The Ultimate Guide to B2B List Building in 2025

We all know leads are necessary to grow your customer base and business. 

But how to build your lead list is where many marketers scratch their heads.

It reminds me of this quote from the famous TV series The Office:

That’s because list-building strategies for B2C and B2B are completely different.

In fact, it’s even different between companies in the same niche. 

We will talk about building a B2C list another day.

In this blog, I’ll help you build your B2B list and address challenges like:

• Finding quality leads
• Ensuring data accuracy and compliance
• Strategies suitable for low and high-resource brands

Let’s start then!

8 Ways to Build a B2B List

These are the channels that I used (and am still using) to generate high-quality leads. Choose the ones that suit your requirements:

1. Buy Leads From Trusted Sources
2. Use Content Marketing to Bring In Leads
3. Find Leads Using Social Media
4. Use an Online Directory for Collecting Data Manually
5. Launch Referral and Affiliate Programs
6. Trade Shows and Events
7. Partner With Other Businesses
8. With Webinars

1. Buy Leads From Trusted Sources

Time is money. 

So, rather than spending time and resources to build your lead list, it’s best to buy directly from an existing source.

Today, there are many reputed data providers who specialize in B2B lists and can offer data based on your requirements. 

You will easily be able to narrow down your leads based on advanced filters such as industry, company size, role& department, location, skills, years of experience, company name/domain etc.

However, you can’t just buy leads from random sources. Why? Check this 👇

Now, there are certain things to keep in mind when you buy B2B leads:

• Data Accuracy: Ensure the data is updated frequently and is correct.
• Targeting Capabilities: Filter offered to sort leads based on your requirements.
• Data Volume: The bigger the database, the higher the chance to find relevant leads.
• Compliance: Ensure the data is collected by complying with privacy regulations.
• Reputation: Check provider reviews and feedback. Buy only from reputed sources.
• Integration: Some tools make it easy to import the leads into your outreach tool. 

Now, there are many data providers in the market, including Saleshandy Lead Finder, ZoomInfo, Apollo, and many others.

So, try their free trial and check which is best suited for your needs.

2. Use Content Marketing to Bring In Leads

Content marketing is a great method to bring in high-quality leads.

The leads have a higher chance of conversion, too!

Create content that addresses your target customer’s problems and requirements. 

Here are some of the popular content types that you can try:

While creating content, add CTAs at the right place without sounding too aggressive.

Because only when we offer value will your audience trust you and give you their details for outreach.

Now, in content marketing, you can’t just create one content and move on to create more. 

You will be required to update and optimize it frequently based on changes in trends and SEO. 

Because of this, content marketing is resource-intensive. 

Hence, if you are a startup or a brand with limited capital, it’s best to consider other channels that require low resources.

However, once you have the right resources, I would highly recommend trying content marketing.

There are still great strategies that even brands with limited resources can use. Keep reading 👇

3. Find Leads Using Social Media

Social media is one of the latest lead-generation strategies.

It allows you to be a bit informal while at the same time helping you generate good leads.

Among the many social media platforms, such as X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and many others, I suggest starting with LinkedIn to build your B2B list.

LinkedIn makes it easy to find your leads using the LinkedIn Sales Navigator.

You can use the filters to narrow down the leads and even craft messages based on that.

Apart from that, it’s also easy to find the decision makers of a company using the platform. 

Simply open the company page, and you will see most of the individuals associated with the firm. 

Not just LinkedIn but Social media in general can be used to create content centered around your ICPs’ problems and requirements and grow your personal brand.

Based on current trends, people tend to trust individuals more than brands. So, use it to the best of your ability.

You can start by interacting with the posts and creating your own content to grow your personal brand. 

However, growing a personal brand will require you to invest your time and resources in it. 

Along with that, if you reach out to a lot of people in a day or violate the rules and regulations of the platform, there’s a high chance that your account will be imposed with a ban.

If something like that happens, it will affect your brand’s reputation and your brand’s reputation.

4. Use an Online Directory for Collecting Data Manually

Most of the data in online directories is self-verified. 

Hence, it is a great option for high-quality verified data.

Whether you are collecting data manually or not, you should consider it while building your B2B list.

You can even register your business in directories like Saleshandy Agency Directory, Crunchbase, AngelList, or industry-specific listings.

It will also be used by your potential customers to find solutions, so make sure to register your brand with them.

Apart from that, you can check company websites to get accurate details about the decision-makers.

5. Launch Referral and Affiliate Programs

Happy Customers = More Customers!

Yes, if your solution offers the best value for your customers and great customer service, you’ll have more leads flowing into your list.

Once your customers are happy, encourage them to participate in your referral programs. 

In return, you can offer special discounts or even referral revenue shares!

Similarly, you can launch an affiliate program, which will motivate the industry’s professionals to promote your solution more.

6. Trade Shows and Events

I would say this is the channel to go with if you want to get high-quality leads!

That’s because trade shows or such events allow you to meet your potential customers face to face and experience your product or service directly.

There’s also a high chance that these leads have a high intent to become your customers.

You will even have the option to get direct feedback from your potential customers, thus helping to improve your offering.

However, being part of the event is very resource-intensive, but it can be totally worth it if you are up for it.

7. Partner with Other Businesses

What’s the best way to get leads apart from offering a good value in your offering?

Offering more value!

If you have a product or service that offers a solution to one of your client’s requirements, you can influence their decision by offering to address other problems and requirements of your potential customers.

This can be made possible by partnering with other brands. 

The partnership will give both parties reach to a wider audience, as well as increase the chance of getting high-ticket clients. 

It will also help you combine your resources and bring out high-quality results.

Also, it’s best to collaborate with a non-competing brand. Otherwise, there’s a high chance of a conflict of interest. 

8. With Webinars

Webinars let you interact with your leads and even build networks, similar to expos.

The best part is that it’s not as expensive as expos, but it still helps you build your lead list.

Hosting webinars around the problems or other value-offering topics for your potential customers is a great way to attract high-quality leads.

You can even pitch your product or service as a great solution to their problems.

The leads thus generated will have a higher chance of conversion, as they already have a high intent.

To get a good amount of leads, try hosting webinars on trending topics so that you will be able to attract better leads.

Best Practices for Building a B2B List

• Ensure explicit consent: While collecting data, it is necessary to ensure that it is not obtained through illegal means. Reliable data providers use the data that the individuals consented to make public or share with them.
  
  Using this data will protect you from legal troubles and maintain a good brand image.
• Provide clear and transparent information: When reaching out to leads, make sure to communicate properly. Be it to make them part of your network or to ask for their contact details, be as transparent as possible.
• Offer easy opt-out options: Allow individuals to easily opt out of your list anytime.
• Understand Your Ideal Customer: To build a great B2B list, you need to create your ideal customer profile (ICP) and Buyer Persona. This will make it easier for you to create a list of high-quality leads.
• Verify Your Data: This is very important. You need to verify your lead list before you start your outreach.
  While you can manually do it, it will take quite a lot of time. Hence, I suggest trying tools like Saleshandy, which will make it easier to verify your leads.
• Segment the Leads: Even after verifying leads, make sure to segment them so that it is easier for you to do outreach.
• Update Your B2B List: Nothing is constant. So is your lead list. Your leads will be different based on trends and changes in customer behavior, so make sure to keep an eye on them.

Time to Start Building Your B2B List!

I have shown you all the ways you can build your B2B lead list. You can choose the ones that are more comfortable with you. 

However, if you are confused, I would suggest buying from a B2B data provider.

The only thing is that you need to make sure the data purchased is from a trustworthy source. 

You can make sure your data is perfect with the help of tools like Saleshandy, which offers the option to verify bulk leads.

B2B List Building: FAQs

1. What is the role of intent data in enhancing B2B lead lists?

Intent data analyzes user behavior and shares the likelihood of them making a purchase. When building your B2B list, it will be best to find leads with a high intent.

2. How often should I update my B2B lead list?

While update trends are based on the industries, it’s best to update your B2B lead list at least every 3-6 months. This is because there will be changes in trends, positions, and even new business decisions. 

3. What’s the best way to verify B2B leads before outreach?

If you want to manually verify B2B leads by checking LinkedIn profiles, company websites, or use the built-in verification feature of some popular cold outreach tools.

4. Should I buy B2B leads or generate them organically?

It will be based on what your requirements are. Since both approaches their own advantages. Buying leads saves time but requires careful vetting of data providers.

Organic methods (such as content marketing or LinkedIn outreach) build trust but take longer. So, you can try a hybrid approach.

5. What compliance factors should I consider when building a B2B lead list?

The compliance is mainly based on the region you are from. However, the popular ones are GDPR and CCPA.

Regardless, most laws require you to collect data legally, provide opt-in methods, and respect unsubscribe requests to maintain a strong sender reputation.