> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.earthcare.network/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How prospecting works (plain English)

> What actually happens between 'find me buyers' and your ranked shortlist — no jargon.

No code, no jargon. Here's what ECN's **Unified Prospecting Engine** does on your behalf.

<Steps>
  <Step title="You consult with Jaguar">
    Jaguar is your AI growth partner. You tell it what you sell and who buys it (or it
    reads your business profile). It asks the questions a good advisor would — including
    what your best customers *value*.
  </Step>

  <Step title="It builds your ideal-customer picture">
    From that conversation it writes an Ideal Customer Profile: not just "kitchen
    remodelers" but the actual things an in-market buyer says and does.
  </Step>

  <Step title="It searches the whole web">
    It looks across the places your buyers actually are — social platforms, public
    records, people/company sources — using every tool available, not one vendor's list.
  </Step>

  <Step title="It finds people showing they're ready">
    A **[buying signal](/concepts/glossary#buying-signal)** is proof someone is in-market
    *now* — a remodel project posted this week, a fund announcing a new thesis, a job
    opening that implies a purchase. ECN keeps the source so you can verify it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="It scores and ranks them">
    Each prospect gets a **[Prospect Score](/concepts/glossary#prospect-score)**: it
    starts from how well they fit your ICP, then **rises for fresh buying intent** (a
    signal from this week counts far more than one from three months ago). The best fit
    with the freshest intent rises to the top. Every score comes with a one-line
    **why-now** and a suggested **next action** ("reach out now — reference their post").
  </Step>

  <Step title="You stay in control">
    Outreach is **drafted** for you, personalized to each prospect — and held for your
    approval. Nothing in the prospecting pipeline goes out until you say so.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What "values-aligned" means here

Jaguar is a consultative, shared-value advisor. It bakes your values into *who counts
as a good fit* — so for a regenerative business, "ideal customer" means mission
alignment, not just company size. For recruiting and fundraising it adds explicit
values-alignment filters. (The numeric score itself is fit + fresh intent; values
shapes the fit it builds on.)

## Want the technical version?

The same flow, with the API and the scoring details, lives in the developer docs:
[Find prospects with buying signals](/guides/prospecting-engine).