Why Account Executives Struggle with Deal Research
According to Salesforce's State of Sales Report, AEs spend only 28% of their time actually selling. A Gartner study found that the average enterprise deal involves 11 stakeholders. Finding and researching each one manually takes 15-30 minutes per contact. For a 10-person buying committee, that's 3-5 hours of research per deal.
Meanwhile, buyers expect AEs to understand their business. Generic discovery calls waste everyone's time. Prospects want to hear how your solution fits their specific situation, their industry challenges, and their strategic priorities.
How AI Helps Account Executives Automate Research
When AEs automate account research, they get comprehensive deal intelligence without the grind. Here's the workflow with Miniloop:
- Opportunity created - Deal enters your pipeline from SDR handoff or direct
- AI researches the account - Company news, 10-K filings, earnings calls, tech stack, competitors
- AI maps the org chart - Decision makers, influencers, champions, potential blockers
- Research brief delivered - Summary hits your inbox or Slack before your first meeting
"I used to spend 2 hours prepping for each enterprise call. Now I get a research brief automatically when deals hit my queue. I walk into discovery knowing more about their business than most of their employees." ā Enterprise AE, $500K+ quota
AEs using automated research report 20-30% faster deal cycles because discovery conversations start at a higher level.
What Makes AE Account Research Different
AEs need deeper intelligence than SDRs. Research requirements scale with deal size:
| AE Need | What AI Provides |
|---|---|
| Buying committee | Full org chart with reporting lines and influence patterns |
| Business context | 10-K analysis, earnings call highlights, strategic initiatives |
| Competitive intel | Current vendor landscape and potential replacement triggers |
| Relationship mapping | Past interactions, shared connections, warm intro paths |
| Deal risks | Org changes, budget cycles, competing priorities |
The best AEs don't just know facts about accounts. They understand the business context that drives buying decisions. AI makes that depth of preparation possible for every deal, not just the top 5.
Getting Started
Most AEs connect their CRM to AI research in under 30 minutes. Research triggers automatically when deals hit your pipeline, so you never walk into a call unprepared again.