Company research
How to build a target-company shortlist before finding contacts
Define a useful company market, review real businesses, and avoid wasting people searches on companies that do not fit.
Many prospecting lists begin with people and only later ask whether their companies fit. Reverse that order when your offer depends on company type, size, or market. A short list of well-chosen businesses gives every later people search a clearer purpose.
Write down the market you can serve
Choose one service you sell, one kind of company that benefits from it, and one geography you can actually support. Use employee size as a practical filter, not as a proxy for revenue or budget. For example, a consultant might start with software companies in Canada with 11–50 employees.
Also list disqualifiers: wrong industry, outside your service area, duplicate brands, or companies so large that your offer needs a different buyer. These rules make review more consistent.
Review companies, not just filter matches
A keyword may appear in a company description without describing its main business. Read the summary, website, location, and recent public context. Keep a “why it fits” note for each company. If you cannot explain the fit in one sentence, it may not belong on your shortlist.
Names are not unique. When two businesses share a name, compare their LinkedIn company URLs, websites, and locations before choosing one. Do not assume the first result is the employer or account you intended.
Decide what deserves a second search
Group the shortlist into “research now,” “later,” and “discard.” Only research people at the first group. Choose a job function connected to your offer rather than collecting every employee. A saved company list also gives you a repeatable starting point when your targeting changes.
A company match is not intent. Size, geography, and industry make it relevant to your market; a fresh signal or direct need still requires separate evidence.
Example
An operations consultant starts with 25 Canadian software companies, reads the company pages, and retains eight whose size and business model match the offer before searching for operations leaders.
What to remember: The shortlist should explain why each company belongs. That explanation is more useful than a large export of loosely matched names.
Apply the method in the tool
Use Company Search to collect a small sample, review and save it, then select the companies you want for a separate People Search. Opening a saved list or exporting it does not run the search again.
Reading this guide does not run a search or use an allowance. Live searches and monitoring use the allowances shown in your plan.
Follow the step-by-step workflow →