Using Deep Research to Prep for Prospect Calls
Use Deep Research to gather key insights about a business owner and their company—helping you enter your first conversation prepared to explore leadership, succession, and transition goals.
Now that you’ve used AI to prepare for client meetings, it’s time to apply those same skills to prospecting. Before your next introductory call, use Deep Research to quickly gather relevant background on a potential client and their company. You’ll walk into the conversation with context that helps you ask better questions—without spending hours digging.
Using Deep Research:
If you have access to the Deep Research feature (available in ChatGPT Plus, Team, or Enterprise plans), click the + icon next to the chat bar and select “Deep Research.” Then paste the prompt below.
Deep Research securely searches real, public web sources — like company websites, press releases, and professional profiles — to give you a current, factual summary about your prospect and their business. It’s ideal for gathering relevant context before a first meeting without spending hours online.
If you don’t see the Deep Research option, you can still run this prompt in a regular chat. Simply paste the prospect’s name, company, and any links you have (like their website or LinkedIn) into the prompt for context. ChatGPT won’t browse the web, but it will use your input and its general business knowledge to generate valuable, insight-driven discovery questions.
Prompt
I’m an exit planning advisor (CEPA) preparing for an introductory call with a potential client. I’d like to use Deep Research to learn more about the prospect and their company so I can ask thoughtful, relevant questions about their business and long-term transition goals.
Person: [Prospect’s Full Name]
Company: [Company Name]
Please do the following:
Provide a short professional summary of the owner (role, background, and any publicly available leadership or ownership details).
Summarize the company’s background (industry, size, products or services, and any notable recent news or milestones).
Identify 3–5 potential opportunities or transition risks relevant to similar privately held businesses—consider areas like leadership succession, family involvement, key-employee readiness, customer concentration, or financial preparedness.
Suggest 3–5 open-ended conversation questions that naturally connect to these areas and help uncover the owner’s priorities, challenges, or transition timeline.
Include a one-sentence note under each question explaining why it matters in the context of exit or value planning.
Format the output as a clean, professional briefing I can review before the call.
Why it Matters
Before a prospect call, a little context goes a long way. Understanding the owner’s business, leadership team, and potential transition dynamics helps you open the right conversations around succession, family involvement, and long-term value growth. The goal isn’t to impress the prospect with what you know—it’s to use that knowledge to ask insightful, trust-building questions that move the relationship forward.