A sales list is a comprehensive directory of target prospects and serves as a vital management tool for new business development. Sometimes referred to as an attack list or target list, it typically contains information such as company names, individual names, addresses, contact details, and the names of key decision-makers. The purpose of creating a sales list is to streamline information sharing, consolidate customer data, and improve information management within the company. By creating one, you not only increase the efficiency of your sales activities but also facilitate the storage of corporate and customer data, which helps in identifying customer needs. Furthermore, by utilizing the sales list as a customer list after initial contact, you can ensure rapid follow-up after a contract is signed.
A practical and highly effective sales list requires high-quality, comprehensive content. Such a list is indispensable for consistently acquiring new customers. However, to create an effective sales list, you must master the necessary procedures and key points.
How to Create a Sales List
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Creating an effective list for sales activities begins with preliminary preparations, such as defining your sales strategy and gathering information, before moving on to the actual list creation.
Preliminary Preparation for Sales List Creation
Preliminary preparation is a critical step that determines the quality of your list. Please refer to the following guidelines.
Determine Your Sales Strategy
To improve the accuracy of your list, define your sales strategy first. Key points for determining your sales strategy include researching the competitive landscape and market conditions, identifying your company's challenges, and clarifying your goals. By developing measures based on these clear goals, you can build a robust sales strategy. This strategy will significantly influence your targeting and sales approach. It is also important to share the finalized strategy within your department or team. Sharing ensures a common understanding and fosters a more unified approach to sales activities.
Confirm Your Target
Next, clearly define your target prospects. If you do not know which companies to target—such as by industry, revenue, capital, or number of employees—you risk including unnecessary prospects or missing out on essential ones during list creation. Conducting sales activities toward non-target customers is unlikely to lead to conversions and may result in a waste of time. Additionally, since information gathering methods differ depending on the target, having a clear definition will also benefit the subsequent corporate information collection process.
Clarify the Number of Leads
It is also important to clarify the number of entries to be included in your sales list. Simply having a large number of entries is not necessarily better. If you cannot approach them efficiently, a large list is meaningless and may result in wasted time spent on information gathering. Based on your company's past sales data, such as the number of sales representatives and the time required to close a deal, determine a realistic number of leads that can be approached and from which a sufficient number of conversions can be expected.
Gathering Information for the Sales List
There are several ways to gather information on sales prospects.
Conducting Internet Research
A representative method is internet research. By searching by area or industry, you can identify company websites that match your target criteria. While this requires time and effort as you must check and select sites one by one, it is an effective way to find targets without incurring costs. If you want to find companies that meet your objectives all at once, you can also utilize industry associations and corporate registration number publication websites.
Utilizing Business Card Information
Utilizing business card information held within the company, not just by sales representatives, is another option. Business cards obtained at exhibitions or from past transactions may contain potential customers. Collecting dormant business cards can be a valuable asset for your sales list. However, caution is required, as these dormant cards may belong to companies that have ceased operations or are otherwise ineligible for business. When collecting business cards, it is necessary to verify the past history with the representative who held them.
Analyzing Your Company Website
If you have a company website, you can analyze access history to identify the source of traffic. Accessing your website indicates at least some level of interest in your services. By investigating the access source, you can determine which companies have visited your site. The analysis method involves checking the IP address, which is an identification number assigned to devices. While this method targets companies with unique IP addresses, it allows you to identify which companies are visiting. In recent years, using the internet for information gathering has become mainstream, and companies visiting your website are highly likely to be promising prospects.
Purchasing a List
Considering the effort required to gather information from scratch, purchasing a list from a customer list provider is also a viable option. Purchasing a list can significantly reduce the time and effort spent on list creation. While there is a cost involved, it is often more cost-effective to purchase a list if you lack sufficient time or the internal know-how to create one. Furthermore, the items and content included in the list vary by provider. Some services allow you to filter corporate data held by the provider based on various criteria to extract a tailored sales list. Clarify the information your company needs and utilize a service that ensures you receive that data accurately.
Creating the Target List
Once preliminary preparations and information gathering are complete, it is time to create the list. Methods include using Excel, utilizing management and creation tools, or outsourcing to an external provider. Here, we explain each method in detail.
Using Excel
Excel is used in many business operations and is an effective, free, and accessible tool if already installed. You can also download free templates from Microsoft. Because you can use functions and features convenient for list creation, it is possible to create high-quality sales lists if you have the necessary knowledge and skills. On the other hand, it requires manual effort, is not a tool specialized for sales activities, and can be difficult to share. Therefore, this method is suitable for creating smaller-scale sales lists.
Utilizing Tools
Another method is to utilize sales list creation tools. These tools allow you to create highly accurate lists more efficiently than Excel. It is also effective to combine them with management tools such as CRM or SFA. A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system can centrally manage not only customer information but also interaction history and website access history, and can also be operated as a sales list. Additionally, an SFA (Sales Force Automation) tool allows you to share sales history and the progress of negotiations, which is recommended for organizations conducting sales activities. Because they are specialized for sales, some tools include built-in sales list creation features to support a wide range of sales activities. There are also services like uSonar that, in addition to automatically creating sales lists, can integrate with CRM and SFA systems. Keep these value-added features in mind when selecting a tool that suits your company.
Outsourcing to an External Provider
Outsourcing the entire process, from information gathering to list creation and management, to an external specialist is another option. You can create a sales list even without internal know-how, and it reduces both time and effort. Another advantage is that, as specialists, they can create highly accurate sales lists. However, you must be aware of the risks of information leakage and the costs involved. When selecting a provider, it is important to check their security measures and track record.
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[Reference Article] How to Create a Sales List: Key Points for Building a High-Quality List
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