Web search engines
Fine for looking at a handful of companies or a very unusual market. Everything else you copy by hand, one by one.
Find companies
Find companies that fit before you spend the morning researching them.
Describe the market and see what the first search brings back. You refine the criteria on those results and go deeper only on the accounts that justify the work.
Industry, city, company type and people, in a single search.
The first list is almost never the one you will work.
A broad category brings noise. A search that is too strict leaves real opportunities out. Searching well means learning from the market on every pass and correcting without starting over.
Where does everyone search today, and what does each option miss?
Directories and business profiles
Good local coverage, with category, location and public data. You are left removing duplicates, sorting and finding out who decides at each company.
Networks and B2B databases
They let you search companies and people by professional attributes. Coverage changes from country to country and the filters get heavy.
All-in-one platforms
They join search, context and follow-up. They are worth it if they remove work, not if they only add sources to the same mess.
Start by describing who you want to sell to
- What kind of company can buy from you
- Which city it operates in
- What size or characteristics matter to you
- Which role decides the purchase
- Which signals give you a reason to write
Which source fits what you are looking for?
LeadCanvas picks the type of source based on what the query is about. Google Maps solves local coverage, not corporate searches. LinkedIn solves roles and people, not the business around the corner. Both live together in the dual search, and when the account is large the next step is finding decision-makers.
Try it with your own market
Write who you are looking for and see the first search with its contact channels and signals.
Try LeadCanvasExplore the workflow with your own market.
This is what a query that works looks like
- “Dental clinics with more than one location in Bogotá”
- “Logistics companies in Mexico with WhatsApp”
- “Purchasing managers at hotel chains in Spain”
- “Restaurant software companies in Argentina”
Segment without overfitting
Useful segmentation separates what is required from what is preferred. For example:
- Required: hotels operating in Spain
- Preferred: more than one location
- Preferred: with an identifiable operations manager
- Signal: active ads or recent reviews
If everything is required, the list ends at twenty companies. If nothing is, the noise comes back. LeadCanvas tells the two levels apart and shows you what to move to correct it.
How many companies should a search bring back?
A thousand companies with no criteria pay off less than one hundred accounts you can explain. Before asking for more volume, check:
- That they really belong to the industry you want
- No closed businesses and no duplicates
- Locations counted only once
- In the area where you sell
- With the contact channel you need published
- A volume you can reach out to this week
Once the search works, save it
Query, criteria, exclusions and territory stay saved, so you repeat the same process every week or every month. You should not have to remember from memory how you built the list that did work.
Finding is half of it. Then you decide where to go deeper.
Preparation turns a result into an account with context. Keeping the two stages apart avoids spending time and credits on companies that have not shown fit yet.
“LeadCanvas gives a sales team the context to start with a useful conversation.”LeadCanvas customer · Trustpilot
“The workflow is clear, fast and easy to use when you are building a list from scratch.”LeadCanvas customer · Trustpilot
Frequently asked questions
Can I search by city or by country?
Yes, when the source supports that criterion. For people it is better to go by the company location: the profile usually shows where the person lives.
Can I correct the criteria?
Yes. LeadCanvas shows you how it interpreted what you wrote and you can edit each criterion before moving on.
What happens with duplicates?
Results are deduplicated, so the same business does not show up twice within the same search.
Write who you are looking for and leave today with the companies and their phone numbers.
Create a search, refine the criteria and choose where to go deeper.