Question

Topic: Strategy

Developing A Qualified Prospect List

Posted by Anonymous on 8/27/2004 at 9:32 AM ET 500 Points
We have effective campaigns and a successful sales closure process but our most time consuming activity is finding THE QUALIFIED prospects to target. Our best prospect would be defined as:

A Corporate Marketing Contact with significant purchasing power or influence.

Contact is involved in the development of corporate branded merchandise and or significant corporate promotions.

Contact has the power to develop, implement and oversee programs that solve the repetitive promotional need of a corporation "Such as a company store".

Contact has ability to coordinate high volume promotional product purchases and entertain overseas production.

Contact works for a company with 5,000 + employees and min 500,000,000 in sales

Our company specializes in the customization, production and distribution of promotional products. We are requesting strategies (internal and outsourced) for the quickest and most effective identification of 200-400 very qualified prospects. All suggestions are welcome.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Inbox_Interactive on 8/27/2004 at 10:04 AM Member
    Try this:

    https://thelistonline.com/

    Seems like it might be good fit.

    Paul
  • Posted by SteveByrneMarketing on 8/27/2004 at 1:32 PM Member
    Hi Promo Dave,

    Paul gave you a good resource. I worked with The List using their Agencies & Design Firms list and it was a quality updated list of best prospects.

    good luck,

    - Steve
  • Posted by telemoxie on 9/11/2004 at 2:23 PM Accepted
    Can we break the task down into two phases: identifying the target companies, and identifying the relevant contacts.

    In order to identify target companies, as I've built lists for clients, I have found the best prospects by aggregating lists from various sources. For example, it would be a trivial matter to run a list (e.g. from Dun & Bradstreet) of companies who match your demographics. But these will not neccessarily meet other criteria - and so you look for sources of other lists (such as lists of exhibitors at trade shows, member companies of marketing associations, etc. ) which might be a clue that the company might be a target for your product or service. Merge each list (including any rented lists) into an Excell spreadsheet where the first column is the company name and second column is the list it's from, sort by Column A, and Voila, companies with highest probability of being prospects (because they appear on multiple lists) will become evident.

    Once you know the companies you wish to pursue, it's plain and simple hard work - looking at the web sites, resarching the D&B MDD, ReferenceUSA, Hoovers, etc. for an intial point of contact, and making the calls.

    It's hard work - but the right person has a need for what you do, and sometimes appreciates the call and the effort you put in to find them. And, you will have a reason to speak with them (I see you exhibit at... your company is a member of...) which may help start your conversation.
  • Posted by Chris Blackman on 9/13/2004 at 12:07 AM Member
    https://thelistonline.com/thelist.php has around 5,000 companies with revenues >500M PA, although the list conatins LOADS of duplicates so the real number is probably way less.

    Might be worth calling in Dun & Bradstreet and asking your rep for a summary of the companies with the parameters you seek in the geographic and market segments most useful to you.

    FWIW my personal experience with D&B (In Australia, via clients) is their information can be very out of date. They usually offer a straight credit for every contact you tell them is wrong, which just gets you cleaning up their database at low cost to them. Before you finalise a deal with anyone, I would construct a deal that gives you, say, 100 free extra contacts for every one that is out of date or wrong. Might give them more incentive to give you freshest possible data.

    Hope this helps

    ChrisB
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