If you sell to HR decision-makers, you are in a genuinely unusual position.

There is more useful, public information available about how HR teams operate than almost any other function in B2B.

• Job adverts tell you which benefits are already offered, which systems are in place, what L&D looks like, that teams that are growing and why
• Social posts reveal investment in wellbeing and mental health, D&I priorities, culture, values, and team activity
• Employee reviews add colour to how that shows up day to day.
• And on top of all of this, Honch gives you a clear view of the senior HR buyers who are actually making and influencing decisions.

Compared to selling financial software or infrastructure tools, HR sellers have a real information advantage.

The trade-off HR revenue teams have always had to make

The HR tech market has grown fast. Targets have grown with it.

In theory, this should mean better, more personalised outreach. In practice, it usually means the opposite.

To write a genuinely warm, relevant introduction to an HR leader, you need to:

• Read job ads properly
• Scan recent social activity
• Understand how the organisation approaches people topics
• Join that together into something coherent

That can easily take 1 to 2 hours per prospect.

So teams end up choosing between a small number of well-researched emails vs generic outreach at scale.

Sequencing worked for a while. Then inboxes filled up. AI prospecting arrived, but mostly delivered slightly polished versions of top-and-tailed emails.

How Bernard and Prospector change what AI selling looks like to HR leaders

Bernard can already research companies using the signals Honch tracks - hiring, job ads, social activity, people data, and more.

Prospector is what turns that capability into action.

Together, they allow you to:

• Let Bernard do the research you would do yourself
• Generate hundreds of genuinely personalised emails
• Review them
• And drip them out safely to your best HR prospects

All in minutes.

This is not about sending more emails. It’s about finally using the information advantage HR sellers already have.

What most people think “AI selling” looks like

This is the type of prompt most teams are still using.

Prompt 1 - Top-and-tailed email (the familiar approach)

Subject: Congratulations on your new role at {Company Name}

Hi first name,

I noticed you recently joined {Company Name} as {Job Title}.

When HR leaders step into a new role, there’s often a lot to take in.

I’m [Name] from [Company]. We help HR teams improve employee experience.

This isn’t a sales push, just a brief introduction in case it’s useful.

Thanks,  
[Name]


This works fine.

It’s quick. It’s predictable. And it’s where most AI prospecting tools stop.

What becomes possible when you let Bernard do the research

Now compare that to a research-led prompt.

Instead of telling Bernard what to write, you tell him how to think.

Yes, the prompt is long. That’s deliberate.

You are replacing hours of manual research with a clear, repeatable set of instructions.

For the example below, we are using a made-up company called Mindline. Bernard has been trained on Mindline as an employee mental health app, including its positioning, tone, and target audience.‍

Bernard prompt - deeply personalised mental health outreach:

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INSTRUCTIONS FOR BERNARD - DO NOT INCLUDE ANY OF THIS IN THE EMAIL YOU GENERATE

You are writing a one-to-one outreach email on behalf of Mindline, an employee mental health app.

Mindline supports organisations to make employee mental health a practical, everyday part of how they operate, combining insight, technology, and human support.

Each email must be written from scratch and must feel genuinely personal.
It should feel like it was written by someone who has noticed how the company approaches mental health, not analysed or summarised it.

Do not use a template.
Do not reuse phrasing across emails.

WHAT BERNARD CAN SEE
You may see internal research including:
- corporate LinkedIn posts
- mental health or wellbeing updates
- Mental Health Awareness Week activity
- benefits pages or careers content
- leadership quotes about wellbeing, resilience, or culture
- initiatives shared publicly relating to employee mental health

You may only reference what the company has explicitly shared.

RESEARCH TASK (MANDATORY)
Before writing, identify:
- the full legal company name
- the Company Name Alias (a short, natural, conversational version of the name)
- 2 to 3 specific mental health or wellbeing references the company has made
- one clear pattern in how the company talks about mental health
- one human or organisational implication that naturally follows from that pattern

You must choose one pattern and one implication and build the email around them.

COMPANY NAME USAGE RULE (CRITICAL)
- Use ONLY the Company Name Alias in the email body
- Do not use the full legal company name in the email
- The alias should sound natural in conversation, as a human would say it
- Example: use “Miller Homes” not “Miller Homes Limited”

HOW TO USE MENTAL HEALTH REFERENCES
- Mention mental health references casually, in passing
- Do not list them
- Do not praise or congratulate
- Do not explain the initiatives
- Do not claim outcomes

Think:
“I noticed how you’ve spoken about X and Y recently at [Company Name Alias], which suggests…”

Not:
“You have a strong mental health strategy at [Full Company Name]…”

CONTENT REQUIREMENTS
Your email must:
- Open with a specific observation about how the company talks about employee mental health
- Reference 2 to 3 real examples briefly, in one or two sentences
- Link those examples to the challenge of making mental health support consistent and usable day to day
- Introduce Mindline calmly and clearly
- Position Mindline as a partner that helps turn intent into practical, everyday support
- Avoid buzzwords, app features, or clinical language
- End with a light, human invitation to reply or learn more

YOU MUST NOT
- Use bullet points
- Use headings
- Sound templated or generic
- Use marketing language

TONE
Concise  
Human  
Observational  
Professional but warm  

SUBJECT LINE
Write a natural, understated subject line.
Use the Company Name Alias if appropriate.
Avoid marketing language.

OUTPUT
Only output the final email.
Do not include explanations, labels, or notes.


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The result

This is a real email generated by Bernard using the prompt above.

Hi Becky,

I’ve noticed Miller Homes talks about mental health in a way that feels woven into the day to day, rather than just as a campaign or a benefit. The recent partnership with The Lighthouse Club, the on-site sessions with ANDYSMANCLUB, and the way mental health awareness is built into your Early Talent Programme all point to a practical, hands-on approach.

It’s interesting how these efforts make support more visible and accessible, but I imagine the challenge is keeping that consistency as teams grow and new people join. That’s where Mindline comes in. We help organisations make mental health support something people can actually use, not just something they hear about.

I know you’ll be incredibly busy, but if you’d ever like to chat about how others are making this work day to day, just let me know.

Thanks,


This is not a template. It’s not interchangeable. And it doesn’t read like AI.

From one email to 200 in under 5 minutes

Once you're happy with your prompt, you can then use our Prospector to start multiplying your efforts across hundreds or thousands of HR leaders. See how below, using the identical prompt from above:

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Plus - Our new Hubspot and Salesforce connectors ensure every contact and email is synced directly to your CRM.

No blasting. No domain penalties. No generic outreach.

Just personalised prospecting to HR buyers who are genuinely right for your business.

Final thought

Top-and-tailed emails are easy. Everyone has them.

What sets HR sellers apart is relevance. What’s held them back is time.

Bernard and Prospector remove that constraint.

If you want help refining this prompt, adapting it to a different HR use case, or setting up your first Prospector campaign, just let us know.

We’re confident this will change how you think about AI prospecting in 2026. Let's go! 👊