How to Build Prospect Lists That Do Not Suck

The number one predictor of outbound success is not copy quality, send time, or subject lines. It is list quality. A mediocre email sent to the right 500 people will outperform a masterpiece sent to the wrong 5,000 people. Every time.

The List Quality Spectrum

Terrible: Purchased lists from data brokers. 30-40% bounce rates, no segmentation, contacts have been emailed by every company that bought the same list.

Bad: Single-source data (just ZoomInfo or just Apollo). Better than purchased lists but still has gaps in accuracy, especially for SMB contacts and recent job changes.

Decent: Multi-source data with email verification. Cross-reference two or more providers, verify emails before sending, basic segmentation by title and company size.

Good: Multi-source, verified, enriched with company-level intelligence. You know not just who to email but why they might care, based on recent funding, hiring, technology usage, or industry trends.

Excellent: All of the above plus intent signals and trigger events. You are reaching out at the moment a prospect is most likely to be receptive, with context that proves you did your homework.

How to Get to "Excellent"

Step 1: Define Tight Criteria

Do not start with "B2B SaaS companies." Start with "B2B SaaS companies in the developer tools space, 50-200 employees, Series A-B, based in the US, actively hiring for sales roles."

The tighter the criteria, the higher the reply rate. Period.

Step 2: Source from Multiple Providers

No single data provider has complete, accurate coverage. Use at least two:

• Primary: ZoomInfo, Apollo, or Clearbit for the bulk of your contacts
• Secondary: LinkedIn Sales Navigator for verification and supplemental sourcing
• Supplemental: Industry directories, conference attendee lists, job board postings, community memberships

Step 3: Verify Before You Send

Run every email through a verification service (NeverBounce, ZeroBounce, or similar). Remove anything that is not "valid." Mark "catch-all" domains for lower-priority sending.

This step alone reduces bounce rates from 10-15% to under 3% and protects your sending reputation.

Step 4: Enrich with Context

For every prospect, you should know:

• What their company does (specifically, not just the industry category)
• Recent news or events (funding, hiring, product launches)
• Technology stack (what tools they use that are relevant to your offer)
• Company growth signals (headcount changes, office moves, new markets)

This context powers personalization that actually works.

Step 5: Score and Prioritize

Not all prospects are equal. Score them on:

• Fit score: How closely they match your ICP
• Intent score: How many buying signals they are showing
• Accessibility score: How likely you are to reach the right person

Your best prospects get your best sequences. Your lower-scored prospects get simpler outreach or are saved for later campaigns.

What Ted Does

Ted handles the entire list-building process. ICP definition, multi-source sourcing, verification, enrichment, scoring, and prioritization. You define who you want to reach. Ted builds the list and keeps it current.