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Building your B2B prospects list - The BizzBee Way
bizzbeesolutions.com
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Every place a page here uses this source, in the order the words come in it.
Here are the steps for finding the target positions: “Once you know the company, you can look into its employees, or you can search for the required position within the company.” 2. Company’s website– Second best place to look for a target position is on the company’s website. Most often, there are links like “About Us”, “Contact Us”, “Meet the team” where you can find the staff with their e-mail, phone number or social media profiles.
2. When you click search, its first result is limited to 100. However, it gives you some more advanced filters – industry, employee size, country, language. As we don’t have any limitations (except Germany). I’ve set the country and increased the limit to 5.000 websites per search. “If the data is accurate, we can easily click the “Find people to contact” – and it will use these companies and ask you for the desired positions.” 4. I got an excel sheet with URLs but not company names – which is not so useful, but what can you do.
Using the spreadsheet provided above helps remove the most common human typos. For example, if there is an empty space in the cell or other common mistake, the sheet will point out that mistake. “The e-mail verification checks for different things, from spam traps (e-mail created to capture senders), it formats and does a syntax check (missing @, or double @@), domain verification (DNS records), to individual mailbox validation (SMTP protocol).” Lead Automation
Using the spreadsheet provided above helps remove the most common human typos. For example, if there is an empty space in the cell or other common mistake, the sheet will point out that mistake. “The e-mail verification checks for different things, from spam traps (e-mail created to capture senders), it formats and does a syntax check (missing @, or double @@), domain verification (DNS records), to individual mailbox validation (SMTP protocol).” Lead Automation
This does not mean that you have to choose only one. You can have several targets – but you need to be aware that for each target you will need different marketing/sales activities. “having this as a baseline you can easily create your own B2B prospects database.” The BizzBee questionnaire
Basic info about your company “Go over their website (if available) to understand what they are actually trying to sell. In addition, try to understand the goal of their campaign.” Lead company info
Lead company info “Finding the right companies is crucial for the process, and therefore we look at specific industries, locations, employee range, etc.” The information needed per company tells us what columns we need to keep for each company, while the number of companies tells us how many target companies the client is interested in. To avoid future problems, it is of utmost importance to have a systematic approach from the start.
Let’s begin. Do you know who your target is? It is a very simple question, but I found many CEOs and heads of sales/marketing struggle to answer it. Here are a few incorrect examples: “But even then, you would still have to split the target into segments and address each segment separately.” Let me put it in another way – having a very specific target will help you laser-focus your marketing efforts, making you more relevant in your target’s eyes. So even if you have a cross-industry solution (e.g. SEO agency), you still need to choose your target for each marketing campaign.
Let me put it in another way – having a very specific target will help you laser-focus your marketing efforts, making you more relevant in your target’s eyes. So even if you have a cross-industry solution (e.g. SEO agency), you still need to choose your target for each marketing campaign. “You can have several targets – but you need to be aware that for each target you will need different marketing/sales activities.” After speaking with 300+ clients we have made a one-page summary that should be an output of this stage – a clear understanding of what our client needs. Keep in mind that we did this for our clients, so there could be a few segments that are not relevant to you, but still – having this as a baseline you can easily create your own B2B prospects database.
Understand your target – This chapter is very brief, making sure you know who you are trying to approach. You can’t proceed until you know what type of companies are ideal clients for you, and what position within the company is the most relevant for you to target. “This could mean downloading specific tools, subscribing to platforms, or preparing your spreadsheet or CRM where you keep your leads.” Prospect companies– This covers everything you need to know to be able to find your ideal type of client companies. It involves mostly using search engines, but also many other techniques and approaches to find the companies you need.
Setting up the spreadsheet “For building a B2B prospects database, I recommend a Google spreadsheet, as it is the same as Microsoft Excel – except you can access it from anywhere – computer, phone, guest computer – and you can also share it with a team, and it allows multiple entries in parallel.” We have a BizzBee lead generation template spreadsheet that we use in-house. It has been built over the years preventing typos in the B2B prospects database, or duplication – which tends to happen if multiple people are working at the same time. So we have made a bulletproof template that solves 99% of the problems that were reported by our clients. I suggest you build one, as it will help you improve the quality of the prospects, as well as being more efficient.
We have a BizzBee lead generation template spreadsheet that we use in-house. It has been built over the years preventing typos in the B2B prospects database, or duplication – which tends to happen if multiple people are working at the same time. So we have made a bulletproof template that solves 99% of the problems that were reported by our clients. I suggest you build one, as it will help you improve the quality of the prospects, as well as being more efficient. “Your job is to only set up the spreadsheet according to the information that will be useful to you.” Tools/accounts needed
After you fill in the requirement fields, you should prepare the spreadsheet where you will store the prospects. For building a B2B prospects database, I recommend a Google spreadsheet, as it is the same as Microsoft Excel – except you can access it from anywhere – computer, phone, guest computer – and you can also share it with a team, and it allows multiple entries in parallel. We had a project where we had 23 people working in one spreadsheet at the same time! That would be impossible on Microsoft Excel. “It has been built over the years preventing typos in the B2B prospects database, or duplication – which tends to happen if multiple people are working at the same time.” The spreadsheet is all set up with categories and formulas. Your job is to only set up the spreadsheet according to the information that will be useful to you. For example, if you need a website, name of the company, location, but not the number of employees and industry, you should delete those. Also, there are “spare“ columns if you need to add some criteria that are important to you and are not already in the sheet. In the “board” tab, there are counters and “spreadsheet signalization” to help you navigate through the info and data you enter.
Lead company info “Sometimes, the client has its own list of companies (B2B prospects database), that they want to be researched, and they will be added here.” The information needed per company tells us what columns we need to keep for each company, while the number of companies tells us how many target companies the client is interested in. To avoid future problems, it is of utmost importance to have a systematic approach from the start.
This section is to understand our client’s ideal client (in order to avoid confusion, we will call it the target company). Finding the right companies is crucial for the process, and therefore we look at specific industries, locations, employee range, etc. Have in mind that each client is unique, with unique requirements, so not all criteria apply. Sometimes, the client has its own list of companies (B2B prospects database), that they want to be researched, and they will be added here. “To avoid future problems, it is of utmost importance to have a systematic approach from the start.” Lead Position info
Lead Position info “Once the target companies are identified, you need to find the ideal position within each company” If you can’t find an ideal position contact, you can try looking at alternative positions. The flexibility part tells us if the client wants the EXACT match of the position, or if we could look at synonyms or related positions. The information needed by the target person tells us what columns need to be added to the sheet. The number of people per company, tells us how many leads we need per company – some clients would require one target position per company, while others could require up to five.
Lead Position info “Our job is to understand who the ideal recipient within the company is – and try to find the people that hold these positions.” If you can’t find an ideal position contact, you can try looking at alternative positions. The flexibility part tells us if the client wants the EXACT match of the position, or if we could look at synonyms or related positions. The information needed by the target person tells us what columns need to be added to the sheet. The number of people per company, tells us how many leads we need per company – some clients would require one target position per company, while others could require up to five.
Once the target companies are identified, you need to find the ideal position within each company (to avoid confusion, we will call it the target person). Depending on the client’s product/service, the target person can be a management decision-maker (CEO, Managing Director, Chief Operation Officer), or financial decision-maker, or HR decision-maker, or IT etc. Our job is to understand who the ideal recipient within the company is – and try to find the people that hold these positions. “If you can’t find an ideal position contact, you can try looking at alternative positions.” Finally, understanding the deadline will tell us the capacity and resources needed in order to match the time expectations.
Once the target companies are identified, you need to find the ideal position within each company (to avoid confusion, we will call it the target person). Depending on the client’s product/service, the target person can be a management decision-maker (CEO, Managing Director, Chief Operation Officer), or financial decision-maker, or HR decision-maker, or IT etc. Our job is to understand who the ideal recipient within the company is – and try to find the people that hold these positions. “some clients would require one target position per company, while others could require up to five.” Finally, understanding the deadline will tell us the capacity and resources needed in order to match the time expectations.
Find contact information – Don’t be that person that always e-mails companies using their generic e-mail. It doesn’t work anymore. In order to build a solid B2B prospects database, you will need to learn how to find direct contact information. Meaning, direct business e-mails, direct phone numbers, and their LinkedIn profile. “Therefore, you must go through several steps to ensure that you have the highest quality list.” Lead Automation – Once you know how to do the prospecting yourself, then you can start considering automation tools. There is not a single solution that can solve your prospecting problem – most often it is a mix of tools that can partially automate your process, but rarely 100% of it. After all these years, we are continuously screening the web for new tools, and we even have a set of tests that we do to test their accuracy, and rarely any reaches more than 70-80%.
Quality control –Building a B2B prospects database is always prone to mistakes. Either human (typos) or computer mistakes (tools are not always 100% accurate). Therefore, you must go through several steps to ensure that you have the highest quality list. “After all these years, we are continuously screening the web for new tools, and we even have a set of tests that we do to test their accuracy, and rarely any reaches more than 70-80%.” If you even think about prospecting, do read further in this blog post. But also, download the PDF version so you can reap the benefits forever.
This blog post consists of seven chapters, each covering different aspects of building the perfect B2B prospects database for your business: “You can’t proceed until you know what type of companies are ideal clients for you, and what position within the company is the most relevant for you to target.” Setup the environment – As with any project, to build a B2B prospects database you need to do some preparation. This could mean downloading specific tools, subscribing to platforms, or preparing your spreadsheet or CRM where you keep your leads. I will try to be as resourceful as possible with examples.
Prospect companies– This covers everything you need to know to be able to find your ideal type of client companies. It involves mostly using search engines, but also many other techniques and approaches to find the companies you need. “Don’t always go looking for the CEO and wonder why you never get feedback. An HR solution should target the HR decision-makers, a financial tool should target financial decision-makers.” Find contact information – Don’t be that person that always e-mails companies using their generic e-mail. It doesn’t work anymore. In order to build a solid B2B prospects database, you will need to learn how to find direct contact information. Meaning, direct business e-mails, direct phone numbers, and their LinkedIn profile.
LinkedIn account – LinkedIn is used as the main research tool most of the time. Having a LinkedIn account is essential for lead generation, as well as building a B2B prospects database. LinkedIn gives you a free one month Sales Navigator profile, which is more than enough to get a better understanding of what it can do for you. “This online spreadsheet can give you possible combinations once you provide names, middle names, surnames, and domains.” When you open the spreadsheet it’s a View Only version. Go to “File” and then “Make a copy” – a window will pop-out where you will name the version you will use in the future for building your B2B prospects database.
Find the right people– Don’t always go looking for the CEO and wonder why you never get feedback. An HR solution should target the HR decision-makers, a financial tool should target financial decision-makers. Find the right person within the company that is mostly concerned with what you have to offer. “It doesn’t work anymore. In order to build a solid B2B prospects database, you will need to learn how to find direct contact information.” Quality control –Building a B2B prospects database is always prone to mistakes. Either human (typos) or computer mistakes (tools are not always 100% accurate). Therefore, you must go through several steps to ensure that you have the highest quality list.
Quality control –Building a B2B prospects database is always prone to mistakes. Either human (typos) or computer mistakes (tools are not always 100% accurate). Therefore, you must go through several steps to ensure that you have the highest quality list. “Once you know how to do the prospecting yourself, then you can start considering automation tools.” If you even think about prospecting, do read further in this blog post. But also, download the PDF version so you can reap the benefits forever.
Quality control –Building a B2B prospects database is always prone to mistakes. Either human (typos) or computer mistakes (tools are not always 100% accurate). Therefore, you must go through several steps to ensure that you have the highest quality list. “There is not a single solution that can solve your prospecting problem – most often it is a mix of tools that can partially automate your process, but rarely 100% of it.” If you even think about prospecting, do read further in this blog post. But also, download the PDF version so you can reap the benefits forever.
This blog post consists of seven chapters, each covering different aspects of building the perfect B2B prospects database for your business: “You can’t proceed until you know what type of companies are ideal clients for you, and what position within the company is the most relevant for you to target.” Setup the environment – As with any project, to build a B2B prospects database you need to do some preparation. This could mean downloading specific tools, subscribing to platforms, or preparing your spreadsheet or CRM where you keep your leads. I will try to be as resourceful as possible with examples.
Prospect companies– This covers everything you need to know to be able to find your ideal type of client companies. It involves mostly using search engines, but also many other techniques and approaches to find the companies you need. “Don’t always go looking for the CEO and wonder why you never get feedback. An HR solution should target the HR decision-makers, a financial tool should target financial decision-makers.” Find contact information – Don’t be that person that always e-mails companies using their generic e-mail. It doesn’t work anymore. In order to build a solid B2B prospects database, you will need to learn how to find direct contact information. Meaning, direct business e-mails, direct phone numbers, and their LinkedIn profile.
Let’s begin. Do you know who your target is? It is a very simple question, but I found many CEOs and heads of sales/marketing struggle to answer it. Here are a few incorrect examples: “But even then, you would still have to split the target into segments and address each segment separately.” Let me put it in another way – having a very specific target will help you laser-focus your marketing efforts, making you more relevant in your target’s eyes. So even if you have a cross-industry solution (e.g. SEO agency), you still need to choose your target for each marketing campaign.
In most cases, yes, these are relevant statements, but they do not help your prospecting mission. You are here to find the type of companies that are most probably going to buy your product/service. And if you have unlimited marketing/sales budget – sure you can make these bold statements. But even then, you would still have to split the target into segments and address each segment separately. “having a very specific target will help you laser-focus your marketing efforts, making you more relevant in your target’s eyes.” This does not mean that you have to choose only one. You can have several targets – but you need to be aware that for each target you will need different marketing/sales activities.
Find contact information – Don’t be that person that always e-mails companies using their generic e-mail. It doesn’t work anymore. In order to build a solid B2B prospects database, you will need to learn how to find direct contact information. Meaning, direct business e-mails, direct phone numbers, and their LinkedIn profile. “Therefore, you must go through several steps to ensure that you have the highest quality list.” Lead Automation – Once you know how to do the prospecting yourself, then you can start considering automation tools. There is not a single solution that can solve your prospecting problem – most often it is a mix of tools that can partially automate your process, but rarely 100% of it. After all these years, we are continuously screening the web for new tools, and we even have a set of tests that we do to test their accuracy, and rarely any reaches more than 70-80%.
Find the right people– Don’t always go looking for the CEO and wonder why you never get feedback. An HR solution should target the HR decision-makers, a financial tool should target financial decision-makers. Find the right person within the company that is mostly concerned with what you have to offer. “It doesn’t work anymore. In order to build a solid B2B prospects database, you will need to learn how to find direct contact information.” Quality control –Building a B2B prospects database is always prone to mistakes. Either human (typos) or computer mistakes (tools are not always 100% accurate). Therefore, you must go through several steps to ensure that you have the highest quality list.
Quality control –Building a B2B prospects database is always prone to mistakes. Either human (typos) or computer mistakes (tools are not always 100% accurate). Therefore, you must go through several steps to ensure that you have the highest quality list. “Once you know how to do the prospecting yourself, then you can start considering automation tools.” If you even think about prospecting, do read further in this blog post. But also, download the PDF version so you can reap the benefits forever.
Quality control –Building a B2B prospects database is always prone to mistakes. Either human (typos) or computer mistakes (tools are not always 100% accurate). Therefore, you must go through several steps to ensure that you have the highest quality list. “There is not a single solution that can solve your prospecting problem – most often it is a mix of tools that can partially automate your process, but rarely 100% of it.” If you even think about prospecting, do read further in this blog post. But also, download the PDF version so you can reap the benefits forever.
Quality control –Building a B2B prospects database is always prone to mistakes. Either human (typos) or computer mistakes (tools are not always 100% accurate). Therefore, you must go through several steps to ensure that you have the highest quality list. “After all these years, we are continuously screening the web for new tools, and we even have a set of tests that we do to test their accuracy, and rarely any reaches more than 70-80%.” If you even think about prospecting, do read further in this blog post. But also, download the PDF version so you can reap the benefits forever.