The Essential Checklist to Finding  a Decent Leads Database Provider

How to Select the Right Database Vendor? Criteria or Requirements

B2B businesses without a doubt face certain challenges that get in the way of their revenue goals. For sure, these businesses need to do whatever it takes to place their brand front and center and, more importantly, make sure that they are able to generate as many sales opportunities as possible.

However, not all strategies work. And we have to expect that each technique or method we apply has a certain caveat that needs to be addressed. This situation further places B2B enterprises in a dilemma that involves choosing to decide which strategies to implement. In terms of generating high-quality B2B leads, enterprises have to spend a lot of time generating their own lists of contacts to pursue. To this end, companies spend a lot of time and resources creating their own mailing lists from scratch.

While this has been very much possible for big brands that already maintain a portfolio of industry-specific business contacts, those that are still in the age of B2B infancy will have to create their own lists out of nothing. This, of course, entails a difficult and extensive process that will get neophyte startup execs scratching their heads.

But there is actually no reason for them to be all pessimistic as there are tons of lead generation services that offer the solutions these businesses need to feed their pipelines with the right leads – for an investment that’s right for the pocket, of course.

If you seek to generate a good bulk of B2B leads based on your target audience, the right way to go about it is to purchase a ready list from a database provider. B2B marketing services maintain lists of verified contacts that are ready to be engaged and nurtured. Buying these lists from them means avoiding the often complex task of list building and putting you directly into the action.

Still, for businesses that have not yet bought marketing lists before, it pays to know where to find the right provider.

When you are in the search for the right service to purchase, here are some things you need to put on your checklist.

Price

As a business owner yourself, you need to find cost-efficient solutions to certain issues that are costing you money in the first place. Just like when you are out shopping for new kicks, you need to take a gander at the price tag and see if you can negotiate a lower price.This won’t be easy actually since cheaper lists imply lower quality contacts. To be able to get the most out of your leads, of course, you have to pay a great deal, but that doesn’t mean you are not allowed to scale the price down.Ask the provider if the price can still be negotiated and see if there are any trade-offs.

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Quality

It’s true: price does not necessarily define the value of a product. You can buy a golden pen and not use it as the writing instrument it is meant to be. With that, you will have to get assurances that the lists do contain responsive contacts that have recently been updated.

While people will continue to assume that marketing lists contain invalid addresses 90 percent of the time, let’s face it, you still need these lists to remain competitive.

It is just a matter of selecting which service would deliver the best results. As a word of advice, do a background check of the provider before you can even consider sending an inquiry. Take a look at reviews and testimonials from current and previous clients and you will have the information you need to decide on which service to hire.

Related: Declare Your Independence from Bad Data: A 5-Step Plan

Deliverability

When buying a marketing list from a lead generation service, make sure that the contacts will actually translate to leads. To find that out, you simply look at the response rates from a particular segment of the list. Bounce-backs will obviously do you no good, so it really pays to watch your stats and see if your campaign is getting inquiries and the like. Deliverability issues mean that you are sending to invalid addresses, putting your email campaign right in the corner. Do not let this happen by asking the provider a test run of a certain group of contacts from the list before you even consider buying it.

Related: Why IT Companies Say List Buying is Bad…And Why They Can Be Wrong!