Sales reps are expected to know more about prospects than ever before.<\/p>\n
Before making a call or sending an email, they may need to understand:<\/p>\n
The problem is that account research can quickly become a time-consuming process.<\/p>\n
A rep might start in the CRM, move to LinkedIn, search Google, visit the company website, check a sales intelligence platform, look for recent news and eventually compile everything into notes or a spreadsheet.<\/p>\n
By the time the research is finished, the salesperson may have spent 20, 30 or even 60 minutes on an account.<\/p>\n
Multiply that across dozens of prospects and the cost becomes significant.<\/p>\n
The answer isn’t to eliminate account research.<\/p>\n
It’s to build a better process for doing it.<\/strong><\/p>\n Account research is the process of gathering and analyzing information about a company before engaging with it.<\/p>\n Traditional account research often focuses on basic information:<\/p>\n Modern account research needs to go further.<\/p>\n Sales teams increasingly need to understand the context surrounding an account<\/strong>.<\/p>\n That can include:<\/p>\n The goal isn’t to know everything about an account.<\/p>\n The goal is to know enough to make a better sales decision.<\/strong><\/p>\n Most sales reps don’t follow one standardized research process.<\/p>\n Instead, they develop their own.<\/p>\n One rep might start with LinkedIn.<\/p>\n Another might search Google.<\/p>\n Another might rely heavily on the CRM.<\/p>\n Another might use a database.<\/p>\n Another might ask an AI tool to summarize the company.<\/p>\n This creates several problems.<\/p>\n Two reps researching the same account may come away with completely different information.<\/p>\n Multiple people may perform the same searches across the organization.<\/p>\n If every account requires extensive manual research, the number of accounts a rep can effectively work becomes limited.<\/p>\n When information is scattered across multiple sources, salespeople may overlook relevant signals.<\/p>\n Every minute spent manually gathering information is a minute that isn’t being spent engaging prospects.<\/p>\n The solution is a repeatable account research process.<\/p>\n A practical account research process can be organized into five stages:<\/p>\n 1. Discover<\/strong><\/p>\n 2. Understand<\/strong><\/p>\n 3. Identify<\/strong><\/p>\n 4. Prioritize<\/strong><\/p>\n 5. Act<\/strong><\/p>\n Let’s look at each one.<\/p>\n The first question shouldn’t be:<\/p>\n \u201cWho should I contact?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n It should be:<\/p>\n \u201cWhich accounts should I pursue?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Start by defining your ideal customer profile.<\/p>\n Consider:<\/p>\n Then build a target account universe.<\/p>\n This is where many sales organizations have a blind spot.<\/p>\n Their target list is often limited to the companies already sitting inside their CRM or an existing database.<\/p>\n That can make the sales team’s market appear smaller than it actually is.<\/p>\n A modern account research process should continuously look for relevant companies outside the existing CRM.<\/p>\n Once you’ve identified a target account, determine whether it is actually worth pursuing.<\/p>\n Start with the fundamentals:<\/p>\n The objective isn’t to create a 20-page company report.<\/p>\n It’s to quickly determine:<\/p>\n \u201cIs there a reason for our sales team to spend time here?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Once an account appears relevant, identify the people who matter.<\/p>\n This is where traditional prospecting often becomes overly focused on contact volume.<\/p>\n You don’t need every employee.<\/p>\n You need the right people.<\/strong><\/p>\n Depending on your sales process, that could include:<\/p>\n The appropriate contacts will depend on what you’re selling.<\/p>\n For example, a company selling sponsorship services may need to reach partnership or marketing leadership.<\/p>\n A software company may need sales operations, IT or revenue leadership.<\/p>\n The account research process should therefore connect the account to the buying group<\/strong>, rather than simply producing a list of names.<\/p>\n Not every account deserves the same amount of attention.<\/p>\n Once you’ve gathered the information, determine where the account belongs in your sales priorities.<\/p>\n A simple framework can use three questions:<\/p>\n Does this company match our ideal customer profile?<\/p>\n Is there a reason this company could have a relevant need?<\/p>\n Can we identify the right people and realistically engage them?<\/p>\n An account that scores well across all three areas may deserve more attention than one that simply matches your industry filter.<\/p>\n This helps sales teams move from:<\/p>\n \u201cHere are 500 prospects.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n to:<\/p>\n \u201cHere are the 50 accounts we should actually work.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Research isn’t the objective.<\/p>\n Sales action is.<\/p>\n Once the account has been researched and prioritized, the rep should know:<\/p>\n Who should I contact?<\/strong><\/p>\n Why should I contact them?<\/strong><\/p>\n What should I say?<\/strong><\/p>\n What should I do next?<\/strong><\/p>\n This is where account intelligence becomes valuable.<\/p>\n For example:<\/p>\n \u201cWe noticed your organization recently expanded into three new markets. We work with companies going through similar expansion to help their sales teams identify new accounts and contacts.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n That’s very different from:<\/p>\n \u201cHi John, I wanted to introduce myself and tell you about our company.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The research creates the context.<\/p>\n The sales process turns that context into action.<\/p>\n A practical account research checklist should answer six questions.<\/p>\n Basic company information.<\/p>\n Determine whether the account matches your ICP.<\/p>\n Identify the relevant decision-makers and influencers.<\/p>\n Look for relevant business developments and signals.<\/p>\n Identify a reason the conversation may be timely.<\/p>\n Determine the appropriate sales action.<\/p>\n If your research process can’t answer those questions, you’re probably collecting information rather than generating intelligence.<\/p>\n Artificial intelligence can change the economics of account research.<\/p>\n Instead of manually navigating multiple sources, salespeople can increasingly use natural-language questions to begin their research.<\/p>\n For example:<\/p>\n \u201cFind companies in our target market with 100\u2013500 employees that have expanded into the Northeast during the past year.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Or:<\/p>\n \u201cResearch this account and identify the most relevant decision-makers, recent company developments and potential reasons they might need our services.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Or:<\/p>\n \u201cFind similar companies to our best customers that aren’t currently in our CRM.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The advantage isn’t simply speed.<\/p>\n It’s the ability to move from a search-based workflow<\/strong> to a question-based workflow.<\/strong><\/p>\n Instead of asking:<\/p>\n \u201cWhere do I find this information?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n The salesperson can ask:<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do I need to know about this account?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n A modern process might look like this:<\/p>\n Define ICP<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2193<\/p>\n Discover target accounts<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2193<\/p>\n Research the account<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2193<\/p>\n Identify relevant contacts<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2193<\/p>\n Find business signals<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2193<\/p>\n Prioritize<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2193<\/p>\n Personalize outreach<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2193<\/p>\n Engage<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2193<\/p>\n Capture activity in CRM<\/strong><\/p>\n The important change is that research becomes part of a repeatable system rather than an individual rep’s personal process.<\/p>\n Sales intelligence can support multiple stages of this workflow.<\/p>\n It can help teams:<\/p>\n Identify companies that aren’t already in the CRM.<\/p>\n Surface people associated with the roles that matter.<\/p>\n Add missing information to records already in the CRM.<\/p>\n Bring company information and relevant intelligence together.<\/p>\n Help salespeople determine which opportunities deserve attention.<\/p>\n Give reps context they can use before contacting a prospect.<\/p>\n The objective isn’t to replace the salesperson.<\/p>\n It’s to reduce the amount of manual work required to get the salesperson ready for a productive conversation.<\/p>\n This is an important question, but there isn’t one universal answer.<\/p>\n A complex enterprise account may deserve significantly more research than a small transactional prospect.<\/p>\n Instead of establishing an arbitrary time limit, establish a baseline.<\/p>\n Track:<\/p>\n How long does it currently take a rep to prepare an account for outreach?<\/strong><\/p>\n Then measure whether your process can reduce that time without sacrificing quality.<\/p>\n For example:<\/p>\n Current process:<\/strong> 30 minutes per account<\/p>\n New process:<\/strong> 12 minutes per account<\/p>\n The potential productivity improvement becomes measurable.<\/p>\n But don’t optimize exclusively for speed.<\/p>\n A 5-minute process that produces poor information isn’t better than a 15-minute process that consistently helps reps identify the right opportunities.<\/p>\n The goal is:<\/p>\n Better intelligence in less time.<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the easiest ways to improve consistency is to create a standard research template.<\/p>\n For example:<\/p>\n Company:<\/p>\n Industry:<\/p>\n Location:<\/p>\n Employee count:<\/p>\n Website:<\/p>\n ICP match:<\/p>\n Relevant use case:<\/p>\n Potential opportunity:<\/p>\n Primary contact:<\/p>\n Decision-maker:<\/p>\n Additional stakeholders:<\/p>\n Recent developments:<\/p>\n Growth\/expansion:<\/p>\n Relevant initiatives:<\/p>\n Potential trigger:<\/p>\n Why this account:<\/p>\n Why now:<\/p>\n Suggested messaging:<\/p>\n Next action:<\/p>\n This creates a common language across the sales organization.<\/p>\n It also makes it easier to compare accounts and train new salespeople.<\/p>\n Once you’ve implemented a standardized process, measure it.<\/p>\n Track:<\/p>\n This creates a connection between research activity and sales outcomes.<\/strong><\/p>\n Over time, you can determine which parts of the process create the most value.<\/p>\n You don’t need to redesign your entire sales process to see whether a modern account research workflow can improve productivity.<\/p>\n Start with 10 real target accounts.<\/p>\n Run them through your current process.<\/p>\n Record:<\/p>\n Then run those same accounts through an AI-powered sales intelligence workflow.<\/p>\n Compare the results.<\/p>\n Look for differences in:<\/p>\n Coverage<\/strong><\/p>\n What did you discover?<\/p>\n Speed<\/strong><\/p>\n How long did it take?<\/p>\n Depth<\/strong><\/p>\n What did you learn?<\/p>\n Accuracy<\/strong><\/p>\n Could the information be trusted?<\/p>\n Actionability<\/strong><\/p>\n Did the research change what you would do next?<\/p>\n That’s a much more meaningful test than watching another software demo.<\/p>\n The purpose of account research isn’t to create beautiful company profiles.<\/p>\n It’s to help salespeople make better decisions.<\/p>\n A successful process should allow a rep to move from:<\/p>\n \u201cI found a company.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n to:<\/p>\n \u201cI understand the company.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n to:<\/p>\n \u201cI know who matters.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n to:<\/p>\n \u201cI know why I should contact them.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n to:<\/p>\n \u201cI know what I should do next.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n That’s the real value of modern account intelligence.<\/p>\n Sales teams will continue to need research.<\/p>\n But the amount of manual work involved doesn’t have to remain the same.<\/p>\n AI and modern sales intelligence can help automate the repetitive parts of the process while giving salespeople more context to make decisions.<\/p>\n The goal isn’t to eliminate human judgment.<\/p>\n It’s to give salespeople better information before they use it.<\/p>\n Because the best sales conversation doesn’t start when the rep picks up the phone.<\/p>\n It starts with knowing which account to call, who to call, why to call and what to say.<\/strong><\/p>\n You don’t need to change your entire prospecting process to test a modern account research workflow.<\/p>\n Give FAC Intelligence 10 of your target accounts.<\/strong><\/p>\n We’ll show you what the platform can uncover across those accounts\u2014including companies, contacts and account intelligence that may not be visible in your existing workflow.<\/p>\n Your accounts. Your market. Your sales process.<\/strong><\/p>\n Explore FAC Intelligence<\/a><\/p>\n Start a FAC Intelligence Trial<\/a><\/p>\n
\nWhat Is Account Research?<\/h1>\n
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\nWhy Traditional Account Research Takes Too Long<\/h1>\n
Research becomes inconsistent<\/h3>\n
Research becomes repetitive<\/h3>\n
Research becomes difficult to scale<\/h3>\n
Important information can be missed<\/h3>\n
Reps spend less time selling<\/h3>\n
\nThe 5 Stages of Modern Account Research<\/h1>\n
\n1. Discover the Right Accounts<\/h1>\n
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\n2. Understand the Company<\/h1>\n
Company profile<\/h3>\n
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Organizational information<\/h3>\n
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Business context<\/h3>\n
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\n3. Identify the Right People<\/h1>\n
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\n4. Prioritize the Account<\/h1>\n
Fit<\/h3>\n
Opportunity<\/h3>\n
Accessibility<\/h3>\n
\n5. Turn Research Into Action<\/h1>\n
\nWhat Should a Sales Rep Know Before Contacting an Account?<\/h1>\n
1. Who are they?<\/h3>\n
2. Are they a fit?<\/h3>\n
3. Who matters?<\/h3>\n
4. What’s happening?<\/h3>\n
5. Why now?<\/h3>\n
6. What’s next?<\/h3>\n
\nHow AI Changes Account Research<\/h1>\n
\nThe Modern Account Research Workflow<\/h1>\n
\nWhere Sales Intelligence Fits<\/h1>\n
Expand market coverage<\/h3>\n
Find relevant contacts<\/h3>\n
Enrich existing accounts<\/h3>\n
Research companies<\/h3>\n
Prioritize accounts<\/h3>\n
Prepare outreach<\/h3>\n
\nHow Much Time Should Reps Spend Researching?<\/h1>\n
\nBuild a Standard Account Research Template<\/h1>\n
Account<\/h3>\n
Fit<\/h3>\n
People<\/h3>\n
Intelligence<\/h3>\n
Sales Strategy<\/h3>\n
\nMeasure the Process<\/h1>\n
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\nThe 10-Account Test<\/h1>\n
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\nAccount Research Should Lead Somewhere<\/h1>\n
\nThe Future of Account Research Is Less Manual<\/h1>\n
\nWant to See What Your Team Can Uncover?<\/h1>\n