Sales Prospect Intelligence:
know who to sell to next

powered by the data business ai framework

The challenge

Your best prospects might not be on your list yet

Most sales teams already hold valuable data. You know your customers, your past buyers and the accounts that went quiet. What's harder to see is everyone else: the organisations that fit your ideal customer profile but have never been approached.

That's usually where growth sits. Without a clear view of the wider market, prospecting falls back on familiar names, generic lists and guesswork about who to call next.

Sound familiar?

“We keep approaching the same accounts.”

The pipeline is built on who you already know, not who you could be selling to.

“We don't know how big our market really is.”

Without a defined total addressable market, it's hard to set targets or judge your market penetration.

“Our list doesn't reach the decision-maker.”

The organisation is right, but the contact isn't the person who buys.

“Our people are researching instead of selling.”

Hours go into finding names and email addresses rather than having conversations.

None of this means your data is poor. It means your database and your market aren't the same thing.

What it is

What is Sales Prospect Intelligence?

Sales Prospect Intelligence helps your sales team decide where to focus. We define the market you want to sell into, compare it with the accounts you already hold and build the B2B prospect data you're missing. Then we tell you which opportunities matter most.

  1. 01

    Who is in our market?

    Every organisation that matches your ideal customer profile, by sector, organisation type, size and geography.

  2. 02

    Who are we already reaching?

    How much of that market your CRM or database already covers.

  3. 03

    Who are we missing?

    The organisations and buying roles you haven't reached yet.

  4. 04

    Who should we approach first?

    A prioritised view of the accounts and contacts most worth your team's time.

Know who you're reaching.
Know who you're missing.

You don't get a spreadsheet and a goodbye. You get a quality-checked prospect audience, ready for your CRM, plus a clear explanation of what it means for your sales plan.

How it works

How we build your sales prospect intelligence

Tell us what you're trying to sell and who to. We'll handle the research, the data and the judgement calls.

  1. 1

    Start with your goal

    A free consultation to understand your sales targets, your ideal customer profile and the buyers who matter. We turn that into a clear, agreed brief.

  2. 2

    Map your market

    Using our Universe Map (Umap), we build your total addressable market from the organisation types, sectors and geographies you sell into.

  3. 3

    Compare it with what you have

    We overlay your existing CRM or database to show your market penetration: who you already reach and who you don't.

  4. 4

    Build what's missing

    Our researchers find the right organisations and the decision-makers inside them, validate contact details and categorise every record. More on bespoke data building.

  5. 5

    Prioritise the opportunity

    We highlight the segments and accounts most worth pursuing first, so your team knows exactly where to start.

  6. 6

    Hand over, ready to use

    You receive a clean, structured prospect file formatted for your CRM, with a short summary of what we found and what we recommend.

What you get

What your sales team gets

Every project is bespoke, but most deliver a combination of the following.

A clear view of your market

Your total addressable market, broken down by sector, organisation type, size and geography.

Your market penetration

How much of that market you already reach, and where the biggest gaps are.

New, relevant prospects

Organisations and decision-makers built to your brief, not pulled from a generic list.

The right people, not just the right companies

Contacts categorised by job function and seniority, so outreach reaches the people who buy.

A prioritised starting point

The accounts and segments most worth your team's time, ranked against your goals.

CRM-ready data

Validated, structured records your team can import and use straight away.

Less time researching, more time selling, and a pipeline built on the market rather than on memory.

Who it's for

Built for teams whose revenue depends on reaching the right organisations

Our specialism

B2B events and trade shows

Find the exhibitors and sponsors you haven't approached yet. We map the companies active in your sector, show which ones already exhibit and give your sales team a prioritised list of new targets well ahead of the event.

Clear audience intelligence also strengthens the exhibitor pitch itself, because you can show exactly who your event reaches.

Trade associations and membership organisations

Identify eligible organisations that aren't members yet and reach the people who make the joining decision.

B2B publishers

Grow advertiser and sponsor pipelines, and show commercial partners the quality of the buying audience you reach.

Agencies and consultancies

Give your clients a defined target market and validated prospect data, delivered by us behind your service.

Businesses entering a new market

Understand how big the opportunity is, and who's in it, before you commit sales resource.

Typical roles we work with

  • Commercial Director
  • Sales Director
  • Head of Sales
  • Event Director
  • Sponsorship & Exhibition Sales Manager
  • Marketing Director
  • Managing Director

For event sales teams

Exhibitor and sponsor prospecting, timed to your event

The best time to find new exhibitors is long before the floor plan starts to fill. We plan prospect intelligence around your event calendar, so your sales team always has the next set of targets ready.

  1. 10–12 months out

    Map the exhibitor universe

    Build the full market of companies active in your sector, compare it with past exhibitors and sponsors, and create new targets for the sales team.

  2. 7–9 months out

    Prioritise and reach decision-makers

    Focus on the highest-value accounts and make sure you're talking to the people who control exhibition and sponsorship budgets.

  3. 4–6 months out

    Close the remaining gaps

    Late-stage builds for unsold space and sponsorship packages, targeted at the segments still under-represented.

  4. After the event

    Start next year from a stronger base

    Clean and enrich exhibitor and registration data before it goes into your CRM, ready for the next sales cycle.

Want the full picture? Download our free Event Data Calendar.

Why The Data Business

Why sales teams work with The Data Business

Technology-powered. Human-led. Bespoke. Accountable.

  • Bespoke, not database-first

    We don't sell access to a generic contact database or a bank of credits. We start from the market you want to win and build the prospect data around it.

  • We do the work, not just provide the tools

    Prospecting platforms can be a useful part of your stack, but someone still has to decide who to target, judge the quality of the results and act on them. We take responsibility for those decisions and hand you a finished, quality-checked output.

  • Technology-powered, human-led

    We use AI and automation for speed and scale. Experienced researchers check the results, fill the gaps and catch what technology misses.

  • We understand B2B audiences

    We've worked for years with event organisers, publishers and associations, so we understand how exhibitor, sponsor and member pipelines work.

  • Accountable for the outcome

    Every project has a dedicated account manager and research team. You pay for the data you receive, with no subscription.

We've used The Data Business for several years for bespoke list builds and reverification. Not only do we get great engagement rates from the data, but Chris and the team are always very helpful and diligent. They have a good understanding of the industries we operate in, meaning that we can give them very detailed briefs, which they deliver to the exact specifications we ask for.

Anastasija OvcinikovaData Operations Manager, Incisive Media

FAQs

Sales Prospect Intelligence: frequently asked questions

What is sales prospect intelligence?

It's the work of defining your target market, comparing it with the accounts you already hold and building data on the organisations and decision-makers you're missing. The result is a prioritised view of who your sales team should approach next.

What is a total addressable market (TAM)?

Your total addressable market is every organisation that could realistically buy from you, based on your ideal customer profile. Knowing it lets you set realistic targets, measure market penetration and see where new business is most likely to come from.

How is this different from buying a list or using a prospecting database?

A list or database gives you access to existing records. We start with your goal, build the audience around your brief, check its quality and explain what it means for your sales plan. You get a finished output rather than another tool to manage.

How do you work out our total addressable market?

We agree the organisation types, sectors, sizes and geographies that fit your ideal customer profile. We then use our Universe Map (Umap) to build that market and overlay your existing data to show coverage and gaps.

Can you find the decision-makers, not just the companies?

Yes. We research the relevant people inside each target organisation and categorise them by job function and seniority, so your outreach reaches the people who make buying decisions.

Can you help us find new exhibitors and sponsors for our event?

Yes, this is one of the most common uses. We map the companies active in your event's sector, show which ones already exhibit or sponsor and build a prioritised list of new targets for your sales team.

Will the data work with our CRM?

Yes. We deliver structured, validated records formatted for import into your CRM or sales platform.

How is it priced?

Every project is scoped and priced to your brief. You pay for the data you receive, with no subscription or credits to use up.

How long does a project take?

It depends on the size and complexity of your market. We'll give you a clear timeline once we've agreed the brief.

How do you handle data protection?

We work with you to confirm the sources and lawful basis for every project.

Ready to see who you're missing?

Tell us what you're trying to sell and who to. We'll show you the size of your market, how much of it you already reach and where your best opportunities are. No obligation, just a useful conversation.

Prefer to start smaller? Ask about an Audience Reality Check

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