B2B prospecting: finding the companies that need you now

B2B prospecting is a business looking for other businesses as customers. It works like any sales prospecting, with one difference that changes everything: you are not selling to someone buying for themselves, but to someone deciding for an organisation, often together with others.

What makes B2B prospecting different?

• You target twice. First a company (industry, size, region), then a person in that company (the role that decides).
• The cycle is longer. Between the first message and the signature there may be several exchanges, a trial, an internal sign-off.
• Timing matters more than the pitch. A company changes supplier or tool at specific moments: growth, a new director, a problem that becomes visible.

How do you target the right companies?

Official company registers give each business an activity code and a headcount band, which describe a target without ambiguity. Add the region if your offer is local.

Then look for the moment. A company that is hiring, has just been created, has a new director, or whose manager posts about a subject that concerns you is more likely to have a need today than the rest.

Who should you contact in the company?

In a small business, the founder decides almost everything. In a larger company, look for the role that owns the problem you solve: finance for an accounting tool, sales leadership for a sales tool.

Writing to the wrong person, even in the right company, is the same as not writing. The good news: the signal often names the person. The legal announcement names the new director, the LinkedIn post has an author.

How do you find reliable contact details?

Two channels are enough in most cases: the LinkedIn profile and the work email. Searching the company first, then the person by job title, we found 17 of the 18 addresses we looked for in our own campaign.

LinkedIn or email: which channel should you choose?

They complement each other. LinkedIn shows who you are and allows a light first contact, the connection request. Email allows a more developed message and reaches people who are rarely on LinkedIn. A short sequence can combine both: request, message once accepted, then an email if LinkedIn stays silent.

On the email side, three precautions protect deliverability:

• send from a domain dedicated to prospecting rather than your main one;
• authenticate that domain (SPF, DKIM, DMARC);
• keep volumes modest per mailbox.

How do you write a first message people read?

Three sentences: what you saw at their company, what it often implies for a company like theirs, and one simple question. The message is about their situation, not your offer. No attachment, no link, no request for a thirty-minute call.

What does GDPR say about B2B prospecting?

Under GDPR, B2B prospecting can rely on legitimate interest when the message concerns the recipient's professional role. The person must be able to object simply, from the first message, and be told where their data comes from. So keep, for each prospect, the source and date of every fact.

Rules on emailing businesses vary between European countries: France allows it without prior consent, Germany for instance is stricter. Check the rules of the country you write to.

How do you measure what works?

Track the reply rate per signal and per message, not just the volume sent. B2B prospecting improves by keeping the signals that lead to conversations and dropping those that do not.