prospecting

Start by defining your ICP with firmographic fit, buying signals, and disqualifiers, then source 2-3x your target count from tools like Apollo or ZoomInfo. Score each candidate as Hot, Warm, Cold, or Skip with evidence URLs, and verify all emails before outreach.

Apollo works for firmographic discovery, Clay for multi-source enrichment, Crunchbase for funding signals, and BuiltWith or Wappalyzer for tech stack qualification. Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator manually for decision-maker mapping and Truelist to validate emails.

Search Google Maps manually for your target category and area, then cross-check each business name with a web search to confirm website status. Classify results as no site, social only, weak site, or has site, prioritizing businesses with no standalone site as hot prospects.

No, bulk scraping violates both platforms' terms of service and risks permanent account bans. Use browser-assisted manual research for discovery, and tools like Firecrawl only on individual prospect websites you already found.

Bounce rates above 2% damage sender reputation and are hard to recover from. Data from Apollo or ZoomInfo is often only 60-80% accurate, so run every address through a validator like Truelist and exclude invalid results before sending.

A Hot prospect has strong ICP fit, a clear recent buying signal like a funding round or new hire, an accessible decision-maker, and a verified contact. Warm prospects fit the ICP but have older or softer signals, while Cold leads lack signals or verified contacts.