Build a Targeted Prospect List

Help the user build a targeted B2B prospect list — from ICP definition through filter strategy, list sizing, segmentation, and quality checks. This skill is platform-agnostic but references Apollo.io as the primary tool. The same frameworks apply to ZoomInfo, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Clay, Lusha, or any data provider.

Step 1 — Gather context

Ask the user:

Who are you trying to reach?
- A) I have a clear ICP — I know the titles, industries, and company sizes
- B) I have a rough idea — need help refining it
- C) Starting from scratch — help me define who to target
- D) I have an existing list that needs filtering/cleaning
What's the campaign goal?
- A) Cold outbound — net-new pipeline generation
- B) ABM — targeted outreach to named accounts
- C) Event follow-up — building a list around a conference/webinar
- D) Expansion — finding new contacts at existing customer accounts
- E) Competitive displacement — targeting competitors' customers
- F) Other — describe it
What data provider(s) do you have access to?
- A) Apollo.io
- B) LinkedIn Sales Navigator
- C) ZoomInfo
- D) Clay
- E) Lusha / Cognism / other
- F) Just a CRM with existing data
- G) None yet — recommend one
How many prospects do you need? (rough target — 100? 500? 5,000?)

If the user's request already provides most of this context, skip directly to the relevant step. Lead with your best-effort answer using reasonable assumptions (stated explicitly), then ask only the most critical 1-2 clarifying questions at the end — don't gate your response behind gathering complete context.

Step 2 — Define the ICP

Build a structured ICP using four dimensions:

Firmographic filters (company-level)

Filter	Questions to ask	Example values
Industry	What industries are your best customers in?	SaaS, Financial Services, Healthcare
Company size	How many employees? What revenue range?	50-500 employees, $10M-$100M revenue
Geography	Where are your target companies?	US, UK, DACH region
Funding stage	Do you target by funding?	Series A-C, bootstrapped, public
Technology	What tech stack signals a good fit?	Uses Salesforce, runs Kubernetes, has React in stack

Demographic filters (person-level)

Filter	Questions to ask	Example values
Job title	What titles do you sell to?	VP Engineering, Head of Sales, CTO
Seniority	What level of decision-maker?	Director+, VP+, C-suite
Department	Which function?	Engineering, Sales, Marketing, Finance
Job function	What do they actually do?	People management, IC, operations

Behavioral/signal filters

Filter	Questions to ask	Example values
Hiring signals	Are they hiring for roles your product replaces/supports?	Posting for SDRs, data engineers
Funding	Recent funding that creates budget?	Raised Series B in last 6 months
Job changes	New leaders who bring new tools?	Started VP role in last 90 days
Intent	Researching topics related to your product?	Intent topics in your category
Tech install	Recently adopted complementary/competitive tech?	Added Snowflake, removed competitor

Negative filters (who to exclude)

Existing customers
Companies in active deals
Do-not-contact list
Companies too small or too large
Industries you don't serve
Geographies you can't support

Step 3 — Build the list

Filter strategy by persona

For each persona in the ICP, design the filter combination:

Primary persona (highest priority):

Filters: [specific combination]
Expected list size: [estimate]
Quality check: Does every record on this list make sense as a prospect?

Secondary persona (if applicable):

Filters: [adjusted combination]
Expected list size: [estimate]

List sizing guidance

Campaign type	Recommended list size	Why
Hyper-targeted ABM	25-100	Quality over quantity — deep personalization per account
Focused outbound	200-500	Manageable for Level 3+ personalization
Scaled outbound	500-2,000	Balanced scale with Level 2 personalization
High-volume outbound	2,000-10,000	Volume play — Level 1-2 personalization, A/B testing at scale

The right size depends on your personalization capacity. A list of 5,000 is useless if your team can only personalize 50 emails per week.

In Apollo.io

Use Apollo's People Search with these filter categories:

Job Titles: Use "is any of" for title matching — Apollo supports exact and fuzzy matching
Seniority: Filter by management level (C-suite, VP, Director, Manager)
Company: Employee count ranges, revenue ranges, industry tags
Location: Country, state, city, or metro area
Technologies: Filter by tech stack (Apollo tracks 10,000+ technologies)
Signals: Job changes, funding events, hiring activity

Save the search as a dynamic list — new matches will appear automatically.

Exporting for Mailshake

Export CSV with columns mapping to Mailshake recipient fields
Required:
```
email
```
(only mandatory column)
Recommended:
```
first
```
,
```
last
```
,
```
company
```
,
```
title
```
→ merge fields {{first}}, {{last}}, {{company}}, {{title}}
Custom fields: additional CSV columns become custom merge fields
Pre-send: verify emails before import — Mailshake does not verify on upload. See
```
/sales-deliverability
```

Importing into Lemlist

CSV import: Upload CSV with
```
email
```
as the only required column. Recommended fields:
```
firstName
```
,
```
lastName
```
,
```
companyName
```
, plus any custom fields for personalization variables.
API import:
```
POST /api/campaigns/{id}/leads
```
with lead objects containing email and custom variables. See
```
/sales-lemlist
```
→
```
references/lemlist-api-reference.md
```
. Rate limit: 20 requests per 2 seconds.
People Database: Alternative to external list building — Lemlist's built-in 600M+ contact database with smart filtering (title, seniority, industry, company size, intent signals). Leads are pre-verified. Pay per lead via credits.
CRM import: Import leads directly from connected HubSpot, Salesforce, or Pipedrive via the CRM integration.
Pre-send: Enable Lemwarm on all email accounts and warm up 3-5 weeks before launching sequences. Verify emails before import to keep bounce rate <3%.

Importing into Yesware

Individual add: Add recipients one at a time within a campaign — enter name, email, and custom fields
Bulk import: Upload a CSV or import from Salesforce list views (Enterprise plan)
Prospector: Alternatively, use Yesware's built-in Prospector (100M+ B2B contacts) to find and add leads directly — search by title, industry, company size, and more
Salesforce import: Enterprise plan users can import leads/contacts directly from Salesforce list views into campaigns
Pre-send: Verify emails before import — Yesware does not verify on upload. Keep bounce rate <3%.
Recipient limits: Free plan = 10 recipients/month, Pro = 20/month, Premium+ = unlimited

Importing into Mixmax

From Gmail: Mixmax lives in Gmail — any contact you email is automatically available
From CSV: Upload CSV to add recipients to sequences (map email, first name, last name, custom fields)
From Salesforce: Import Salesforce leads/contacts directly into sequences (Growth+CRM plan); use Salesforce list views or reports as source
From HubSpot: Import HubSpot contact lists into Mixmax sequences (Growth plan)
Via API:
```
POST /sequences/:id/recipients
```
to programmatically add recipients to a sequence
Via rules: Auto-enroll contacts based on Salesforce triggers (e.g., new lead created → add to sequence)
Limits: Recipient limits per sequence vary by plan; check Mixmax plan details

Importing into Smartlead

CSV import: Upload CSV with
```
email
```
as the only required column. Recommended fields:
```
first_name
```
,
```
last_name
```
,
```
company
```
, plus any custom fields for merge variables.

API import:

POST /api/v1/campaigns/{id}/leads

with a

lead_list

array containing lead objects. See

/sales-smartlead

→

references/smartlead-api-reference.md

SmartProspect: Alternative to external list building — Smartlead's built-in verified lead database with intent signals. 3x email verification (syntax, domain, mailbox). Pay per verified lead via credits.
Pre-send: Verify emails before import to keep bounce rate <3%. SmartProspect leads are pre-verified; external lists are not.

Importing into Woodpecker

From Lead Finder: Built-in B2B database with 1B+ leads — search by company, title, industry, location. Uses data credits (400 free, more from €28/2K credits). Export directly into campaigns.
From CSV: Upload CSV to add prospects to campaigns (map email, first name, last name, company, custom fields)
From Google Sheets: Native integration for ongoing prospect sync
From HubSpot/Pipedrive: Native CRM integrations sync contacts into Woodpecker
Via API:
```
POST /prospects
```
to create prospects, then add to campaigns via campaign endpoints
Via Zapier/Clay: Connect any lead source to Woodpecker prospect creation
Auto-verification: Woodpecker automatically validates prospect emails via Bouncer when added — invalid emails are flagged before sending
Limits: Pricing based on "contacted prospects" per month — every new person added to a campaign counts against limit

Importing into Reply.io

From B2B database: Reply.io has a built-in database of 1B+ contacts — search by industry, company size, title, location, tech stack. Use data credits to reveal emails/phones.
From CSV: Upload CSV to add contacts to sequences (map email, first name, last name, company, custom fields)
From Chrome extension: Reply.io email finder extension finds emails while browsing LinkedIn or company websites
From Salesforce/HubSpot: Native 2-way sync imports CRM contacts directly into Reply.io
Via API:
```
POST /contacts
```
to create contacts, then add to sequences via Sequence Contacts endpoints
Via Zapier/Make: Connect any lead source to Reply.io contact creation
Limits: Unlimited contact storage on Multichannel plan; data credits required for B2B database reveals

Step 4 — Segment and prioritize

Split the list into tiers for sequencing:

Tier	Criteria	Volume	Approach
Tier 1 — Hot	Matches ICP + has buying signal (intent, job change, funding)	10-20% of list	Highest personalization, multi-channel, fastest follow-up
Tier 2 — Warm	Matches ICP, no signal but strong fit	30-40% of list	Standard personalization, proven sequence
Tier 3 — Broad	Partial ICP match, worth testing	40-50% of list	Template-based, A/B test messaging

Lead qualification scoring

Use a weighted scoring model to rank prospects numerically, not just by tier. This gives you a concrete starting point that you can tune based on conversion data.

Criterion	Weight	What to score	Example: 80+ = Tier 1
Title/role match	30%	How closely does the prospect's title match your buyer persona?	VP Engineering = 30, Director = 20, Manager = 10
Company size fit	25%	Does the company fall within your ICP's employee/revenue range?	Sweet spot = 25, adjacent = 15, edge = 5
Industry match	20%	Is the company in a target industry?	Primary industry = 20, adjacent = 10, other = 0
Role recency	15%	How recently did they start this role? (New leaders buy)	<90 days = 15, 90-365 days = 10, >1 year = 5
Buying signals	10%	Intent data, hiring signals, funding, tech changes	Active signal = 10, weak signal = 5, none = 0

Total: 100 points max. Tier 1 = 80+, Tier 2 = 50-79, Tier 3 = 30-49, Skip = <30.

Tune these weights for your motion: outbound-heavy teams should increase company size and industry weight; signal-rich teams (PLG, intent-driven) should increase buying signals weight. Review and recalibrate quarterly using actual reply/meeting rates per score band.

Personalization angles

Capture personalization angles during list building — not later at outreach time. This bridges the gap between list building and sequence writing and makes the handoff to

/sales-cadence

much smoother.

Tier	What to capture	Why it matters
Tier 1 — Hot	Recent company news, specific tech stack observations, mutual connections, recent job change context, funding details	These prospects get the most personalized outreach — you need concrete hooks
Tier 2 — Warm	Industry pain points, company growth stage, hiring patterns, competitive tool usage	Personalization at the segment level — "companies like yours" not "your specific situation"
Tier 3 — Broad	Industry vertical, company size band, persona-level pain points	Template-level personalization — enough to feel relevant, not enough to be bespoke

For each Tier 1 prospect, note at least 2 personalization angles during list building. For Tier 2, note 1 per prospect or 1 per segment. Tier 3 gets segment-level angles only.

Segmentation variables

Beyond tiers, consider segmenting by:

Industry — messaging should reflect industry-specific pain points
Persona — a VP of Engineering and a CTO need different messaging
Company size — SMB and enterprise have different buying processes
Geography — timezone, language, regional references

Each segment should have tailored messaging in the sequence. One generic sequence for the whole list will underperform.

Step 5 — Quality checks

Before launching outreach, validate the list:

Data quality checklist

Titles make sense: Scan for false positives (e.g., "VP" in a 5-person company is different from VP at a Fortune 500)
Companies are real targets: Spot-check 10-15 companies — would you actually want them as customers?
No existing customers: Cross-reference against CRM customer list
No active deals: Cross-reference against open pipeline
Contact info exists: Filter out records with no email or phone before enrichment credits are spent
Duplicates removed: Dedup by email address and company+name
Compliance checked: GDPR opt-in required for EU contacts, CAN-SPAM compliance for US

List health metrics

Metric	Target	If below...
% with verified email	>80%	Enrich before sequencing — see `/sales-enrich`
% with phone number	>40%	Acceptable for email-first sequences; enrich for phone-heavy cadences
% matching all ICP criteria	>70%	Tighten filters — too many partial matches dilute effectiveness
Bounce rate (after first send)	<3%	List quality issue — use verification tools before sending

Gotchas

Don't build a list without defining the ICP first. Claude tends to jump straight to filter recommendations. A list without a clear ICP is just a random collection of people. Always start with "who are your best customers?" and work backward.
Don't optimize for list size over quality. Claude defaults to loosening filters to "get more results." A list of 200 perfect-fit prospects outperforms a list of 5,000 partial matches. Push back when the user asks for more volume at the expense of targeting.
Don't ignore negative filters. Excluding existing customers, active deals, and do-not-contact lists is as important as the inclusion criteria. Claude often forgets to ask about exclusions.
Don't assume job titles are standardized. "VP of Engineering" and "Vice President, Engineering" and "VP Engineering" are all the same person. "Head of Growth" could be marketing or sales. Always recommend title fuzzy matching or use Apollo's seniority filters alongside title keywords.
Don't skip the segmentation step. A flat, unsegmented list leads to generic messaging. Every list should be split into at least 2-3 segments based on persona, industry, or signal strength.

Related skills

```
/sales-enrich
```
— Enrich your list with verified emails, phones, and firmographic data
```
/sales-intent
```
— Layer buying signals on top of your list to prioritize outreach
```
/sales-cadence
```
— Design the outbound sequence for your list
```
/sales-apollo
```
— Apollo.io platform help (search mechanics, saved searches, Chrome extension)
```
/sales-apollo-sequences
```
— Set up and manage sequences in Apollo
```
/sales-deliverability
```
— Verify email deliverability setup before sending to your list
```
/sales-mailshake
```
— Mailshake platform help (import recipients, manage campaigns)
```
/sales-smartlead
```
— Smartlead platform help (import leads, SmartProspect, campaigns)
```
/sales-lemlist
```
— Lemlist platform help (import leads, People Database, sequences)
```
/sales-yesware
```
— Yesware platform help (import recipients, Prospector, campaigns)
```
/sales-mixmax
```
— Mixmax platform help (for Mixmax-specific setup)
```
/sales-reply
```
— Reply.io platform help (for Reply.io-specific setup)
```
/sales-woodpecker
```
— Woodpecker platform help (for Woodpecker-specific setup)
```
/sales-do
```
— Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill. Install:
```
npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skills sales-do
```

Examples

Example 1: Building a cold outbound list

User says: "Build a list of VP Engineering at Series B SaaS companies with 100-500 employees in the US" Skill does:

Confirms ICP dimensions (title, funding stage, size, geography)
Recommends Apollo search filters with exact settings
Suggests list size of 300-500, segmented by sub-industry (DevTools, MarTech, FinTech)
Provides quality checks before launching sequences Result: Targeted, segmented list ready for personalized outreach

Example 2: ABM target account list

User says: "I need to find the buying committee at 20 target accounts in healthcare" Skill does:

Clarifies which 20 accounts and what roles are in the buying committee
Recommends person-level filters per account (CEO, CTO, VP Ops, CISO for each)
Suggests mapping 3-5 contacts per account for multi-threading
Provides an account-level prioritization framework Result: Multi-threaded contact list across 20 accounts, organized by role and engagement priority

Troubleshooting

Too few results

Cause: Filters are too restrictive Solution: Loosen one filter at a time. Start with geography (expand to adjacent markets), then company size (widen the range), then titles (add synonyms). Use Apollo's "similar titles" suggestions.

Too many results

Cause: Filters are too broad Solution: Add a seniority filter (Director+ if you sell to leadership), narrow the industry (sub-industry instead of top-level), or add a technology filter to find companies using complementary tools.

List has low email coverage

Cause: Many records don't have verified emails in the data provider Solution: Use

/sales-enrich

with waterfall enrichment (try multiple providers). For C-suite and VP-level contacts, direct phone outreach may be more effective than email anyway.

sales-prospect-list

NPX Install

Tags

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