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For years prospecting has been a key but time-consuming part of the sales and marketing process. When done correctly it yields great results, but it would be better if there was a way of enriching the data to give campaigns more focus.

Prospecting is a task that enables both departments to run targeted campaigns aimed at generating sales, but the laborious nature of the job compared to the return on time invested often leaves many questioning the process. It can often take weeks, even months, of manual research into a company to identify the right people to reach out to; but even that doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be able to reach that person directly or that gatekeepers will pass the message on or put you through to their desk. 

When you build a prospecting list you often look for details like phone numbers, email addresses and social media accounts - basically any way of getting through to a decision maker directly to engage them in a conversation - and it can be a highly effective form of marketing. Once the contact is made that “lead” can be passed on to the sales department who can further engage the prospect to ascertain whether there might be an opportunity to work together or pitch your product or service to them. 

Why “traditional” prospecting on its own is no longer enough

The problem is that the data you can find online by simple or “traditional” prospecting, isn’t always the most accurate. If people and businesses don’t keep their social media channels up to date you might be trying to engage someone who left the company years ago, and even if you do find the right person it might be the case that they don’t have the power to make a decision anyway. Sure, they might be able to put you in touch with those who do, but you’ve still spent a lot of time researching a person, their role and more only to find yourself back at square one. 

So what should you be doing to improve your prospecting? The answer is to look at alternative methods, but to think of those ‘alternatives’ in a slightly different way…

B2B data is proving itself not only to be one of the biggest competitors to traditional prospecting, but a key part of an aligned process. Instead of looking at prospecting and B2B data as two separate processes, you should start looking at them as a combination of approaches that come together to enrich your data and provide you with a more detailed, targeted prospecting list for your sales and marketing teams to target. 

Where does B2B data come in?

Business-to-business data is used throughout sales and marketing as a way of segmenting prospect information to a more granular level than typical prospecting. B2B data is usually broken down into three sections: demographic, professional and signals; and is analysed in different ways to ensure that the right people are targeted with the right messages at the right time. 

For example, when you analyse B2B data you might look at the professional information available including when the company was formed and how much revenue they’re generating to see if that business is on the right track and in a position to invest. 

You can then take the demographic information including job roles, email addresses and phone numbers to engage the appropriate employee to speak to about that opportunity and signal data such as office moves or new hires to establish whether or not someone might be coming in and putting a new stamp on things. 

How do B2B data and prospecting work together?

When you bring together the granular benefits of B2B data and the manual research of traditional prospecting you arm your sales and marketing teams with invaluable data to shape their next campaign strategies. 

Data should always be viewed as an asset and the good news is that there’s more and more of it around. Even as you read this, more data is being made publicly available and existing data is being updated to ensure its accuracy, meaning you have the potential to develop and implement an incredibly powerful and effective targeted campaign. 

This helps to create the perfect prospecting list, packed full of - in theory - perfect prospects. The kind of people and businesses you want to work with, and those who are willing to have conversations with you about what opportunities may lie ahead. Even if they’re not in the marketplace for your product or service when you make your first contact, they may be in a matter of months and when they’re already in your pipeline you’re well on your way to converting them without having to lay the foundations or go through introductions and demos all over again. 

Get B2B data and prospecting lists with Clarity Stack

When you join Clarity Stack you gain access to B2B data for more than 10 million businesses around the world. You can then filter this information according to your own specifications including geographical location, business size and revenue; allowing you to compile and export your perfect prospecting list.

Rather than investing hour after hour, day after day and week after week into researching businesses and identifying contact information; we bring this all into one platform putting everything right there at your fingertips. 

So, if you’re ready to start taking your prospecting to a new level with invaluable B2B data which is constantly updated using AI, book a demo with us today and you’ll see first-hand what Clarity Stack can do for you.