Sales operations
Sales account research
Enter an account conversation with a brief that shows what changed, what supports it, and what still needs to be asked.
Research for the next conversation
Account research is useful when it changes the questions a seller asks. A generic company summary does little for a renewal meeting if it ignores an unresolved support issue or a change in the buying team.
Proto can assemble a brief from the files you provide, ERP•AI records, and websites in its built-in browser, including a CRM you are signed in to. Frame the task around a decision: preparing a renewal, understanding an expansion opportunity, or handing an account to a new owner. That purpose determines which evidence matters.
Build a source hierarchy
Begin with first-party account context: the current agreement, account notes, relevant correspondence, and an export of the records you are permitted to use. Add public company information where it answers a specific question. Public pages can be stale, and a shared company name does not establish that two records refer to the same legal entity.
Ask Proto to record the date and source beside material claims. A useful brief distinguishes a stated customer priority from the seller’s interpretation, and a confirmed stakeholder change from an unverified signal. Avoid inferring a person’s authority solely from a job title or treating a public announcement as evidence of available budget.
An illustrative brief:
Prepare a renewal meeting brief for this account using the attached agreement, recent account notes, and the company’s public website. List open commitments, stakeholder changes, and questions for the meeting. Cite the source for each factual claim. Keep suggested opportunities separate from confirmed needs. Do not contact anyone or modify the CRM.
Organize the brief around the meeting
| Section | Useful content |
|---|---|
| Relationship snapshot | Contract context, current owner, and dates from supplied records |
| Commitments | What each side said it would do, with the supporting conversation |
| Changes since the last review | New evidence that may affect the relationship |
| Open questions | Missing information that a person should confirm |
| Meeting agenda | A short sequence linked to the account’s actual context |
Keep a separate evidence appendix when the research is extensive. The seller should be able to read the brief quickly and open the supporting material when challenged. Ask Proto to mark unavailable sources rather than silently substituting a guess.
Review before outreach or CRM updates
Read the proposed brief against the account record, especially amounts, dates, names, and customer commitments. An account hypothesis can guide discovery without becoming an asserted fact in an email.
When the work extends into outreach, configure approval controls first. New installs start in Uninterrupted mode. With it off and outside Plan mode, supported consequential browser actions such as Send or Submit request approval. Bulk ERP•AI updates also request review while sensitive actions are disabled. A prompt requesting drafts is useful for defining the deliverable, but it should not replace a deliberate permissions decision.
Reuse the research method
Once the team agrees on a useful structure, save the process as a skill: sources to inspect, evidence to include, uncertainties to preserve, and the expected output. Keep account-specific details in each task’s inputs. That lets the method remain consistent while each brief reflects the actual relationship. Begin with one account whose history the owner knows well, then compare the output with the owner’s understanding before applying the process more widely.