Company discovery
How to find customers: a B2B prospecting plan for small businesses
Choose between referrals, local company research, trade shows, useful content and follow-up. Turn those channels into a practical weekly sales routine.
Start with a specific type of business that could need your product. Combine referrals, trade shows, local company research and helpful content to identify prospects. Verify each company, choose an appropriate contact channel and record the next step before expanding your list.
1. Define a buyer you can serve
Write down your product, buyer type and service area. A packaging supplier might research food manufacturers near its delivery routes; a maintenance company might begin with factories in one industrial region. Choose three criteria such as activity, delivery distance and order requirements. Remove companies that do not fit before spending time collecting more details.
2. Match the channel to the buying process
Referrals build on an existing relationship. Trade shows suit purchases that benefit from seeing a product. Local research identifies companies in a defined market. Helpful website content can attract buyers researching a problem. Previous quotations provide a reason to reconnect when circumstances change. Track the source of each prospect so you can compare meaningful conversations and quotations, not just list size.
3. Build a useful company list
In MapFirms, choose a trade, country and region. Search with the local sector name and an alternative term. Select the map sources, open datasets or directories relevant to your market; coverage varies. Check websites and business activities before prioritising contacts. A large list does not establish purchasing intent. Understand company data sources.
4. Start with a relevant business need
Check the published business contact channel and the rules applicable to your outreach. Explain briefly why the company could benefit. For example: “Who handles packaging specifications for your food deliveries, and may I share our product information?” Record objections and do-not-contact requests. Personal relevance and appropriate permissions matter more than sending a large number of messages.
5. Use a weekly routine
On Monday define the segment and geography. On Tuesday verify prospects and remove duplicates. On Wednesday contact suitable businesses. On Thursday send requested information or quotations. On Friday review conversations, quotations and follow-up dates. MapFirms company statuses, notes and mobile continuation support this workflow. Measure progress from conversation to quotation and sale rather than treating every discovered company as a customer.
Before you move on
- Buyer segment and geography are defined
- Every prospect has a source and a reason for fit
- Conversations, quotations and follow-up dates are tracked separately
Try it with your own market
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