Building a good prospect list is a pain—and it’s even harder if you’re chasing the wrong leads. If you’re in B2B sales or marketing and tired of wasting time on generic contact dumps, this guide’s for you. We’re going to walk through exactly how to build targeted prospect lists in Salesintel that don’t suck. No fluff, no jargon—just the steps you actually need.
Why Targeted Prospect Lists Matter (and What to Watch Out For)
Before we get into the weeds, let’s get one thing straight: The quality of your prospect list is way more important than the size. A bloated list of random contacts isn’t just useless—it can actually hurt your sender reputation, tank your response rates, and waste your time.
What works:
- Lists that match your real Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
- Recent, verified contact data
- Segments based on triggers (like recent funding, tech stack, or hiring)
What doesn’t:
- Buying giant, unfiltered lists and hoping for the best
- Outdated contact info (especially in fast-moving industries)
- Relying on job titles alone—context matters
Now, let’s dig into how you actually build a list in Salesintel that’s worth your time.
Step 1: Get Clear on Your ICP Before Touching Salesintel
If you don’t know who you really want to target, no tool can fix that for you. Sit down and write out:
- Industry/vertical: Be specific. “Tech” is too broad.
- Company size: Revenue, headcount, or both.
- Geography: Are you selling local, national, or global?
- Tech stack: (If relevant) What tools do your best customers use?
- Pain points: What problems do you solve for these companies?
Pro tip: Pull your last 10 best customers and list what they have in common. That’s your starting point. Skip this, and you’ll waste hours later.
Step 2: Set Up Your Search in Salesintel
Once you know who you’re looking for, log into Salesintel and head to the main search dashboard. Here’s what actually matters:
a) Start with Companies, Not Contacts
It’s tempting to just grab a fat list of contacts, but don’t. Start by filtering companies first:
- Industry and sub-industry: Use Salesintel’s NAICS/SIC filters. Don’t trust their “industry” tags blindly—double-check them.
- Company size: Filter by employee count and revenue. Go a bit broader than your ICP, then tighten.
- Location: Filter by region, country, or state. For US-targeted campaigns, stick to US HQs unless you’re sure.
- Additional filters: Funding rounds, technologies used (Salesintel has tech install data), or recent hiring trends.
What to ignore:
- Vanity company metrics like “growth score”—they’re often vague and inconsistent.
b) Layer On Contact Filters
Now, add contact-level filters:
- Job titles: Use Boolean logic (e.g., VP OR Director AND “Marketing”). Don’t trust pre-set role buckets; they’re usually too broad.
- Department/function: Marketing, IT, HR, etc.
- Seniority level: If you want decision-makers, filter for Director+.
- Contact data quality: Only select contacts with verified email and (if you need them) direct dials.
Pro tip: Don’t go crazy with filters at first. Start broad, then narrow as you see what comes up.
Step 3: Review and Scrub Your Results
Here’s where most people get lazy. Don’t just export whatever pops up—actually look at your results.
- Random companies: Spot-check the company list. Are these the right types? If not, tweak your filters.
- Contact accuracy: Check if the job titles match your ICP. Are you getting “Head of Marketing” or “Marketing Assistant”?
- Contact age: Salesintel claims frequent updates, but double-check last verification dates if possible. Old data = bounces.
What to ignore:
- Fluffy “intent” signals if you can’t tie them to real buying actions. Use them as a secondary filter, not a primary one.
Step 4: Export Responsibly
Once you’re happy, export your data. Here’s how to keep it clean:
- Export only what you need: Don’t grab 5,000 contacts if you only need 200. Smaller, more targeted lists convert better.
- File format: CSV is usually best. Make sure fields like email, phone, LinkedIn, and company website are included.
- Check for duplicates: Salesintel can sometimes pull the same contact more than once if they have multiple emails or roles.
Pro tip: Add a “source” tag or custom field to your export. It’ll help you track campaign results later.
Step 5: Enrich and Double-Check (Optional, but Smart)
Even with Salesintel’s “human-verified” claims, bad data slips through. Before you upload to your CRM or send a single email, take a minute to:
- Run a quick email verification on a tool like NeverBounce or ZeroBounce.
- Google a few sample contacts to check for job changes or outdated info.
- Spot-check LinkedIn profiles for any obvious mismatches.
Yes, this takes extra time. But it saves you way more time (and deliverability headaches) later.
Step 6: Segment for Outreach
Don’t blast your entire list with the same message. Break it down by:
- Industry or vertical
- Seniority
- Pain point or use case
- Recent trigger/event (e.g., new funding, tech adoption)
This lets you send outreach that actually sounds like you did your homework. Most people skip this—don’t be most people.
What Salesintel Does Well (and Where It Falls Short)
The good: - Their company and contact filters are deep—you can get very specific. - “Human-verified” contacts are more accurate than scraped lists, but not perfect. - Tech install and intent data can help you build smarter segments.
The not-so-good: - Data gets stale, especially in high-churn industries (startups, tech). - Some “direct dials” are actually company numbers or old cell numbers. - Intent data is hit or miss. Treat it as a clue, not gospel.
Bottom line: Use Salesintel as a starting point, not your only source of truth. Always verify before you hit send.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Skipping the ICP step: If you don’t know your target, you’ll always get junk.
- Over-filtering: If you go too narrow, you’ll miss good leads. Start broad, then refine.
- Trusting data blindly: Even “verified” contacts can be outdated. Spot-check!
- One-size-fits-all outreach: Segmentation matters way more than people think.
Keep It Simple—Then Iterate
Building a solid prospect list in Salesintel isn’t rocket science, but it does take a little thought. Get clear on who you want, use the filters carefully, and always double-check your results. Don’t overcomplicate it: a smaller, more targeted list beats a massive, messy one every time.
Start simple. Test your outreach. Pay attention to what works (and what doesn’t), and tweak your filters as you go. You’ll get better results—and a lot less frustration—if you focus on quality over quantity, every time.