How to build a local prospect list by postcode

1. 1

   Draw the territory with a postcode filter

   Start a search and set the region or postcode filter to the area you can actually serve. One postcode district for a dense city patch. Several for a county-wide round. The live preview shows the company count as you widen or tighten the line, before any credit is spent.

2. 2

   Pick the SIC codes that buy what you sell

   Add the 5-digit SIC codes for your buyers. Offices and consultancies (70229) for cleaning or IT support. Hotels (55100) and restaurants for trade suppliers. Hauliers (49410) for insurance. Two or three codes usually beat twenty. A tight list is easier to write a relevant email for.

3. 3

   Qualify by age and status

   Use the incorporation-date window to shape the list. Companies trading two years or more if you need buyers with budgets. The newest firms if you want to be their first supplier. Only active companies are returned, so dissolved and dormant names never pad the list.

4. 4

   Turn on the watch so the patch refills itself

   Switch on the watch and the territory keeps producing. As businesses form or move into your patch, matching firms get added on their own. You never see the same company twice, so there is no rebuying the same list every quarter.

5. 5

   Lead with the local angle

   Open with the area, not your company history. Local firms trust suppliers who can turn up. One caveat: a company's registered office is sometimes its accountant's address. Check the verified website in each lead to confirm where the business actually trades before writing 'your neighbours on the high street'.

Local B2B buying still runs on proximity. Response times, site visits, delivery rounds and word of mouth all favour the supplier down the road. The register gives you every limited company in a postcode area, with its trade, age and status. National data brokers rarely slice that finely. A watched, deduped territory becomes a patch that quietly restocks itself.