Loading...
Answers
MenuHow can I find a custom B2B contact list provider?
I understand this space is crowded, but there are few quality players in the market. How can I find one? How do they price? What is the accepted email delivery rate?
I am looking to build a niche custom B2B contact list for our marketing campaign and not something that everyone is using today. LinkedIn can help, but getting contact information and profile view is tough.
Answers
There isn't one. You can find a list, but it's guaranteed to be overpriced and the contacts will be outdated. Email lists have a shelf life, but unlike milk or bread, their vendors never rotate the stock. This means regardless of their quoted acceptance rate, you'll overpay for an outdated list. Your best solution is to source your own list, particularly in this niche market, through strategic and targeted lead generation campaigns. Save yourself the wild goose chase of chasing something that doesn't exist. I've purchased lists in niche markets, was quoted high acceptance rates, but after testing the emails against an email validation service such as BriteVerify, found the deliverability rates to be less than half of what I was promised. After running into this same problem more than once, I've developed various lead generation tactics to quickly identify and qualify high quality leads and I'm happy to discuss these with you.
I recommend checking out Netprospex from Dun & Bradstreet. It is was I use and I found it to be reliable. You should know it is expensive. Data.com from Salesforce is Ok too. If it's in your budget, check out what kind of information they have and see if it meets your needs. If you can't find a service that collects the information you need, then you have to collect it on your own. This will be more expensive and time consuming. You will have to create a network of sites that host content that your potential audience would be willing to trade their information for.
I've removed this answer, because I really wasn't answering the question directly.
I agree with David. Purchased records typically are poor quality, old and full of spam traps so it's not recommended to send email campaigns to these records through your own email account as it can have a negative effect on your deliverability, and therefore put any other campaigns you have running at risk.
Plus there is always the question of exactly what permissions these people gave when handing over their email address. You'd want to be absolutely sure the appropriate permissions are in place - if not then your brand could be put at risk.
There are companies who will allow you to buy advertising space in their email campaigns, that might be a better route if you don't have your own list yet but it's always best to start collecting email addresses yourself as soon as possible. Organic data will outperform purchased data every time.
Hi,
Are you trying to use the emails for outbound sales and cold emails trying to start a conversation or is this for marketing efforts?
If you type in that search term in Google you will get a bunch of agencies claiming they build custom lists.
But the real question is how can you be sure they really do?
Here are some signs to look for:
1. Feel of the website - does it look professional or it's a simple page with no contact information or indication of real people. Read their blog, does it sound like they know their stuff?
2. Case studies - do they have real clients, not just fake names. Search the people who gave testimonials on Linkedin and ask if that's true. Don't be lazy!
3. Check their social media profiles, is it a real agency or just some guy with a scraping bot.
4. Get on a short call with them and see if it's a fit.
The best way to make sure you are getting a high-quality service is to ask for a test sample. At least that is how we at Market Republic onboard new clients. If you want to find out more just google us with prospect list building combined.
Related Questions
-
What is the best timing in the new year to launch business marketing?
Hi there! In few words, the launch date does not matter a lot as long as you are following with a continuous marketing plan all the year. It is better to tune your lunch date according to your marketing campaign than connecting it to the seasonal event. The timing of your launch only matters if your website is already ranked or has a good authority associated to it. Launching a website is not like opening a local shop. The launch date is defined by the effectiveness of your marketing campaign. In other words, your question must be rephrased as: "When is the best time to launch my first marketing campaign for my newly created website?". In that case, you will need to describe in details what kind of website you have and how are you planning to market it. I would be able to give you a more accurate answer if you explain to me what kind of website are you planning to launch or what products mainly are you selling. Hope that helps!RZ
-
How much equity should I ask as a CMO in a startup?
Greater risk = greater equity. How likely is this to fail or just break even? If you aren't receiving salary yet are among 4-6 non-founders with equivalent sweat investment, all of whom are lower on the totem pole than the two founders, figure out: 1) Taking into account all likely outcomes, what is the most likely outcome in terms of exit? (ex: $10MM.) Keep in mind that 90%+ of all tech startups fail (Allmand Law study), and of those that succeed 88% of M&A deals are under $100MM. Startups that exit at $1B+ are so rare they are called "unicorns"... so don't count on that, no matter how exciting it feels right now. 2) Figure out what 1% equity would give you in terms of payout for the most likely exit. For example, a $10MM exit would give you $100k for every 1% you own. 3) Decide what the chance is that the startup will fail / go bankrupt / get stuck at a $1MM business with no exit in sight. (According to Allman Law's study, 10% stay in business - and far fewer than that actually exit). 4) Multiply the % chance of success by the likely outcome if successful. Now each 1% of equity is worth $10k. You could get lucky and have it be worth millions, or it could be worth nothing. (With the hypothetical numbers I'm giving here, including the odds, you are working for $10k per 1% equity received if the most likely exit is $10MM and the % chance of failure is 90%.) 5) Come up with a vesting path. Commit to one year, get X equity at the end. If you were salaried, the path would be more like 4 years, but since it's free you deserve instant equity as long as you follow through for a reasonable period of time. 6) Assuming you get agreement in writing from the founders, what amount of $ would you take in exchange for 12 months of free work? Now multiply that by 2 to factor in the fact that the payout would be far down the road, and that there is risk. 7) What percentage share of equity would you need in order to equal that payout on exit? 8) Multiply that number by 2-3x to account for likely dilution over time. 9) If the founders aren't willing to give you that much equity in writing, then it's time to move on! If they are, then decide whether you're willing to take the risk in exchange for potentially big rewards (and of course, potentially empty pockets). It's a fascinating topic with a lot of speculation involved, so if you want to discuss in depth, set up a call with me on Clarity. Hope that helps!RD
-
What is a good scope of work for a marketing and PR department?
Build a body of work in the form of a blog. Much depends on the size and scope of your company, but branded journalism can really make a huge difference.....AW
-
What would be a good answer for describing the size of your company to a potential prospect who might consider you too small to service their account?
What an awesome question! Businesses are running into this issue more frequently that ever, good news is, it can be done. Having worked on projects with oDesk, Fox Television and Wikipedia and having a very very small staff, it's certainly possible. Here's how I say it in our pitches to larger organizations: "Tractive West provides tailored video production services to organizations of all sizes. We have developed a distributed workflow using the latest digital tools. We leverage our small creative and management team with a world wide network of creative professionals, that means we can rapidly scale to meet the demands of any project while keeping our infrastructure and overhead lightweight and sustainable." Cheers and best of luck.SM
-
What are best strategies to sell LED light tubes and industrial lighting/lamps online a) in general and b) on amazon?
I'd ask Rocco Baldassarre. He is the best online marketing consultant I've ever seen and can surely give you concrete advice. Said that, my advice would be a) your own e-commerce store so you can drive traffic to it without losing money on commissions b) learn from best selling products (you can see sales ranks of competing products if you register as an amazon affiliate marketer; it's free) and copy their structure, split test regularly Hope it helps!CM
the startups.com platform
Copyright © 2025 Startups.com. All rights reserved.