Should I subscribe to a prospecting platform or purchase a custom leads list: which option is right for my business?

In today’s competitive B2B landscape, finding potential customers is an essential task for companies to remain relevant. Two common approaches to sourcing new leads are utilizing a sales prospecting tool or buying a customized leads list. While both aim to provide opportunities for customer acquisition, there are significant differences between the two. Keep reading to discover which strategy is right for your business.

Keep in mind that there is some overlap when your business is deciding between purchasing a leads list or using a prospecting platform.

• Targeted lead information: Both options will give you reliable insights and data into the types of leads you want to target. This increases the chance of finding prospects who fit your demographic and want to purchase your products or services.
• Cost effective: In the busy world of B2B marketing, time is money and prospecting for new leads organically is costly. Purchasing a prospecting platform or a leads list takes the headache out of the lead generation process by bringing a fresh pool of leads to you, without relying on referrals or networking.
• CRM integration: When purchasing a leads list or prospecting platform subscription, you want to work with a company that allows for the data to be integrated into your CRM. This will make it easier to leverage the leads in your sales and marketing efforts.

Prospecting platforms: The pros and cons

Let’s dive into how a prospecting platform can help enhance your business’ sales outreach.

Pros

• It’s always on: A sales prospecting platform is always on and ready to generate intuitive leads lists. Simply log into your account and start using intelligent data-driven filters to build the exact leads lists you are looking for.
• Free real-time updates: The right sales prospecting platform will provide reliable and accurate contact information at the click of a button. This includes various communication channels like direct phone numbers, emails and LinkedIn integrations. If a professional changes companies or moves to a different department within an organization, you need to be notified of any changes.
• Scalability: Let’s say you want to promote your business, but you aren’t exactly sure who or where you want to target. A sales prospecting platform allows for scalability to reach a broader audience when you need it.
• Flexible payment options: Subscribing to a sales prospecting tool allows for flexible payment options, including monthly payments.

Cons

• Requires effort: Like any new program, subscribing to a prospecting platform will require some effort. There is a learning curve to use the tool effectively and generate leads lists to fit your search criteria.

Customized leads list: The pros and cons

On the other side of the table is purchasing a customized leads list or lists to target your ideal customers.

Pros

• Turn-key: When purchasing a custom leads list, simply answer a few questions about the kinds of customers you want to target and then a team of prospecting professionals will pull the criteria for you.
• You know exactly who you want to reach: Customized leads lists are great for organizations that have a definitive idea of who their ideal customer is and how they want to reach them.
• Time-saving: Do you work on a small team with limited capacity? Then purchasing a customized leads list may be the best option for your business. If your organization is stretched thin, it’s simply easier to have the list generated on your behalf, so that your teams can focus on selling instead of building leads lists.

Cons

• Contact information can change: A downside to purchasing a one-time leads list is that professional contact information can change. Professionals can move on to a different company, experience a name or phone number change, move to a different department, etc. A one-time leads list does not provide real-time updates when contact information changes.

Let us help you decide!

When it comes to growing your business, you can’t go wrong with either option listed above. That’s why BizLeads offers both.

BizLeads is a powerful sales prospecting platform powered by The Business Journals, which means our customers have access to more first-party reported data than any other sales prospecting platform on the market. Our team of prospecting professionals can walk you through how to use the BizLeads platform or we can build a customized leads list for you. Schedule a 15 minute BizLeads Demo to decide which option is right for your business.