Choosing a provider
How to choose a lead list provider
The short answer
Choosing a lead list provider comes down to five questions: whether records fit, whether contact fields are usable, how fresh the data is, what happens when a record is wrong, and what you actually pay per usable contact. LeadNumbers answers those with consistent screening, business-day delivery, free replacements and transparent volume pricing.
Profile fit
Checked before delivery
Freshness
Prepared for each delivery cycle
Quality
Required contact fields checked
Replacements
Free within fair use limits
Detail
The five questions worth asking
Does the record fit the written profile, and are the required contact fields present.
What happens when a contact is wrong, and how quickly is a replacement supplied.
How fresh is the delivery, and what is the real price per usable contact once unusable rows are removed.
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Pricing models and what they hide
Seat plus credits looks cheap per record and is paid whether or not anyone uses it. Add the hours spent building lists and the true cost climbs.
Flat per-record pricing is honest when the records are usable and misleading when they are not. Always divide by contacts you would hand a rep.
Retainers bundle labour with data and are the hardest to unpick. Ask what the data component would cost standalone.
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The five-minute file test
Sort by phone. Repeats mean shared switchboards.
Sort by company. A handful of employers dominating the file means the targeting collapsed and the list was padded.
Spot check ten titles against public profiles. If two have moved on, the file is a year old.
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Support and continuity
Volumes change. A provider should let you move up and down monthly without renegotiation.
Suppression should be permanent and account-wide, including everything already delivered.
Agencies should ask specifically about multi-client workspaces, because running several profiles through one account is where most tools break.
Checklist
What to insist on
Recorded sourcing
Provenance per record, not a generic sourcing statement.
Hard rejection rules
Ask what the provider throws away. Vague answers mean nothing is thrown away.
Freshness policy
How recently was this record verified, specifically.
Replacement terms
Free replacement and a visible flag rate.
Flexible volume
Monthly change without penalty, no annual lock.
FAQ
Questions buyers ask
Should I use more than one provider?
Running a second source for low-confidence records is sensible. Running two full subscriptions usually just doubles cost and duplicates contacts.
How do I compare quotes fairly?
Convert everything to cost per usable contact, then to cost per conversation using your own connect rate. That single number settles most comparisons.
What is on every contact you deliver?
Full name, job title, company, a verified work email and a mobile number or confirmed direct dial. Most records also carry a professional profile link. Nothing is released without the phone and the email.
What happens if a number is wrong?
Flag it in the portal and a replacement is queued free of charge within fair use limits. The flag rate for your account is visible to you at all times.
Is there a contract?
No long contract is required for monthly billing. Self-serve volume runs from $75 for 500 prospects to $500 for 5,000, with optional quarterly and annual savings.
Dialing partner
Do not want to make the calls yourself?
LeadNumbers builds your list. Our dialing partner ColdCalls.Ca can call it for you. North American reps with 10 or more years of B2B sales experience call in your company name, handle gatekeepers and objections, and book interested buyers straight into your calendar. One blended rate of $1 per dial, prospect data included, with 3,000 dials a month as the recommended starting point.
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