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Five Tips on Buying Lists

While your most valuable list is your existing customer and prospect database, you probably have goals that necessitate acquiring external third-party lists to generate new leads and expand product/company awareness. But what’s the best way to acquire such a list? How can you recognize a reputable list provider? Here are some pointers.

  1. Evaluate and engage a reputable list provider. Don’t trust unsolicited email offers, especially if you can’t find any further information about the sender’s business. Begin with a referral from someone you know. A trustworthy list broker or trade association or publication provides his/her name, address, and phone number. Call them and ask how long they’ve been in business, what their processes are, and what they offer. A reputable company will answer your questions and readily provide a sample list and quote, as well as guarantee your list purchase—replacing undeliverable contacts.

  2. Understand list usage requirements: one-time use is typical. In most cases you’re really “renting” the list and you only have the right to keep the contact data for contacts who respond to your outreach. However, we know that not everyone responds to the same communication format so you’ll want to send a message using various means (mail, phone, and email). In that case, you’ll need to acquire a list for multiple or unlimited use.

  3. Be clear about what you need. Do you need names, titles, mailing addresses, phone numbers, emails, or all of the above? Are you targeting specific industries, company sizes (stated in revenue or employees), job titles, locations? An experienced list provider will listen to what you want to accomplish and help guide you in your specifications to ensure the list fulfills your requirements. Not all list brokers provide emails, and you should be cautious when buying email lists.

  4. Have a process for collecting response data. You own the response information, whether the source list was designated for one-time use or unlimited use. Mark the date of each record update. Be sure to maintain a “do not mail” list so you can fulfill the recipient’s request to be removed.

  5. Use the list soon. An aging list is more like an open box of crackers than a bottle of fine wine. People change jobs and companies, making a six-month-old list stale. Don’t buy it if you’re going to sit on it; be sure to use it as soon as possible while the content is still fairly fresh.

Remember, the success of any revenue generation work is dependent on the contact list, so be diligent about acquiring, using, and maintaining your list.