list-building

List Building Skill

Build targeted lists of potential buyers from LinkedIn based on Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) criteria. This skill is for prospecting - finding people who might buy your product or service, not for competitive analysis.

Process

Step 0: Load Defaults & Check Scope

First, check for saved decisions:

Read .business_growth/sales/DECISIONS.md if it exists. This file stores global defaults like:

• Buyer persona and target titles
• Target industries and exclusions
• Company segment preferences
• Sales Navigator availability
• Competitors to exclude

If DECISIONS.md exists: Ask the user: "I found your saved preferences. Want to use these defaults, or customize for this specific list?"

• (A) Use defaults → Skip to Step 1, only ask list-specific questions (target lead count, any overrides)
• (B) Customize → Go through the full discovery questions below
• (C) Update defaults → Go through questions and save new answers to DECISIONS.md

If DECISIONS.md doesn't exist: Go through the full discovery process and offer to save answers as defaults at the end.

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Step 0b: Resolve Campaign Context

If campaign_id provided:

• Use it directly as the campaign context

If campaign_id not provided:

1. Check for existing campaigns in .business_growth/sales/campaigns/
2. If campaigns exist, ask user:
   • (A) Create new campaign → Generate a meaningful snake_case name based on criteria (e.g., campaign_fintech_vp_eng)
   • (B) Add to existing campaign → Select from available campaigns
3. If no campaigns exist, create a new one

Establish campaign_id before proceeding.

Step 0c: Full Discovery (if not using defaults)

Gather context:

• Check existing campaigns in .business_growth/sales/campaigns/ to understand prior work
• Review any existing ICP definitions or campaign history

Ask clarifying questions (one at a time):

• Prefer multiple choice when options are clear
• Focus on understanding: purpose, constraints, success criteria

Global questions (save to DECISIONS.md):

• "Who is your buyer? What role typically makes or influences the purchase decision?"
• "What problem does your product solve for them?"
• "Any industries where your buyers typically work? (e.g., security, fintech, healthcare)"
• "Any spaces to exclude? (e.g., no agencies, no consulting firms, no competitors)"
• "Company segment: (A) SMB (< 50 employees), (B) Mid-market (50-500), (C) Enterprise (500+), or (D) Any size?"
• "Do you have LinkedIn Sales Navigator?"

List-specific questions (always ask):

• "What's the goal for this specific list - demos, trials, partnerships?"
• "How many leads are you looking to have in this list?"
• "Any specific geography or filters for this list?"

Explore approaches: After understanding requirements, propose 2-3 different approaches:

• Present options conversationally with trade-offs
• Lead with your recommended approach and explain why

Save decisions: If user went through full discovery, ask: "Want me to save these as your defaults for future lists?" If yes, create/update .business_growth/sales/DECISIONS.md

Step 1: Define ICP Criteria

Once you understand the user's goals from Step 0, nail down the specific buyer criteria. Fill in any gaps by asking targeted questions (one at a time):

• Buyer Persona: Who buys? Decision-maker vs. influencer vs. end-user
• Target Titles: VP Engineering, Head of Product, CTO, Director of Sales, etc.
• Target Industries/Verticals: Where do your buyers work? Security, fintech, healthcare, SaaS, etc.
• Company Segment: SMB (< 50), mid-market (50-500), enterprise (500+)
• Company Characteristics: Funding stage, revenue range, tech stack
• Geography: Countries, states, cities
• Exclusions: Industries to skip, competitors, company types to avoid
• Additional Filters: Years in role, keywords, specific companies to include/exclude

Step 2: Create ICP Document

Save ICP definition to .business_growth/sales/campaigns/<campaign_id>/icp.md:

# ICP Definition

## Buyer Profile
- **Buyer Persona**: <decision-maker / influencer / end-user>
- **Titles**: <list of titles>
- **Problem We Solve**: <what pain point does this buyer have?>

## Target Companies
- **Industries/Verticals**: <list of industries>
- **Company Segment**: <SMB / Mid-market / Enterprise>
- **Company Size**: <employee count or revenue range>
- **Funding Stage**: <stages>
- **Geography**: <locations>

## Exclusions
- **Industries to Skip**: <e.g., agencies, consulting, government>
- **Competitors**: <companies to exclude>
- **Other Exclusions**: <e.g., no startups under 10 people>

## List Goals
- **Target Lead Count**: <estimated number of leads>
- **Sales Navigator**: <yes/no>

## Search Strategy
- **LinkedIn Search URL**: <url>
- **Filters Applied**: <description>

## Notes
<any additional context>

Step 3: Search LinkedIn

1. Get browser context with tabs_context_mcp
2. Navigate to the appropriate search tool:
   • With Sales Navigator: Go to linkedin.com/sales/search/people - better filters (company size, seniority, years in role), higher limits, lead saving
   • Without Sales Navigator: Use standard LinkedIn search at linkedin.com/search/results/people/
3. Apply search filters based on ICP
4. Take screenshot to verify results
5. Adjust filters if results don't match expected count

Important Rate Limits:

• Sales Navigator: ~100 profile views/day, can save leads to lists
• Standard LinkedIn: ~30 profiles/hour, ~100/day
• Space out searches to avoid restrictions

Step 4: Extract Lead Data

For each prospect, capture:

• Name: Full name
• Title: Current job title
• Company: Current employer
• LinkedIn URL: Profile URL
• Location: Geographic location
• Headline: Profile headline

Use read_page to extract structured data from search results or profiles.

Step 5: Save Lead List

Create .business_growth/sales/campaigns/<campaign_id>/LIST.md:

# Lead List: <Descriptive Name>

## Metadata
- **Campaign**: <campaign_id>   # e.g., campaign_fintech_vp_eng
- **Created**: <ISO timestamp>
- **Source**: LinkedIn Search
- **ICP**: See icp.md
- **Total Leads**: <count>

## Leads

### 1. <Full Name>
- **LinkedIn**: <url>
- **Role**: <title> at <company>
- **Location**: <location>
- **Headline**: <headline>

### 2. <Full Name>
- **LinkedIn**: <url>
- **Role**: <title> at <company>
- **Location**: <location>
- **Headline**: <headline>

<!-- Continue for all leads -->

Step 6: Report Summary

Provide summary to user:

• Total leads found
• Breakdown by title/company/location
• Recommendations for next steps (create campaign, research top prospects)
• Any issues encountered (rate limits, restricted profiles)

Browser Tools Used

Tool	Purpose
tabs_context_mcp	Get browser context
tabs_create_mcp	Create new tab for LinkedIn
navigate	Go to LinkedIn search
read_page	Extract search results and profiles
find	Locate search filters and results
form_input	Enter search criteria
computer	Click, scroll, screenshot

Tips for Better Results

1. Use Boolean search: Combine terms with AND, OR, NOT
2. Leverage 2nd degree connections: Often higher response rates
3. Check for recent activity: Active profiles are more responsive
4. Note shared connections: Useful for warm introductions
5. Save search URL: Can rerun later for new prospects

Next Steps After List Building

Suggest to user (pass campaign_id to each):

1. Use /opportunity-master:lead-research <campaign_id> to research top prospects
2. Use /opportunity-master:campaign-creation <campaign_id> to create outreach campaign
3. Review and prioritize list before outreach

Global Decisions File

The .business_growth/sales/DECISIONS.md file stores user preferences to avoid repetitive questions:

# Sales Decisions & Defaults

## Last Updated
<ISO timestamp>

## Buyer Profile
- **Buyer Persona**: <decision-maker / influencer / end-user>
- **Target Titles**: <list of titles>
- **Problem We Solve**: <what pain point do we address?>

## Target Market
- **Industries/Verticals**: <list of industries>
- **Company Segment**: <SMB / Mid-market / Enterprise>
- **Geography**: <default regions>

## Exclusions
- **Industries to Skip**: <e.g., agencies, consulting, government>
- **Competitors**: <companies to always exclude>
- **Other Exclusions**: <company types to avoid>

## Tools
- **Sales Navigator**: <yes/no>

## Notes
<any other standing preferences>

When to update DECISIONS.md:

• First time running list-building or lead-research
• When user says "update my defaults"
• When user's ICP fundamentally changes