If you sell to ecommerce stores, you know how hard it is to find good leads. There’s a million tools out there promising to solve prospecting, but most just give you noisy lists or lock the best data behind high-priced tiers. If you’ve heard of Storeleads, you probably know it lets you export data on online stores—stuff like what platform they use, their traffic estimates, and contact info. But exporting a CSV is just the start. Let’s talk about turning that raw data into a real B2B sales pipeline that actually gets you meetings.
This guide is for folks who want practical steps, not fluffy advice. I’ll show you how to get the right data out, clean it up, and put it to work—without burning hours or blowing your budget on a dozen SaaS tools.
Step 1: Define What a Good Lead Looks Like
Before you even log into Storeleads, get clear on what you’re hunting for. It’s tempting to export thousands of stores and hope something sticks, but that’s a good way to waste time and annoy people.
Ask yourself: - Who buys your product? (Industry, size, geography, tech stack) - What’s their pain point? (Don’t just say “they want to grow”—get specific) - Who’s the decision-maker? (Owner, marketing lead, CTO?)
Pro tip: Write this down somewhere. Even a Google Doc. You’ll refer back to it as you filter and sort data.
What to ignore: Don’t get hung up on “ideal customer profile” templates if you’re just starting. You’re looking for patterns—not a perfect formula.
Step 2: Export the Right Data from Storeleads
Now, head to Storeleads and start filtering. Here’s what actually matters:
- Platform (e.g., Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce): Pick the ones your product supports.
- Store Size: Storeleads gives estimates like “monthly visits” or “employee count.” Don’t get greedy—small stores are easier to reach, but bigger ones have more budget.
- Location: If you only sell in certain countries, filter now.
- Contact Info: Look for stores with actual emails (not just generic forms).
- Niches: Are you targeting fashion, electronics, health? Storeleads lets you filter by category.
Once you’ve got your filters dialed in, export the data as a CSV. Don’t try to grab everything—you’ll just drown in noise.
What works: Exporting in batches (say, 500-1000 rows at a time) so you can sanity-check things as you go.
What doesn’t: Downloading the entire database “just in case.” You’ll never use most of it, and you’ll burn through your outreach limits.
Step 3: Clean and De-Dupe Your Data
Storeleads exports are pretty good, but no tool is perfect—expect some messy rows.
Here’s what you should do:
- Remove obvious junk: Empty emails, “info@” addresses, broken websites.
- De-duplicate: Same store can pop up with slight variations. Use Google Sheets or Excel’s “Remove duplicates” tool.
- Standardize columns: Rename things like “Contact Email” to just “Email” so you don’t lose track.
- Spot-check a few entries: Click through to real sites and see if the data actually matches up.
Pro tip: The more time you spend here, the less time you’ll waste sending emails that bounce or get ignored.
What to ignore: Don’t bother with fancy enrichment tools unless you’re already seeing traction. They’re nice to have, but not magic.
Step 4: Prioritize and Score Your Leads
Not all leads are equal. Some stores are tiny side hustles, others are real businesses with budget and pain. Here’s a quick way to sort:
- Assign a score (1-5) based on:
- Store size (traffic, revenue, staff)
- Niche fit (how close to your target market)
- Quality of contact info (personal email vs. generic)
- Website quality (does it look legit, or like it was built in 1998?)
How to score fast: Add columns in your spreadsheet and use filters. You don’t have to be perfect. Even basic scoring beats random outreach.
What works: Prioritizing “B-list” leads (not just the biggest fish). They’re more likely to reply, and you’ll get better at pitching.
What doesn’t: Spending hours researching every single lead before you send a single email. You’ll burn out.
Step 5: Build Your Outreach Lists
Now, break your leads into manageable lists:
- A List: Best fit, highest potential. Personalize heavily.
- B List: Good fit, maybe missing some info. Light personalization.
- C List: Marginal fit or generic info. Use templates or skip.
Keep lists small: 50-100 leads per batch is plenty. This keeps you from getting overwhelmed and lets you tune your pitch based on early results.
What works: Starting small and iterating. If nobody replies, tweak your filters or your pitch before scaling up.
What doesn’t: Blasting 1,000 people with the same generic email. You’ll get flagged as spam and burn your domain reputation.
Step 6: Craft Real Emails (Not Spam)
People can spot a mail merge from a mile away. The trick is to be short, real, and relevant.
- Subject line: Clear and specific. “Partnering with [Store Name]?” works better than “Quick question.”
- First line: Show you know who they are. Mention something from their site or what you like.
- Body: Get to the point—why should they care? Make it about them, not you.
- Call to action: Ask for a quick call or reply. Don’t pitch everything at once.
Example:
Subject: Quick question about [Store Name]
Hey [First Name],
I saw you’re using Shopify for [Store Name]—looks like you’re doing some cool stuff with [Product/Niche]. I work with companies like yours to help [solve X problem].
Are you the right person to chat about this? If not, who is?
What works: Being human, referencing specifics, and keeping it short.
What doesn’t: “Hope this finds you well. I wanted to introduce myself and our innovative solutions…” Delete that line forever.
Step 7: Track, Test, and Iterate
Don’t overcomplicate this. Use a Google Sheet or a simple CRM to track who you emailed, when, and what happened.
- Columns to track: Store name, contact, email sent, reply, outcome, next steps.
- Follow up: Wait 3-5 days, then send a quick bump. “Just checking in” is fine—don’t be pushy.
- Analyze: Are certain niches or store sizes replying more? Double down on those.
Pro tip: If you’re not getting replies, go back to your filters or your pitch. The data’s telling you something.
What works: Keeping your process simple and repeatable.
What doesn’t: Getting lost in automation tools before you have a process that works manually.
Step 8: Rinse and Repeat (Without Burning Out)
Building a sales pipeline isn’t a one-time thing. The good news is, once you have your filters, lists, and pitch dialed in, it gets faster. Set a routine—maybe 30 minutes a day or one afternoon a week to export new leads, clean them up, and send a handful of emails.
Avoid burnout: Quality beats quantity. You don’t need to send 500 emails a week to see results. Consistency wins.
What to ignore: Fancy dashboards or “AI” tools that promise to automate all your outreach. Most just add complexity.
Wrapping Up
Storeleads is a solid way to find real ecommerce prospects—if you put in the work to clean, sort, and actually talk to people like a human. Don’t overthink it. Start small, keep your process lean, and improve as you go. The best sales pipelines aren’t built in a weekend—they’re built by showing up, iterating, and not getting lost in shiny tools.
Now, go export a list and send your first batch. See what happens. Adjust. Repeat. That’s it.