For marketing agencies, having a strong lead list is essential for acquiring new clients and growing their business. In this blog post, we'll explore how to build a lead list using Apollo, a powerful sales intelligence and engagement platform. We'll cover various strategies and techniques shared by Josh Garrison, VP of Product Education and Content Marketing at Apollo, during a webinar on building amazing lead lists.

Defining Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

Before diving into list building, it's crucial to define your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). As Garrison states, "A good list looks like...meaningful information about our prospects." This means identifying the characteristics of companies that are most likely to benefit from your agency's services. Consider factors such as:

• Industry: Which industries are you targeting?
• Company Size: Are you focusing on startups, small businesses, or large enterprises?
• Location: Are you targeting specific geographic regions?
• Technologies Used: Are there specific technologies or tools that your ideal clients use?
• Job Postings: Are they hiring for roles that indicate a need for your services?
• Intent Data: Are they showing interest in topics related to your services?

Utilizing Apollo's Filters

Apollo offers a wide range of filters that allow you to build highly targeted lead lists. Garrison emphasizes that "smaller, highly specific lists are better than bigger generic lists." He recommends using a combination of basic and pivot filters to achieve this.

Basic Filters:

• Email Status: Start by selecting "Verified" to ensure you're only targeting contacts with valid email addresses.
• Job Titles: Use job titles to identify key decision-makers or influencers within your target companies. You can also use the "Include Past Job Titles" filter to target individuals with relevant experience.
• Industry and Keywords: Use industry filters or keywords to target specific industries. If you can't find your exact industry, use keywords to narrow down your search.
• Location: Use location filters to target specific geographic regions or even search within a radius of a specific zip code.
• Management Level: Use management level filters to target specific levels of seniority within organizations.
• Number of Employees: Use this filter to target companies based on their size.

Pivot Filters:

Pivot filters are those that "anything else you do after you apply it is going to reference that filter," says Garrison. These filters provide valuable insights that you can use to personalize your outreach and make it more relevant to your prospects.

Some examples of pivot filters include:

• Technologies: Target companies based on the technologies they use. This can help you tailor your messaging to their specific needs and demonstrate your expertise.
• Job Postings: Target companies that are hiring for roles related to your services. This indicates a potential need for your agency's expertise.
• Buying Intent: Target companies that are showing high intent for topics related to your services. This suggests they're actively researching and considering solutions like yours.

Building Mutually Exclusive Lists

Garrison also highlights the importance of building mutually exclusive lists to avoid sending the same message to the same people multiple times. For example, you can create separate lists for companies with high buying intent and companies that are hiring for marketing roles. This allows you to tailor your messaging to each group and avoid redundancy.

Additional Tips

• Use the Knowledge Base: Apollo's knowledge base provides detailed information on all the available filters and how to use them effectively.
• Get Phone Numbers: Use Apollo to find phone numbers for your leads so you can incorporate cold calling into your outreach strategy.
• Use the "Date Refreshed" Filter: This filter allows you to target contacts that have been recently updated in Apollo, ensuring you have the most accurate information.
• Consider SIC Codes: If you're targeting a specific industry, you can use SIC codes to further refine your search.

By following these strategies and utilizing Apollo's powerful features, marketing agencies can build highly targeted lead lists that drive business growth and success. Remember, as Garrison emphasizes, "the quality of your list" is paramount to your success in outbound sales.

You can watch the full webinar here.