If you’re tired of chasing bad leads and burning hours on manual research, you’re not alone. Building a B2B prospect list shouldn’t feel like digging for gold with a plastic spoon. This guide is for sales folks, founders, and anyone who wants a real, targeted list—without buying junk data or falling for shiny tools that promise the moon. Let’s cut through the noise and walk through building a usable B2B prospect list with Findymail step by step.
Step 1: Get Clear on Who You Actually Want
Before you even touch a tool, decide who you’re looking for. The tighter your criteria, the less junk you’ll have to clean up later.
- Industry: What industries are your best customers in?
- Company size: Are you after startups or enterprises?
- Job titles: Who actually makes the decisions? (Be specific—“Marketing Director” is better than “Marketing”)
- Location: Local, national, or global?
- Other must-haves: Funding stage, tech stack, whatever actually matters for your pitch.
Pro tip: Don’t just copy a competitor’s ICP (ideal customer profile) and call it a day. Spend 10 minutes thinking about who’s actually likely to buy from you.
Step 2: Set Up Your Findymail Account
Sign up for Findymail. It’s not rocket science, but:
- Use a business email if you can. Personal emails sometimes get flagged.
- Know your plan limits. Free trials are fine for testing, but serious prospecting usually means you’ll need a paid plan.
Take two minutes to poke around the dashboard so you’re not lost later. Most tools like this look similar, but don’t assume they all work the same way.
Step 3: Pick Your Data Source
Findymail connects to several sources, like LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Apollo, and Crunchbase. Here’s what you should know:
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator: The gold standard for up-to-date B2B data, but not cheap. If you already have it, use it.
- Apollo, Crunchbase: Good for finding emails, company funding, and tech stack info.
- Findymail’s internal search: Decent for simple lists, but less flexible than the integrations.
Skip the urge to grab a million random emails. Quality > quantity. More data sources aren’t better if you don’t need them.
Step 4: Build a Targeted Search
Now, actually set up your filters. This is where most people get lazy—and pay for it later. Here’s how to avoid rookie mistakes:
A. Use Detailed Filters
- Job titles: Use boolean searches (e.g., “Head of Growth” OR “VP Marketing”). Don’t just type “marketing.”
- Company size: Get specific. “11-50 employees” is wildly different from “500+.”
- Industry keywords: Don’t trust default categories; add your own terms if you know your niche.
- Location: Filter down to cities or regions if that matters.
B. Look for Buying Signals
Add filters like:
- Recently funded companies: More likely to buy.
- Tech used: Target companies using (or not using) a specific tool.
- Growth stage: Fast-growing companies are often open to change.
Honest take: If your search returns tens of thousands of people, it’s too broad. Tighten it up. You want a list you can actually work through—not just a spreadsheet to brag about.
Step 5: Scrape & Export Prospects with Findymail
Once your search is dialed in, it’s time to actually grab emails. Here’s what works, what doesn’t, and how to avoid getting burned.
A. Use the Findymail Chrome Extension
- Go to your filtered search (e.g., Sales Navigator results).
- Open the Findymail extension.
- Set how many results you want to scrape (don’t just scrape everything—stick to your filters).
- Start the export.
Findymail will start pulling down emails and relevant data. It’s not instant. Don’t hit “refresh” every 5 seconds—just let it run.
B. Email Accuracy & Verification
- Findymail claims high accuracy. In practice, most emails are good, but no tool is perfect. Always spot-check a handful before blasting out campaigns.
- It’ll flag risky or unverifiable emails. Skip these unless you like bouncebacks.
- If you’re exporting thousands, run the list through a separate verifier (like NeverBounce or ZeroBounce) if deliverability is mission-critical.
C. Export Formats
Findymail lets you export to CSV. Open it up and check for:
- Missing fields
- Weird formatting
- Duplicates
Don’t just trust the export blindly—give your list a quick sanity check.
Step 6: Clean and Segment Your List
Nobody talks about this, but here’s the ugly truth: Even “clean” lists need work.
- Remove obvious garbage: Weird names, generic emails (info@, sales@), or companies that don’t fit your ICP.
- Segment by key variables: Break out by industry, job title, or region. Personalization is way easier if you do this now.
- Check for duplicates: Especially if you ran similar searches in the past.
You don’t need a fancy CRM for this—Google Sheets or Excel works fine.
Step 7: Personalize and Test Before Scaling
Don’t nuke your whole list with a generic template right away. Instead:
- Test small batches: Send to 20-30 prospects first. Watch deliverability, reply rates, and open rates.
- Personalize: Even a single line (“Saw you just raised a Series A—congrats!”) beats a form letter.
- Watch for unsubscribes or spam flags: If you see a spike, something’s off with your targeting or messaging.
What to ignore: Don’t sweat “hyper-personalization” if you’re just getting started. A little effort goes a long way.
Step 8: Maintain and Update Your List
Don’t treat this like a set-and-forget project. B2B data goes stale fast—people change jobs, companies pivot, emails die.
- Set a calendar reminder: Refresh your list every quarter at minimum.
- Update bounced or unsubscribed contacts: Remove them so you’re not annoying people (or wasting time).
- Re-run searches with new criteria: As your business evolves, so should your lists.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
What works: - Tight filters and clear ICPs save you from useless leads. - Spot-checking email accuracy before campaigns saves headaches later. - Small, regular exports beat massive, one-off list builds.
What doesn’t: - Blindly scraping huge lists and hoping for the best. - Relying on one data source forever—mix it up as your needs change. - Skipping list cleaning because “the tool says it’s verified.”
Ignore: - Fancy AI “intent” overlays unless you’re already nailing the basics. - Lists from sketchy vendors promising “guaranteed” emails for pennies. - Overthinking personalization or automation—just get started.
Keep It Simple—And Iterate
Building a B2B prospect list isn’t magic. The best results come from clear targeting, a bit of upfront work, and not overcomplicating things. Start with a small, clean list, test your approach, and improve as you go. Skip the hype—what matters is getting real conversations with people who might actually care.
Now, go build a list you’re not embarrassed to send to.