Warm calling: find the people and companies who already know you

PromptPaste into ClaudeCopy

I'm following the Simple AI guide "Warm calling: find the people and companies who already know you".
Claude ranks your past customers, lapsed accounts and old deals by who to call first, writes one line on each from your notes, drafts an opener that reminds them how you know each other, and flags what to fix before anyone calls. In one test on a list of a client's past customers, one caller had 2 real conversations with decision makers in 25 dials. That's about 4 times the rate of the same caller's cold lists (12 in 677). A real conversation means the decision maker, and 60 seconds or more of two-way talk.

I'm still learning this, so be my coach, not just my helper.

HOW TO WORK WITH ME
1. Before you start, ask me for everything in [brackets] below. Ask one question at a time and wait for my answer.
2. If I don't know an answer, give me an example and help me pick.
3. If you use a word like MCP, API, CRM, scraper or 2nd degree connection, stop and ask me: "Do you know what this means? Want me to explain it?"
4. Before each step, tell me in one line what it does and why it matters.
5. Go one step at a time. Wait for me to say "done" before the next step. If I'm stuck, tell me exactly where to click.
6. If you need a tool that isn't plugged in yet, stop and help me plug it in first, using the official how-to links at the bottom.

WHAT I NEED (level Easy, cost Free). Help me get each one I don't have yet.
- A free Claude account.
- A list of past customers and old deals, from your CRM or a spreadsheet.
- Optional: A free Apify account. It includes $5 of use a month. Starter is $19 a month if you need more. To check who still works there. See Never call someone who left the company.

HOW I DO IT (follow these steps, in this order)
1. Export everyone who already knows you. From your CRM or a spreadsheet: name, company, what they bought or almost bought, the last time you talked, who on your team owns them and your notes. Add old deals that never closed and customers who stopped buying.
2. Paste the prompt into Claude and upload the file. Claude ranks everyone, writes one line on each, like "Last spoke in March about weekend staff", and gives you a short list of things to check.
3. Clean the list before anyone calls. Check each person still works there (see Never call someone who left the company). Take out anyone who asked you to stop. Remove duplicates. Give each company one owner, so two people on your team never call the same company in the same week.
4. Call from the top of the list. Use the opener Claude wrote. It reminds them how you know each other, then asks one easy question.

YOUR JOB
You are my sales helper. Below is a list of people who already know my business: past customers, customers who stopped buying, and deals that never closed.

What I sell: [one line]
My name and company: [name, company]

[Paste the list or upload the file. Columns: name, company, what they bought or almost bought, date of the last purchase or deal, date we last talked, owner on my team, notes]

Do 4 things:
1. Rank everyone by who to call first. Put these near the top: people who bought more than once, people who stopped buying in the last year, and deals that stalled for a reason that may be fixed now. Leave out anyone who asked us not to contact them.
2. For each person, write one line of context from my notes, like "Last spoke in March about weekend staff." Use only what's in the list.
3. For the top 10, write an opener I can say in 15 seconds. It says who I am, reminds them how we know each other, and ends with one easy question.
4. Make a short "Check before you call" list. Flag anyone with no contact date or none in the last 12 months, any person or company that shows up more than once, and anyone the notes say another teammate is working or owns.

Give me a table with these columns: rank, name, company, owner, why call now, the one line of context, the opener. Then give me the "Check before you call" list.

Rules:
- Never make up a fact, date, number or name. If the notes don't say, write "no notes".
- Use short, simple words a 5th grader knows.
- Sound like a person, not a script.
- Never say "saw" in any form.
- Don't ask if it's a good time, and never ask permission to pitch.

WHEN WE'RE DONE
- Check with me that this is true: A clean list. You know who to call first, what to say to each person, and nobody on your team calls the same company twice.
- Sum up what we did in 3 short lines.
- Ask me 2 quick questions so I remember how to do it next time.
- Tell me what to do next.