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What to Research Before a Discovery Call: The Complete Checklist

CallPrep is a Chrome extension that emails you a research briefing before each discovery call. It connects to your Google Calendar and delivers prospect bios, company overviews, pain points, competitors and opening plays in under 60 seconds. This article covers what to research before every call and how to do it efficiently.

Why Discovery Call Research Matters

The first 30 seconds of a discovery call determine whether your prospect sees you as a trusted advisor or just another vendor.

Prospects immediately notice when you've done your homework. They also notice when you haven't. Asking "So, what does your company do?" kills the deal.

This checklist covers what to research before every discovery call.

The Company Research Checklist

Basic Information

• [ ] What does the company do? (Write one sentence)
• [ ] Industry and sector (Be specific: "B2B SaaS" not "technology")
• [ ] Company size (Employee count, locations, revenue range if public)
• [ ] Founded when? (Startup versus established changes your approach)
• [ ] Headquarters location (Time zone awareness matters for scheduling)

Business Context

• [ ] Business model (How do they earn revenue?)
• [ ] Key products or services (What's their core offering?)
• [ ] Target market (Who are their customers?)
• [ ] Recent funding or financial events (Check Crunchbase and press releases)
• [ ] Growth stage (Early stage, scaling, mature or restructuring?)

Recent Activity

• [ ] Latest press releases or news (Check the last 3-6 months)
• [ ] Job postings (What are they hiring for reveals priorities)
• [ ] Product launches or updates (What's new in their offering?)
• [ ] Leadership changes (New CEO or CTO often means new priorities)

Where to find it: Company website, LinkedIn company page, Crunchbase, Google News and their careers page.

The Prospect Research Checklist

Professional Background

• [ ] Current title and department (Are they a decision maker, influencer or end user?)
• [ ] Time in current role (New employees build credibility, tenured employees have established preferences)
• [ ] Previous companies and roles (Career trajectory reveals what matters to them)
• [ ] Education (Do you share an alma mater? Relevant for rapport?)

LinkedIn Activity

• [ ] Recent posts (What topics interest them?)
• [ ] Articles shared or written (What areas show thought leadership?)
• [ ] Comments on others' posts (What conversations are they joining?)
• [ ] Mutual connections (Ask for warm intros or mention them)
• [ ] Groups (Industry associations, peer groups)

Where to find it: LinkedIn profile and activity feed, Twitter/X, company blog and conference speaker bios.

The Pain Point Research Checklist

Industry-Level Pain Points

• [ ] Top 3 challenges in their industry (Search "[industry] challenges 2026")
• [ ] Regulatory changes (Compliance is always urgent)
• [ ] Market trends (What's disrupting their space?)
• [ ] Common tech stack (What tools do similar companies use?)

Company-Specific Pain Points

• [ ] Glassdoor reviews (Employees reveal internal challenges)
• [ ] Customer reviews of their product (G2 and Capterra show market position)
• [ ] Job postings (A "Head of Operations" hire suggests operations problems)
• [ ] Tech stack (BuiltWith and Wappalyzer show current tools and gaps)

The Competitive Intelligence Checklist

• [ ] Who are their competitors? (Direct and indirect)
• [ ] What tools do they currently use? (Ones that compete with yours?)
• [ ] Why might they switch? (Contract timing, feature gaps or pricing)
• [ ] What do competitors' customers complain about? (G2 reviews of their current tool)

The Conversation Starter Checklist

Pick at least 1 from these 5 options:

• [ ] A recent company win ("Congrats on the Series B...")
• [ ] A post they wrote ("I saw your post about...")
• [ ] A mutual connection ("I noticed we both know...")
• [ ] Industry news ("With [trend] happening in your space...")
• [ ] A genuine compliment ("Your product's onboarding is well designed...")

The Realistic Version

Doing all of this for every call isn't realistic. Most reps have 5-8 calls per day.

The minimum viable research (5 minutes): 1. What does the company do? (1 min) 2. Who is the prospect? (1 min) 3. What likely pain points do they have? (2 min) 4. One conversation starter (1 min)

The ideal research (15 minutes): All of the above plus competitive intel, recent news and LinkedIn activity deep dive.

The automated version (under 60 seconds): CallPrep replaces 45 minutes of manual research with automated delivery. Connect your Google Calendar to CallPrep. The extension emails you prospect bios, company overviews, pain points, competitors and opening plays before each call. Free to install at the Chrome Web Store. No credit card required. Visit https://callprep.app to learn more.

Make It a Habit

The best sales reps don't have superhuman research skills. They have systems. Whether it's a checklist, a template or CallPrep, the key is making preparation automatic so you never walk into a call cold.

Your prospects notice. Your close rate reflects it.