Groundwork, not Grunt Work: How Your Lead Gen Partner Can Help You Build the Perfect List

It’s no secret: conducting a successful lead gen campaign requires a great prospect list. Yet most buying processes are becoming increasingly complex: they involve multiple influencers and decision makers, who are sometimes hard to identify. Thus, the perfect list is becoming more elusive—and more valuable.

So where can you find it? There’s an abundance of providers out there offering inexpensive, easy-to-use lists, but these lists are not without their problems.

Because they aren’t updated often, most standard lists have only about a 70% accuracy rate. Additionally, it’s impossible to pre-populate them with qualitative intent — you won’t know, for example, who plans to invest in a CRM or who needs a new MRI machine.

That’s why many companies decide to instead build proprietary lists in house. Over time, they gather leads through trade shows, website hits, email nurture, and marketing campaigns. This eventually develops a strong list, but only after a huge investment of time and money. Unless you started the process years ago, you’ll need to find a third way if you want to launch your campaign any time soon.

So what do you do?

It’s time to get creative—and you can start by looking to your lead gen partner. The best inside sales firms are capable of more than just making phone calls. Many have expertise that extends to developing great lists, too. They should be your go-to for list building services.

In fact, on complex projects your lead gen partner could be the best source of a list. Here’s why:

• They have tons of in-house data from previous campaigns.
• They’ve likely invested in several list-sourcing tools — not just one or two — to support their core business.
• They’ve spent hours actually dialing into your market, so they know what questions to ask to generate qualified leads.
• Their team will make notes and updates on each record so that your list comes back smarter.
• They can bundle list builds into a standard onboarding rate, making them more cost-effective.

Taking these reasons into consideration might make collaborating with your inside sales partner for a list build seem like a no-brainer. After all, there’s tons of uncertainty when it comes to researching job titles and phone numbers. Companies constantly move or reorganize, decision makers frequently change jobs, and some job titles aren’t made public.

Often, the best way to discover this information is still the simplest: call and ask. Your partner is going to make those calls anyway, so why not leverage the partnership to simultaneously build the perfect list?

Increasingly, VSA’s clients take this view. Many inquire about list construction when they first approach us. Others understand that, for the first several weeks, their program will primarily focus on developing the list. It’s a lot of work, but the end result is almost guaranteed to be ROI-positive.

If you’re having trouble reaching the right prospects, call VSA! We’re eager to help you build the perfect list — or make the one you already have even better.