Feeding Armbrain What It Can't Find Itself
Armbrain knows what happens inside client meetings and emails. It doesn't know what's happening in the outside world. That's your job - be its eyes and ears.
Why This Matters
When your CMO walks into a meeting and says "I saw your competitor just launched a new product line - how are you thinking about that?" the client is impressed. They think the CMO is paying close attention to their industry. They are - because you fed that information into Armbrain before the meeting.
What to Watch For
Set up monitoring for each client. You don't need fancy tools - Google Alerts and 15 minutes a day gets you most of the way there.
| Source | What to Watch | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Google Alerts | Client company name, competitor names, industry keywords | Catches news mentions, press releases, regulatory changes |
| Key stakeholders at the client | Job changes, promotions, posts about wins or frustrations | |
| Client's social media | Their own posts and engagement | Shows what they're proud of and what they're promoting |
| Competitor websites | Product launches, pricing changes, new hires | Competitive intelligence the CMO can reference |
| Industry publications | Trade news, market trends, regulatory updates | Context that makes the CMO sound informed |
How to Ingest What You Find
When you find something relevant, don't just bookmark it. Put it into Armbrain so it shows up in meeting prep:
"Switch to Acme Corp""Quick note: Acme's main competitor BrandX launched a new enterprise tier at $299/mo on April 3rd. Could affect Acme's positioning conversation next quarter."
Good notes include:
- What happened (the fact)
- When (the date)
- Why it matters to this client (the context)
Bad notes are just links with no context. "Interesting article about BrandX" tells the CMO nothing.
The 15-Minute Daily Scan
Build this into your morning routine, right after the client briefing loop:
- Check Google Alerts (2 minutes)
- Scan LinkedIn for key stakeholders across your top 3-4 clients (5 minutes)
- Quick check of competitor sites or industry news feeds (5 minutes)
- Ingest anything relevant into the right client mind (3 minutes)
You won't find something every day. That's fine. The days you do find something - a competitor acquisition, a stakeholder leaving, a regulatory change - that's when your CMO looks like a genius.
What's Worth Ingesting vs. What's Noise
Not everything needs to go into Armbrain. Use this filter:
- Would the CMO mention this in a client meeting? Yes - ingest it.
- Does this change anything about the client's strategy or situation? Yes - ingest it.
- Is this just industry background noise? Skip it.
- Is this about a person the CMO interacts with? Usually worth noting.
When in doubt, ingest it with a quick note. Better to have it and not need it than to miss something the CMO wishes they'd known.
Related Guides
- The Calendar Behind the Calendar - tracking dates and milestones that matter
- Being the Second Set of Eyes in a Client Call - using what you've found during live meetings
- The Personal Touch List - stakeholder milestones and relationship signals