How can you build a high-quality B2B prospecting list? You can have the best cold prospecting message, a perfectly honed sequence and excellent timing. But if your prospecting list is poorly targeted, none of this will work.
Think of your prospecting list as the foundation of your outbound sales approach. If it’s well constructed, your campaigns will flow naturally. If it’s shaky, you’ll be constantly wondering why no one is responding.
Whether you’re a freelance salesperson, a marketing manager or the head of an SME, this guide will take you step by step through the process of building a high-performance B2B prospecting list. You’ll discover both the strategy and the tools you need to prospect more effectively and close more sales.
By the end of this article, you’ll know what makes an excellent list, how to build it from scratch and how to optimise the list you already have.
What is a prospecting list?
A prospecting list is a structured database of contacts that your company identifies as being potentially interested in your offers. It generally includes data such as: name, job title, company, professional email address, telephone number, location, sector of activity, company size, etc.
This list forms the basis of your targeted approach campaigns – whether by email, LinkedIn or telephone – with the aim of turning these contacts into qualified prospects and then customers.
Lead vs. prospect: what’s the difference?
A lead is a raw contact: they have shown an interest at some point (by subscribing to a newsletter, downloading a white paper, etc.).
A prospect, on the other hand, is a qualified lead. They correspond to your ideal customer profile (ICP) and are more likely to buy.
Here’s a comparison table to clarify:
| Lead list | Prospecting list |
| Rough, low-skilled contacts | Targeted contacts corresponding to your KPI |
| Source: forms, advertising, events | Provenance: manual search, enrichment, CRM |
| Top of the conversion tunnel | Middle or end of tunnel, active target |
| Used for nurturing | Used for direct contact |
Why build a prospecting list?
A well-constructed prospecting list is one of the most powerful assets in your outbound strategy.
Here’s why it’s essential:
– 🎯 You contact the right profiles from the outset, which drastically improves the conversion rate.
– ✉️ Your message can be personalised, because your segmentation is more precise.
– 💰 Your tools (CRM, email sequences, etc.) are more effective when they are based on good data.
– ⏱️ Your teams no longer waste time talking to unsuitable profiles.
– 📈 This helps you refine your KPI by identifying trends in your campaigns.
The essential elements of an effective prospecting list
A good list is more than just an email file. It is based on data structured around 4 pillars:
- Personal details
– Surname and first name
– Position held
– Professional email
– Telephone (optional)
– LinkedIn URL
– Company website
- Company information
– Company name
– Business sector
– Size (number of employees)
– Turnover (or estimate)
– Company location
- Purchase signals (intentions)
– Recent fundraising
– Job advertisements
– New strategic recruits
– Adoption of new tools
- Contact preferences
– Preferred channel: email, LinkedIn, telephone
– Time zone
– Language of communication
Steps for building a B2B prospecting list
- Mastering your offer
Identify what your product or service solves. Why have your current customers chosen you? What is your real added value?
Talk to your users, analyse your successes. This clarity will guide your targeting and your message.
- Define your KPI (ideal customer profile)
Your KPI brings together the characteristics of the companies that convert best: sector, size, revenue, tools used, digital maturity, etc.
This prevents you from wasting time on the wrong targets.
- Create your buyer personas
A company doesn’t sign, it’s people! Define their roles, priorities, pains and typical objections. This will guide your messages.
- Identifying target companies
Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Crunchbase, Clutch or other B2B databases to find the right accounts according to your KPI criteria.
- Finding the right contacts
Identify decision-makers or influential users (sales managers, marketing managers, ops managers, etc.). Filter by role and seniority.
- Check the contacts collected
Validate each email address with tools such as Dropcontact, Hunter or NeverBounce to preserve your deliverability.
Satisfied with your filtered search? Simply copy the URL of the search and paste it into LeadIn to immediately create and launch a complete prospecting campaign involving these prospects:
Bonus: Scoring your prospects
Not all your prospects are equally likely to buy. Scoring your database enables you to prioritise sales actions intelligently.
Example:
– Matched KPI: +10 pts
– Target title detected: +10 pts
– Recent fundraising: +8 pts
– Generic email (Gmail, etc.) : -10 pts
This can be done on a simple Google Sheet or integrated into your CRM such as HubSpot or Pipedrive.
RGPD compliance & data hygiene
Complying with the rules (RGPD, CNIL, etc.) is essential to remain credible and avoid penalties.
– Only use professional emails (never Gmail, etc.)
– Always mention the possibility of unsubscribing
– Explain who you are, why you are contacting them and how you got their information
– Store your data in secure and compliant tools
– Clean up your database every quarter (B2B data changes fast!)
Should you build or buy your list?
Building your list takes time but guarantees accuracy, compliance and long-term conversions. Ideal if you’re targeting a niche or want to customise strongly.
Buying a database can be useful if you want to test a market quickly or launch a short campaign. But beware of generic or obsolete data.
Tip: if you buy, do so via a reputable supplier and check all the information before use.
File templates to create your list
Example of an effective database:
Here are the recommended columns for building your file:
– First name / Last name
– Job title
– Professional email
– LinkedIn
– Company name
– Size, sector, website
– Pain points, personalised messages
These files can be imported into your CRM or automation platform (such as LeadIn).
Conclusion: A good list = more appointments
Your prospecting depends above all on the quality of your targeting. A good list = more relevant messages, higher response rates and a full agenda.
At LeadIn, we offer you two ways to save time:
– Our all-in-one software to launch your multi-channel campaigns (LinkedIn + Email)
– Our turnkey prospecting services for those who want to outsource research and messaging
👉 Discover our offers here: https: //www.leadin.fr/en/#offers
👉 Discover LeadIn intelligent sequences here and type “smart sequence”!
