Lead Research Assistant

This skill helps identify and qualify potential leads by analyzing your product/service, understanding your ideal customer profile (ICP), and providing actionable outreach strategies with personalized messaging.

When to Use This Skill

• Finding potential customers or clients for a 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
• Qualifying leads before investing outreach effort
• Preparing personalized outreach messaging

What This Skill Does

1. Understands Your Business: Analyzes your product/service, value proposition, and target market
2. Identifies Target Companies: Finds companies matching your ICP based on industry, size, tech stack, growth signals
3. Prioritizes Leads: Ranks companies by fit score and relevance
4. Provides Contact Strategies: Suggests personalized outreach approaches
5. Enriches Data: Gathers information about decision-makers and company context

How to Use

Basic Usage

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

With Codebase Context

For better results, run 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 With ICP Details

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.

Process

Step 1: Understand the Product/Service

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

Step 2: Define Ideal Customer Profile

Determine:

• Target industries and sectors
• Company size ranges (employees, revenue)
• Geographic preferences or constraints
• Relevant pain points the product addresses
• Technology requirements or compatibility
• Budget indicators (funding stage, spending patterns)
• Buying signals (job postings, recent news, expansion)

Step 3: Research and Identify Leads

Search for companies matching the criteria:

• Industry directories and databases
• Job postings indicating need
• Technology stack signals (tools they use)
• Recent funding or growth announcements
• Conference attendee/sponsor lists
• Social media presence and activity
• News mentions and press releases

Step 4: Prioritize and Score

Create a fit score (1-10) for each lead based on:

• Alignment with ICP
• Signals of immediate need
• Budget availability or indicators
• Competitive landscape overlap
• Timing indicators (hiring, expanding, fundraising)
• Accessibility of decision-makers

Step 5: Provide Actionable Output

For each lead, include:

## Lead: [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 context]

**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 — reference their recent activities]
- [Specific point 2 — connect their problem to your solution]

Step 6: Summary Report

# Lead Research Results

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

## Top 3 Immediate Opportunities
1. [Company] — [Why urgent/timely]
2. [Company] — [Why urgent/timely]
3. [Company] — [Why urgent/timely]

## Recommended Next Steps
1. [Action for top-priority lead]
2. [Action for secondary leads]
3. [Follow-up research to deepen insights]

Step 7: Offer Follow-Up Options

• Save results to CSV for CRM import
• Draft personalized outreach emails for top leads
• Deep-dive research on specific companies
• Monitor specific leads for timing opportunities
• Build outreach sequence templates

Qualification Framework

BANT Assessment

For each lead, quickly assess:

Fit Score Guide

Outreach Template Structure

Subject: [Personalized subject line referencing their context]

Hi [Name],

I noticed [specific observation about their company — recent news, job posting, 
tech stack change, etc.]. That resonated because [connect to their problem].

[Your company] helps [target audience] [achieve outcome] by [mechanism]. 
[Specific result or case study relevant to them].

Would you be open to a brief conversation about [specific topic]?

Best,
[Signature]

Cline Workflow Notes

1. Install location: Copy this skill directory to .cline/skills/lead-research-assistant/ (project-level) or ~/.cline/skills/lead-research-assistant/ (global)
2. Web research required: Cline uses browser tools and web fetch to research companies — ensure connectivity
3. Data accuracy: Always note when information may be outdated or uncertain
4. Scoring transparency: Explain why each lead received its score
5. Output formats: Default to Markdown with optional CSV export for CRM import
6. Privacy: Keep lead data local and don't expose proprietary research publicly
7. Iterative refinement: Offer to deepen research on top-priority leads

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
• Preparing for sales calls with company research