How to Build a Prospect List from Scratch, Step by Step

Step 1: write down your target in one paragraph

A prospect list is only as good as the definition behind it. Before collecting a single name, write a short description of the businesses you want: their activity, their location, their approximate size, and the situation that makes them likely to need you.

For example: “Independent physiotherapy practices in Lyon and its suburbs, with two to six practitioners, that do not offer online booking.” That paragraph tells you where to search, what to check and what to leave out. Without it, you end up with a long list of loosely related businesses and no reason to contact any of them.

Step 2: choose your sources

No single source is complete. Combine two or three and cross-check them.

• Public business listings on maps and review sites: best for shops, restaurants, trades and practices, with address, phone, website, hours and reviews.
• The official company register and business directories: legal name, registration number, activity code, creation date. Useful to spot newly created companies.
• Professional bodies and federations: member directories for regulated professions.
• Chambers of commerce, chambers of trades, trade fair exhibitor lists and local business clubs.
• The businesses' own websites: the contact page, the legal notice and the team page often give the email, phone and the name of the manager.
• Bought lists: possible, but check how the data was collected and whether people were informed, because you remain responsible for using it.

Step 3: decide on your columns before you start

Decide the structure once, in a spreadsheet or a CRM, and fill it the same way for every business. Consistent columns are what let you sort, filter and follow up later. Keep it lean: every extra column is something you must maintain.

• Business name, activity and city.
• Website, generic email, phone, and a named contact if one is published.
• Source of the data and the date you collected it.
• Signal of need: what you observed (no website, no online booking, few reviews, new location).
• Fit score or simple priority: A, B or C.
• Status: not contacted, contacted, replied, meeting, client, not interested, do not contact.
• Date of last contact and next action.

Step 4: collect and qualify

Work one area and one category at a time. For each business, open its listing and its website, fill the columns, and write the signal in a few words. If you cannot find any reason why this business would need you, mark it C or leave it out: a shorter list of relevant prospects beats a long list you will never use.

Qualification is also where you spot disqualifiers: a business that closed, a franchise where decisions are taken at head office, a company already using a competitor you cannot displace. Note them so you do not research the same business twice.

1. Search one business type in one city or neighbourhood.
2. For each result, check that it is still open and matches your target.
3. Open its website and note the contact details it publishes, plus the page where you found them.
4. Write one observed signal and assign a priority.
5. Move to the next city or category only when this batch is complete.

Step 5: clean the list

Before the first message, remove duplicates (the same business found in two sources, often with slightly different names), check that email addresses are well formed, and delete businesses that are clearly closed. Sending to invalid addresses hurts your sender reputation and wastes your effort.

Keep a separate “do not contact” list for everyone who has asked not to be contacted. Check new imports against it every time, so a refusal is never ignored by accident.

Step 6: keep it alive and compliant

A prospect list starts aging the day you build it: businesses close, move or change managers. Update the status and the date after each contact, and set a reminder to review prospects you have not touched in a long time.

If the list contains personal data (a named email, the mobile of a sole trader), GDPR applies. In France, the CNIL indicates that prospect data can be kept for three years from the last contact coming from the prospect. Store the list somewhere secure, share it only with people who need it, and record the source of each contact so you can tell people where their details came from.

Where LeadsIt fits

LeadsIt automates steps 2 to 4 for local businesses: one search per business type and city returns name, address, phone, website, the emails and social links published on each website, ratings, and signals such as no website, with CSV export and a built-in CRM from the 10-credit pack. You still need to define the target and clean the final list.

Frequently asked questions