one-line 'what we do' on their site and note their industry and size",{"key":36,"text":37},1,"Memorize their last five years of press releases and every executive name",{"key":39,"text":40},2,"Check the person's LinkedIn for their role, tenure, and what they post about",{"key":13,"text":42},"Spend 30 minutes reading their entire website from top to bottom",{"key":14,"text":44},"Write down the ONE likely problem they have, based on their size and industry, so you can ask about it",{"key":46,"text":47},5,"Scan for a recent trigger — funding, a hire, a launch, a job posting — that signals the problem you solve",{"prompt":49,"successCriteria":50},"Sort the six research actions into 'worth the minutes' and 'time-waster', then write one sentence naming the single research output that matters most before a call.","You can name the output without hedging: a current trigger or likely problem that gives you one sharp question to open with — not volume of facts memorized.","\u003Cp>Five minutes of research before a call changes the conversation from "let me tell you about us" to "I see what you're dealing with." Research is the difference between a generic pitch and a relevant question — and relevance is what earns attention. The \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/bdr/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BDR\u003C/a> researches before cold opening an account; the \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/sdr/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">SDR\u003C/a> researches before working an inbound or existing-account conversation. Same craft, same checklist.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"the-5-minute-checklist\">The 5-minute checklist\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>Here is the asset — do these in this order, and stop:\u003C/p>\n\u003Col>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Company (60s).\u003C/strong> Their one-line 'what we do,' industry, and size. You can't sound relevant without it.\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Person (60s).\u003C/strong> Role, tenure at the company, and what they post about. Tenure tells you their priorities; recent posts tell you what they care about now.\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Trigger (90s).\u003C/strong> Any recent change — funding, a hire, a launch, a job posting. A current \u003Ca href=\"/academy/sdr/sales-trigger-events/\">trigger\u003C/a> is the strongest opener you own.\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Problem (90s).\u003C/strong> The ONE likely problem they have, based on size and industry. Write it as a hypothesis.\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Angle (30s).\u003C/strong> Your one-line reason to be there, tied to the trigger and the problem. That's your opening question.\u003C/li>\n\u003C/ol>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"the-point-of-research-is-a-better-question\">The point of research is a better question\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>Research isn't fact-collection; it produces exactly one thing — a sharp, specific opening question. "What are you focused on this quarter?" is a fine fallback, but "I saw you're scaling the sales team — how are you handling onboarding of new reps?" is research. Ask the sharp question and you've already separated yourself from the rep who read a script. Pair it with a tight \u003Ca href=\"/academy/sdr/what-is-an-ideal-customer-profile/\">ICP\u003C/a> and every minute of prep goes into accounts worth it.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"the-discipline-stop-at-five-minutes\">The discipline: stop at five minutes\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>The trap is over-researching to delay the call. A full-site read and five years of press releases feel productive and change nothing. Five minutes buys the opening question; the rest of the \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/discovery-call/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">discovery call\u003C/a> answers it. Build the checklist habit and you'll walk into every conversation prepared without burning your morning.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"start-here\">Start here\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>You know what to research. Next, you need a way to actually reach the person you researched — \u003Ca href=\"/academy/sdr/how-to-find-someones-email-address/\">how to find someone's email address legitimately\u003C/a>, and which methods are compliant. And when your pipeline needs new names to research, \u003Ca href=\"/academy/sdr/how-to-use-sales-navigator/\">Sales Navigator\u003C/a> turns a filter combo into an ICP-fit list in minutes.\u003C/p>\n",[53,56,59,62],{"id":54,"text":55},"the-5-minute-checklist","The 5-minute checklist",{"id":57,"text":58},"the-point-of-research-is-a-better-question","The point of research is a better question",{"id":60,"text":61},"the-discipline-stop-at-five-minutes","The discipline: stop at five minutes",{"id":63,"text":64},"start-here","Start here",{"path":66,"title":67,"description":68,"module":13,"order":13,"kind":69,"practiceCall":23,"core":70},"/academy/sdr/what-is-an-ideal-customer-profile","What Is an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)? + One-Page Worksheet","An ICP (ideal customer profile) is the type of company that buys fastest and stays longest — defined by industry, size, revenue, and the problem you solve. This page gives you a one-page worksheet to define yours, plus the fit test that separates a real ICP from a vague description.","order",true,{"path":72,"title":73,"description":74,"module":13,"order":46,"kind":69,"practiceCall":23,"core":70},"/academy/sdr/how-to-find-someones-email-address","How to Find Someone's Email Address for Sales (Legitimately)","The legitimate ways to find a business email: the company website, public LinkedIn + email patterns, and finder tools — then verify before you send. This page gives you a method-by-method table with accuracy notes and a permission/compliance box, because a wrong guess or a scraped address can burn the contact and break the rules.",{"slug":76,"title":77,"shortTitle":78,"crumb":79,"path":80,"positioning":81,"totalLessons":82,"modules":83},"sdr","Certified Sales Development Representative (CSDR)","SDR/BDR Certification","SDR Certification","/academy/sdr","The free certification for getting your first sales job — no degree, no experience, no upsell.",58,[84,88,91,95,99,102,105,109,112],{"id":36,"name":85,"lessonCount":86,"description":87},"The Role",6,"What an SDR actually does, whether it’s for you, and the sales career path it opens — 6 core lessons.",{"id":39,"name":89,"lessonCount":13,"description":90},"Getting In With No Experience","Land your first sales job with no experience or degree — a 30-day plan — 3 core lessons.",{"id":13,"name":92,"lessonCount":93,"description":94},"Prospecting and Research",8,"Find the right accounts and contacts to reach — 8 lessons.",{"id":14,"name":96,"lessonCount":97,"description":98},"Cold Calling",11,"Make cold calls without freezing up — 11 core lessons.",{"id":46,"name":100,"lessonCount":93,"description":101},"Cold Email and LinkedIn","Write cold emails and LinkedIn messages that get replies — 8 core lessons.",{"id":86,"name":103,"lessonCount":46,"description":104},"Conversations: Discovery and Qualification","Run discovery calls and qualify real buyers — 5 core lessons.",{"id":106,"name":107,"lessonCount":13,"description":108},7,"The Tool Stack","The tools that run an SDR’s daily workflow — 3 core lessons.",{"id":93,"name":110,"lessonCount":86,"description":111},"Money: Comp, Commission and Quota","SDR salary, OTE, commission and quotas — 6 lessons.",{"id":113,"name":114,"lessonCount":93,"description":115},9,"Getting Hired","Resume, interview answers, offer negotiation, and the certification assessment — 8 lessons.",1792888519417]