Prospect

# Prospect > **Turn 100 possible targets into 5 prospects you should actually pursue.** Prospect is a target filter and priority ranker for sales, partnerships, and business development. Use this skill when you have a list of names, companies, or accounts and need to decide: - who is worth pursuing - who should be prioritized - who belongs on a watchlist - who should be dropped This skill does NOT: - find targets for you (use search tools or lead sources to gather raw targets first) - handle active conversations (use Lead skill once someone has engaged) - write outreach messages (use outreach or messaging tools for that) --- ## Prospect vs Lead Clarity first. These skills serve different stages. | | Prospect | Lead | |---|----------|------| | **Stage** | Before contact | After engagement | | **Question** | "Is this target worth reaching out to?" | "Should I keep pursuing this person?" | | **Input** | Names, profiles, company data, signals | Conversation history, responses, behavior | | **Output** | Priority tier + route | Qualification score + next action | | **Score dimensions** | Fit, Timing, Value, Access | Fit, Intent, Urgency, Authority | **Typical flow:** 1. Prospect skill filters and ranks targets 2. You reach out 3. They respond 4. `/lead` evaluates and advances the engaged opportunity 5. `/pipeline` manages active opportunities across the full deal book Use Prospect before contact. Use Lead after engagement begins. --- ## What This Skill Does Prospect helps: - separate poor-fit targets from viable prospects - rank prospects by fit, timing, value, and accessibility - identify what information is missing - recommend the next best route for each prospect - reduce wasted outreach effort It does not replace human judgment about ethics, compliance, privacy, or regulatory requirements. --- ## What to Provide The better the input, the sharper the judgment. Useful information includes: - target name and company - role or title - industry or sector - company size or stage - any visible signals (hiring, funding, expansion, pain points, tool gaps, complaints) - source of the target (referral, search, event, inbound) - any prior context or relationship Missing information is fine. The skill will identify gaps and recommend whether to research further or proceed anyway. --- ## Standard Output Format For each prospect, return: PROSPECT: [Name / Company] ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ PRIORITY: [High / Medium / Watch / Drop] SCORES: Fit: [0-10] — [reason in one line] Timing: [0-10] — [reason in one line] Value: [0-10] — [reason in one line] Access: [0-10] — [reason in one line] TOTAL: [X/40] SIGNALS: ✅ [positive signal or fit indicator] ✅ [positive signal or fit indicator] ⚠️ [risk, gap, or unknown] ROUTE: → [Pursue now / Research further / Add to watchlist / Drop] REASONING: [2-3 sentences explaining why this priority tier and route] NEXT STEP: [specific action if pursue or research] **Batch mode (10+ prospects):** Show summary table first: | Name | Company | Priority | Score | Route | |------|---------|----------|-------|-------| | ... | ... | ... | .../40 | ... | Then provide detailed breakdown for top 5 only. --- ## Scoring Dimensions ### Fit (0-10) How well does this target match the ideal prospect profile? - industry relevance - company size or stage - role relevance - problem-product alignment ### Timing (0-10) Is now a relevant moment to pursue this target? - recent funding, hiring, or expansion - visible pain points or inefficiencies - role changes or new initiatives - regulatory or market pressure - competitive moves or tooling gaps ### Value (0-10) What is the potential upside if this prospect converts? - deal size or revenue potential - strategic importance - account expansion potential - referral or case study value - long-term partnership fit ### Access (0-10) How reachable or engageable is this target? - existing relationship or warm intro - responsiveness indicators - organizational openness - decision-making complexity - competitive saturation --- ## Priority Tiers and Routes **High Priority (32-40 points):** Route → Pursue now Strong fit, good timing, high value, accessible. Act within 48 hours. **Medium Priority (24-31 points):** Route → Research further Promising but missing key information. Gather more signals before committing effort. **Watchlist (16-23 points):** Route → Add to watchlist Decent fit but weak timing or unclear value. Monitor for changes. Revisit in 30-90 days. **Drop (0-15 points):** Route → Drop Poor fit, bad timing, low value, or inaccessible. Not worth pursuit. Preserve effort for better targets. --- ## Disqualifiers Certain conditions should trigger an immediate drop or downgrade, regardless of other scores: - wrong industry or segment with no realistic path to fit - no meaningful need or problem relevance - budget or capacity constraints that make purchase implausible - structural barriers (compliance, geography, competitive locks) - ethical, legal, or reputational risks Disqualifiers prevent wasted effort on targets that will not convert. --- ## When to Use Prospect Use this skill when: - you have a list of targets and need to decide who is worth pursuing - multiple prospects need prioritization - a target looks interesting but you need structured judgment - you want to avoid wasting effort on poor-fit outreach - you are building a prospecting workflow and need qualification logic Do not use this skill when: - you need help finding targets (use search tools or lead sources first) - the target has already engaged and you need to evaluate next steps (use Lead skill) - you need legal, compliance, or regulatory judgment about targeting or outreach --- ## Response Principles When analyzing prospects: - prioritize fit over volume - separate static traits from timing signals - make disqualifiers explicit - identify information gaps clearly - recommend routes that match effort to opportunity - preserve honesty about uncertainty Do not: - inflate prospect quality without evidence - ignore visible disqualifiers - recommend aggressive pursuit without strong signals - fabricate timing, value, or access where none exists --- ## Execution Protocol (for AI agents) When user provides target information, follow this sequence: ### Step 1: Parse Input Extract: - prospect identity (name, company, role) - industry and segment - company size or stage - any visible signals (funding, hiring, complaints, expansion) - source or context ### Step 2: Score Each Dimension Assign 0-10 scores for: - **Fit:** Does this target match the ideal profile? - **Timing:** Is now a relevant moment? - **Value:** What is the upside if they convert? - **Access:** How reachable are they? Total score = sum of 4 dimensions (max 40). ### Step 3: Identify Gaps List critical unknowns: - Don't know their current solution - Don't know decision-making structure - Don't know budget or urgency ### Step 4: Check Disqualifiers Flag any structural barriers that would prevent conversion regardless of scores. ### Step 5: Assign Priority and Route Based on total score and context: - 32-40 → High Priority → Pursue now - 24-31 → Medium Priority → Research further - 16-23 → Watchlist → Monitor for changes - 0-15 → Drop → Not worth effort ### Step 6: Provide Reasoning Explain in 2-3 sentences: - why this tier - what makes this prospect worth or not worth pursuit - what the next step should be ### Step 7: Format Output Use the standard output template for each prospect. For batch requests (10+ prospects), show summary table first, then detailed breakdown for top 5. --- ## Activation Rules (for AI agents) ### When to use this skill Activate when user asks about: - evaluating a target or prospect before outreach - prioritizing a list of targets - deciding who to pursue - building a target list or prospecting strategy - filtering or ranking potential accounts ### When NOT to use this skill Do not activate when: - user is asking about active leads or ongoing conversations (use Lead skill) - user needs help finding or sourcing targets (not a filtering task) - prospect appears in non-sales contexts - user is asking about recruiting or hiring prospects unless explicitly framed as business development targeting ### Ambiguous cases If prospect is mentioned but context is unclear, ask: "Are you asking about evaluating sales or business targets, or something else?" Only proceed if user confirms it is about target selection for sales, partnerships, or business development. --- ## Quality Check Before Delivering - [ ] Priority tier is clear and justified - [ ] Score breakdown is specific, not generic - [ ] Information gaps are identified - [ ] Route recommendation matches the scores - [ ] Reasoning is honest about uncertainty - [ ] Next step is concrete (if pursue or research) - [ ] Disqualifiers are flagged if present - [ ] Output follows standard format --- ## Boundaries This skill supports target selection for sales, partnerships, and business development. It does not replace: - legal or compliance review of targeting practices - ethical judgment about outreach appropriateness - privacy or data handling obligations - regulatory requirements for marketing or contact Adapt outputs to your jurisdiction, platform rules, and applicable laws.