Prospect Research
Prospect Research Workflow
A repeatable 5-step process to research a prospect in under 5 minutes. Use Apollo.io for list building, LinkedIn for context, and Hunter.io for email verification. All free tiers.
Target: 5 minutes max per prospect. Speed + consistency beats depth. Better to research 50 prospects well than 10 prospects perfectly.
1
Build Your ICP List in Apollo.io
Use Apollo's free tier to build a target list based on your ICP. Filter by industry, company size, job title, and location. Export to CSV.
Apollo.io (free tier)
How to use Apollo free tier
- Create a free account at apollo.io
- Go to Search → People Search
- Filter: Industry + Company Headcount + Job Title (e.g. "VP Sales") + Location
- Save the search — Apollo will email you weekly updates of new matches
- Export first 100 contacts per month on free tier
- Save as CSV: Name, Title, Company, LinkedIn URL, Email (if available)
2
Find Their Email via Hunter.io
Verify or find the prospect's work email before sending. Hunter.io gives 25 free credits/month — use them strategically.
Hunter.io (free tier)
Hunter.io Workflow
- Go to hunter.io/email-finder
- Enter: First name + Last name + Company domain (e.g. @company.com)
- Hunter returns: email address + confidence score + source
- Only email prospects with confidence score ≥ 80%
- For domains with no results: try finding the email pattern in the Hunter domain search (free)
- Tip: If Hunter returns no email, try their "Email Finder" chrome extension — it finds emails on LinkedIn profiles directly
3
Research on LinkedIn (3 minutes max)
Open their LinkedIn profile. Read just enough to find one personalization hook — a recent role change, shared connection, relevant post, or mutual group.
LinkedIn (free)
What to look for (in priority order)
- Recent job change — "You just joined [Company] as VP of Sales — congrats! Most people in that role hit [challenge] in their first 90 days..."
- Company news / funding — "Congrats on the Series B — that's usually when companies start scaling outbound..."
- Recent post or comment — Reference their specific thought. "Saw your take on [topic] — interesting angle..."
- Mutual connection — "I see we're connected to [name] — she mentioned you were building something interesting in [space]..."
- Hiring signals — "Noticed you posted about hiring 3 new AEs — that usually means you're ramping up outbound..."
- Shared group membership — "We're both in [Group Name] — saw your question about [topic]..."
4
Find a Trigger on the Company
Check for a company-level event that creates urgency or relevance. Funding, hiring, new product, press mention, or expansion signal.
LinkedIn + News (free)
Trigger Checklist — check in order
- Funding: Search "[Company] raised" or check their LinkedIn "Posts" tab for announcements
- Hiring: LinkedIn "People" tab → "Also viewed" → company size growth; or check "Jobs" section for new roles (especially Sales/GTM)
- Product launch: Company blog, LinkedIn posts, or Google "[Company] launch"
- Press / awards: Google "[Company] news" — PR means they're in growth mode
- LinkedIn post viral signal: Sort company employees' posts by "Recent" — if several posted in last 30 days, something's happening
5
Build Your Personalization Note
Take the best signal from steps 3 + 4 and write one sentence that shows you actually looked. Add it to the email template's opening hook.
Directly in your email sequence tool
Personalization Formulas
- "I noticed you just joined [Company] as [Role] — most people in that seat struggle with [pain point]..."
- "Congrats on the [funding/news] — companies at your stage typically start [behavior]..."
- "Saw your post about [topic] — interesting angle on [specific point]..."
- "I see we're both in [Group] — your question about [topic] caught my eye..."
- "Noticed [Company] is hiring for [role count] GTM roles — usually a sign you're scaling outbound..."
Quick Reference
Free Tool Summary
| Tool | Free Tier | What it does | Monthly limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo.io | ✅ Yes | Prospect list building + company/contact data | 100 contacts/mo + unlimited search |
| Hunter.io | ✅ Yes | Email finding and verification | 25 verified emails/mo |
| ✅ Yes | Prospect research + trigger identification | Unlimited (manual) | |
| ✅ Yes | Company news, funding, press | Unlimited | |
| Notion / Sheets | ✅ Yes | Prospect tracking and research notes | Unlimited |
Pro tip: Batch your research. Instead of doing all 5 steps for one prospect at a time, do Step 1 for 20 prospects, then Step 2 for all 20, then Step 3 for all 20. Context switching kills efficiency. Research in batches of 20.