A step-by-step guide to building a detailed prospecting list [+ 3 templates]

You can have the best cold outreach copy, a flawless outreach sequence, and killer timing. But if your prospecting list is off, none of that matters.

Think of your B2B prospecting list as the foundation of your sales outreach. Get it right, and your campaigns feel like a warm knife through butter. Get it wrong, and you’re left guessing why no one’s replying.

Whether you’re a solo SDR, a growth lead, or running full-scale outbound at your company, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know to build a high-quality sales prospecting list — step-by-step. We’ll cover both the strategy and the tools to help you prospect smarter (and actually close deals).

By the end, you’ll not only understand what makes a great list, you’ll be able to build one from scratch or improve the one you already have.

Let’s dive in!

What is a prospecting list?

A prospecting list is a structured list of potential customers that a business identifies as likely to be interested in its product/service. It typically includes contact details such as the person’s name, job title, company name, email address, phone number, and other relevant data like location, industry, or company size.

This list serves as a foundation from which sales teams can create targeted outreach campaigns, especially when using LinkedIn automation tools and cold email software. The goal is to turn these leads into qualified prospects and, eventually, buyers.

Prospect list vs. lead list

The terms prospect and lead are often used interchangeably. However, there’s a clear difference between the two.

Namely, leads are a broader group of individuals who have shown some interest in your company (e.g., through signups, form submissions, ad interactions, etc.). 

Prospects, on the other hand, are leads who’ve been vetted,  meaning they match your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and are more likely to make a purchase.

Of course, the exact definitions may vary from one sales team to another. But in general, leads are at the very top of your funnel, while prospects are the ones you actively reach out to after some level of research or qualification.

Naturally, the difference between leads and prospects also reflects in how the lists are built and used.

That said, a lead list is typically broader. It contains raw contact information, often gathered through inbound efforts, and may require further qualification. Meanwhile, a prospecting list is more refined. It’s built intentionally by your sales team, using research and filters based on your ICP, to support targeted outreach efforts.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison:

	Lead list	Prospecting list
Content	Raw names and contact info; minimal qualification	Filtered and qualified contacts who are likely to buy
Source	Marketing campaigns, purchased data, and signups	Research, CRM data, and the qualification process
Stage	Early/top of funnel	Mid-funnel or active outreach
Use case	General outreach, nurturing campaigns	Targeted sales activities like email outreach, LinkedIn outreach & cold calling

Why build a prospecting list?

A well-built prospecting list is one of the highest-leverage assets in outbound sales. 

Here’s why it matters:

• You’ll book more meetings with better-fit buyers. Targeting the right people means fewer wasted touches and more conversations that actually lead somewhere.
• It sharpens your targeting (and your messaging). When your list is dialed in, your outreach can be too. You can personalize based on industry, job title, and pain points, and get replies because it feels relevant.
• It boosts ROI across your sales tools. Sales outreach tools, email warm-up tools, CRMs - they all perform better when fueled with clean, accurate data.
• It saves your team from wasting time on bad-fit leads. Instead of chasing anyone with a job title, your reps focus on real opportunities. That means higher conversion rates and fewer ‘’not interested’’ replies.
• It gives you clarity. A good prospecting list helps you identify patterns, spot trends, and refine your ICP over time.

Main elements of a great prospecting list

Contrary to popular belief, a high-performing prospecting list isn't a dumping ground for names and email addresses. 

Rather, it’s a curated dataset that helps your sales team reach the right people, with the right message, at the right time.

That said, here’s what separates a great prospecting list from a mediocre one.

Contact details

• First and last name
• Job title
• Business email address
• Phone number (optional, but useful for multichannel outreach)
• LinkedIn profile URL
• Website

📝 Note: Our very own LinkedIn automation and cold email software, Skylead, collects this data automatically, if available on the leads’ profiles. You can export it or use it directly in your outreach campaign without any manual input. But more on that later.

Account data

• Company name
• Industry
• Company size (employee count)
• Annual revenue (or best estimate)
• Location
• Leads’ ICP
• Pain point
  

This data helps you filter out companies that are too small, too big, or simply not a fit for your solution.

Buyer intent & sales triggers

• Recently raised funding
• New job postings (indicating growth or new initiatives)
• Tech stack changes (e.g., adopting tools your product integrates with)
• Hiring of key roles (e.g., a Head of RevOps, CMO)

These are the signals that suggest a company is ready to buy. The more of these you can layer in, the stronger your outreach becomes.

Communication preference

Not every prospect prefers the same touchpoint. 

Thus, make note of:

• Preferred outreach channel (for example, email, LinkedIn, phone)
• Time zone
• Language (especially for global outreach)

Although it pays to know which channel your prospects prefer, your best bet, outreach-wise, remains going multichannel. 

And guess what? Skylead is a one-stop shop tool for outreach that lets you use both LinkedIn and email touches within the same Smart sequence. 

In fact, we were first on the market to introduce these ground-breaking algorithms that combine LinkedIn and email actions with if/else conditions. Yours is to pick the steps, and the tool will execute them according to your prospects’ behavior to reach them in the fastest possible way.

Here’s a sneak peek at what it looks like to build one!

Step-by-step: How to build a high-quality prospecting list

Now that you know what goes into a great sales prospecting list, it’s time to actually build one.

Whether you’re starting from scratch or refining an existing database, the process below will help you get better results from your outreach - and save your team hours of guesswork!

Step 1: Know what you're selling inside-out

Before you start adding names to your prospect list, get clear on what you’re selling and who it actually helps.

Start with:

• What specific pain points does your product or service solve?
• What outcomes does it drive for your current customers?
• Why do customers choose your solution over others?
• What type of company uses your product?

This will help you identify the right people to target and craft outreach copy that resonates from the first touchpoint.

If you’re unsure, talk to your existing users or customer success team. Ask what made them convert, what problems you solved, and what they couldn’t live without.

Step 2: Define your ideal customer profile (ICP)

Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) describes the companies that are the best fit for your product or service, based on firmographic, technographic, and behavioral data.

As such, it helps you focus your prospecting efforts on companies with the highest likelihood to convert. It also ensures your outreach feels personalized rather than generic.

Here’s what to include in your ICP:

Firmographics

• Industry (e.g., SaaS, eCommerce, logistics)
• Company size (measured by headcount)
• Annual revenue (or estimated ARR)
• Location or region
• Stage of growth (startup, scaleup, enterprise)
  

Technographics

• What tools or platforms do they use?
• Do they already use products you integrate with?
• Are they using a competitor?

Chronographics (a.k.a sales triggers)

• Funding announcements
• Hiring spurts (especially in sales, marketing, or ops)
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Recent product launches or rebrands
  

Step 3: Build Buyer Personas

While your ICP defines the type of company to target, your Buyer Persona identifies the people within those companies who make (or influence) the buying decision.

The better you understand these individuals, the more effective your messaging will be, especially when it comes to personalization and objection handling.

Make sure you include the following in your Buyer Persona profile(s):

Job titles & roles

What roles typically initiate or influence the buying process? 

Think in the lines of:

• Head of Sales
• Revenue Operations Manager
• SDR Manager
• Marketing Director
  

📝 Note: These will become your filters in LinkedIn Sales Navigator or other B2B prospecting tools.

Goals & pain points

What are they trying to achieve and what’s standing in their way?

• ‘’Need to increase reply rates without adding more headcount.’’
• ‘’Want to improve outreach personalization at scale.’’
• ‘’Frustrated by inconsistent prospecting data’’
  

This insight shapes your value proposition and the problems your outreach copy should address.

Preferred communication styles

Some personas prefer data-heavy messaging. Others want quick, punchy value.

For example, a RevOps lead may respond well to metrics and ROI projections, whereas an SDR Manager might appreciate a short message that respects their time.

If you’re selling across markets, also consider regional nuances and language preferences.

Step 4: Find companies that match your ICP

With your ICP and buyer personas clearly defined, it’s time to go find companies that check those boxes.

Your best bet to do so is to use LinkedIn advanced search filters, or Sales Navigator filters, account filters in particular. 

Alternatively, you can rely on B2B database platforms, such as ZoomInfo, Crunchbase, and Clutch.

What these have in common is that they let you base your search on:

• Industry
• Headcount
• Location
• Growth stage
• Technologies used
• Recent funding
• Hiring activity
• etc.
  

…which further helps you surface companies that match your ICP down to a T.

We also recommend that you save filtered companies on Sales Navigator to an account list. They’ll be useful in the next step when finding prospects.

You can also stay on top of companies showing signs of buying intent by:

• Setting up Google Alerts for relevant keywords (e.g., “[industry] funding”)
• Subscribing to newsletters like TechCrunch, Axios Pro Rata, or Crunchbase Daily
• Using tools like Leadfeeder or Albacross to see who visits your site
• Tracking job boards for hiring surges in sales, ops, or marketing
  

These indicators help you catch companies right when they’re most likely to need your solution - before your competitors do.

Quick list of tools to find companies for your prospect list

Tool	Best for
LinkedIn Sales Navigator	B2B company filtering & lead matching
Crunchbase	Finding funded companies and merger & acquisition (M&A) activity
ZoomInfo	Sales intelligence at scale (enterprise-friendly)
Clutch	Discovering agencies and service-based businesses

Step 5: Find decision-makers (Buyer Persona)

So, you have a list of high-fit companies. Now, it’s time to zero in on your buyer persona.

In some cases, business decision makers, a.k.a. individuals who have the authority (or budget) to say yes, will also be your buyer persona. For example, if you’re selling a sales automation tool, your buyer persona might be the Head of Sales, someone who both feels the pain and has the authority to act on it.

But that’s not always the case. Sometimes, your buyer persona is an influencer or end-user (like an SDR Manager), who uses the tool daily but still needs approval from someone higher up.

If you can’t reach decision-makers directly, consider targeting those influencers - team leads or senior managers whose input carries weight during the evaluation process.

Skip junior roles or individual contributors unless you're doing market research. They rarely have decision-making power or influence.

Remember the saved accounts in Sales Navigator we talked about earlier? Now, it’s time to use them to actually identify the people behind the decision-making roles in your target accounts.

To do so, go to the Lead filters, and locate the ‘’Account lists’’ filter under ‘’Workflows.’’ 

Choose the desired list, and then layer on additional filters, such as job titles, seniority level, department, years of experience, and so on. Feel free to use Boolean search operators here to widen your search.

Example filters include:

• Current job title: “Head of Sales,” “Revenue Operations,” “Marketing Director”
• Seniority level: CXO, VP, Director
• Function: Sales, Marketing, Operations

This narrows down your list to people worth reaching out to.

Happy with your filtered search? Simply copy the search URL and paste it into Skylead to create and launch a full outreach campaign involving these prospects right away.

Or, rather than hitting launch, click the“Discover only” button to have Skylead scrape all publicly available data (first and last name, email, job title, LinkedIn URL, company info, etc) from your prospects’ profiles. Just make sure you’ve enabled the ‘’Collect contact information’’ option in LinkedIn campaign settings beforehand.

All information will be gathered in the Leads page, where you can export it into a CSV file, and thus, build a prospecting list that you can enrich further.

From there, you can add extra details (e.g., pain points, custom intros, etc.) and re-upload the updated CSV file to Skylead. These fields will be recognized as custom variables, allowing you to personalize your outreach even more.

Step 6: Verify contact info

Finding your prospects’ information is only half the job, especially if there’s email outreach involved. In fact, sending cold emails to unverified addresses can seriously hurt your deliverability. Too many bounces, and email providers might start flagging your domain as spam or block it altogether.

That’s why verifying email addresses is a non-negotiable step in building a high-performing sales prospecting list.

Tools for email verification

If you’re sourcing contacts manually or through enrichment tools, use a verifier to check email validity before sending anything. 

Some reliable options include:

• Hunter
• Voila Norbert
• NeverBounce
• Dropcontact

However, if you’re using Skylead, there’s no need to verify emails separately. The platform automatically finds and verifies your prospects’ business emails as you build your outreach campaign.

And to give your deliverability an additional boost, we’ve also partnered up with email warm-up tool InboxFlare to bring infinite email warm-up to the mix. This means your emails don’t just land: they land in the primary inbox, where they belong.

Bonus step: Score & prioritize your prospects

Not all prospects are created equal. Some are a perfect fit and are actively looking for a solution. Meanwhile, others might be months away from buying.

That’s why prospect scoring is important.

By assigning scores based on a combination of fit (how well they match your ICP) and intent (signals they’re ready to buy), you help your sales team build a list of qualified prospects.

Here’s an example of a scoring system you can implement:

Fit-based points

• ICP match (+10)
• Correct job title / seniority (+10)
• Company size is in your sweet spot (+5)
  

Intent-based points

• Recently raised funding (+10)
• Viewed your pricing or case study page (+8)
• Engaged with your LinkedIn posts or emails (+5)
  

Disqualifiers (negative points)

• Wrong region (–5)
• Non-business email (–10)
• Job title is too junior (–10)
  

You can keep things simple with a spreadsheet, or go a step further and automate it in your CRM for sales (e.g., HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive) using prospect scoring workflows.

This way, your SDRs don’t waste time guessing who to reach out to next. Instead, they start at the top of the list and work their way down.

Compliance & data hygiene tips

With great data comes great responsibility.

To stay compliant (and avoid fines or lost trust), you need to make sure your prospecting practices align with regulations like GDPR, CCPA, and PECR, especially if you're running cold campaigns across different regions.

So, to keep your prospecting list clean, compliant, and high-performing:

• Stick to professional contact details (work emails) and publicly available business information. Don’t store personal email addresses (e.g. Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo), unless you have explicit consent.
• Provide opt-out options to make it easy for prospects to unsubscribe from communication. In fact, this is required by law in many countries.
• Be transparent about who you are, why you're reaching out, and how you sourced their information. If you're using enrichment tools, make sure they also comply with relevant privacy laws.
• Store data securely. Your CRM or outreach platform should have proper access control, encryption, and compliance measures in place. Avoid storing sensitive prospect info in unsecured spreadsheets.
• Clean your list regularly. Industry estimates suggest approximately 22.5% of B2B contact data goes stale each year. So, set a reminder to review and refresh your list at least once per quarter.

Should you build or buy a prospecting list?

Honestly, there's no right answer here, as it all depends on your goals, resources, and how much control you want over data.

As a rule of thumb, though, build your own prospecting list if:

• You want maximum targeting precision
• You’re focusing on a specific niche or region
• You plan to personalize your outreach based on firmographic or behavioral details
• You want to control list quality and ensure compliance from the start

The DIY approach will take more time, for sure. But it will also give you cleaner data, stronger personalization opportunities, and higher conversions over time.

On the other hand, you can buy a prospect list if:

• You need to test the market fast
• You're launching a short-term campaign with looser targeting requirements
• You don’t have internal resources or time to build a list manually

A word of caution here: cheap lists most often equal bad lists. 

Especially beware of providers offering "10,000 emails for $20" type of deals, generic or outdated contact info, free email domains (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo), and so on.

Bottom line: If your team has the bandwidth (or the right tools), building your own prospecting list pays off long-term. But if you do buy a list, make sure it’s from a trusted, verified source. And still clean and verify it before use!

Downloadable prospecting list templates

Ready to hit the ground running?

We’ve created a few pre-formatted CSV templates that serve a dual purpose:

• You can use them to gather and organize prospect data during the research phase,
• And you can import that same list directly into Skylead to automate and personalize your outreach.

Each template comes with pre-named columns that follow Skylead’s variable naming conventions. That means once you’ve filled in your prospect data, the platform will automatically recognize each field (e.g., first name, job title, company) as a variable to use for a more personalized outreach.

Note: While prospecting lists are mainly used for research and segmentation, they can also double as “outreach lists” when used with automation tools. That’s exactly what these templates are built for, so you don’t have to start from scratch.

You can download and use the following sales prospecting list templates as is. Or, add any column you like to enrich it further. Should you choose to do so, make sure to follow the naming conventions, so Skylead can recognize the columns as custom variables.

Here’s a video that guides you through the process.

Template 1: Basic prospecting list

Ideal for straightforward outreach campaigns, this template includes the following information:

• First Name
• Last Name
• LinkedIn Profile URL
• Job Title
• Company Name
• Business Email
• Phone Number
• Location
• Industry
• Company Size
• Company Website
• Custom Intro Message

Download link

Template 2: Advanced prospecting list

For campaigns requiring deeper personalization, this template incorporates additional fields:

• First Name
• Last Name
• LinkedIn Profile URL
• Job Title
• Company Name
• Business Email
• Phone Number
• Seniority Level
• Department
• Company Website
• Custom Intro Message
• Industry
• Company Size
• Location
• Technologies Used
• Recent Funding
• Hiring Activity
• Pain Points
• Lead Source
• Lead Score
• Notes

Download link

Template 3: Intent-based prospecting list

Designed to target high-intent prospects, this template focuses on behavioral signals:

• First Name
• Last Name
• LinkedIn Profile URL
• Job Title
• Company Name
• Business Email
• Phone Number
• Location
• Industry
• Company Size
• Company Website
• Custom Intro Message
• Recent Funding
• Hiring Activity
• Technology Stack Changes
• Website Visits
• Engaged with Content
• Lead Score
• Notes

Download link

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What’s the difference between a lead list and a prospecting list?

A lead list is a broad collection of contacts who have shown some initial interest in your business, such as through website signups or ad clicks. These leads are typically unqualified and sit at the top of your sales funnel. A prospecting list, on the other hand, is a curated and refined list of leads who match your ICP. These contacts have been vetted through research and are more likely to convert.

What tools are best for prospecting?

It depends on your stack, but a typical setup includes:

• LinkedIn Sales Navigator (for LinkedIn prospecting)
• B2B Lead databases like ZoomInfo
• Email verifiers like NeverBounce or Hunter
• Outreach platforms like Skylead to tie it all together

If you’re using Skylead, though, many of these steps are automated. In fact, you can enrich, verify, and launch an email and LinkedIn lead generation campaign without switching tools.

What are the 5 P's of prospecting?

The 5 P’s of prospecting stand for:

• Profile - Know your ICP and buyer personas
• Prioritize - Focus on the best-fit, most-likely-to-convert accounts
• Prepare - Research your prospects and personalize your message
• Prospect - Reach out across multiple channels (for example, email, LinkedIn, etc.)
• Persist - Follow up consistently and track engagement

Is buying a prospecting list illegal?

No, but it can get you in trouble if it violates GDPR, CAN-SPAM, or other privacy laws. If you decide to buy one, always buy from a reputable source, verify the data, and follow best practices like including opt-out links and avoiding personal emails.

What data is essential for cold outreach?

At minimum, make sure your list includes:

• Full name
• Job title
• Company name
• Business email address (verified)
• LinkedIn profile URL (if applicable)

Bonus points if you also have:

• Industry
• Company size
• Location
• Buyer intent data (e.g. recent funding, new hires)
• Preferred outreach channel (email, LinkedIn, phone)

How often should I update my prospecting list?

At least once per quarter. That’s because B2B data decays fast, as people switch jobs, companies reorganize, and contact info changes. Thus, regular updates help avoid bounces and keep your outreach relevant.

A strong prospecting list = stronger outreach

Your sales outreach is only as good as the prospecting list it’s built on.

After all, the more intentional you are about who you add — and why — the easier it becomes to write relevant messages, personalize at scale, and actually book meetings.

So, whether you’re building your prospecting list from scratch or just cleaning up an old one, follow the steps in this guide to keep your pipeline filled with high-fit, high-intent prospects.

And if you’re ready to save 11+ hours a week on prospecting AND outreach while keeping everything in one place, Skylead’s here to help.

With features like:

• LinkedIn automation
• Unlimited email outreach
• Smart sequences
• Email discovery & verification
• Email warm-up
• And even image & GIF personalization

…we give you everything you need to build, manage, and activate your prospecting list.

Don’t believe us? Sign up for your 7-day free trial and see so for yourself!