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FREE Printed Yellow Pages Directory Prospecting

I’m talking about that big old dog-earred book. That’s right, your old fashioned Yellow Pages Directory, not the new streamlined online version. You know, the one some of us use as a door-stop or to anchor piles of paper on windy days. Your FREE printed Yellow Pages is still a prolific source of prospects provided you read between the lines. Pick any category.

Lets say for the sake of this post, ‘Air Conditioning’. In Florida, in any metropolitan phone directory, I’d be surprised if you found fewer than 20 pages of half and full page advertisements for local, regional HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) vendors. Since our mission as power prospectors is to quickly identify potential prospects who not only need what we sell but can also afford to pay for our products and services, it’s a safe bet that any company listing which displays multiple manufacturers’ brand logos, is representating the services and sales of AC units for that branded logo. This translates into factory-authorized stocking distributors with new units, parts and consumables for older models and new installs; a robust service department with trained service technicians and usually huge inventory bays with every conceivable part for new and older models to service residential and commercial customers.  This also adds up to lots of square footage for warehousing, administrative offices; plus, multiple service vehicles.

So, vendors such as these have substantial cashflow to support their operation. Look closer and you will probably see a website listing which can provide lots more detailed info about a company as well as contact names, e-mail addresses and other relevant prospecting info. Look for local trade listings such as Chambers of Commerce, Better Business Bureau which are always included to enhance community credibility and fair trade practices. Multiple phone numbers for communities and counties serviced reveals their trading areas, too.

I usually electronically copy contact info from the websites since I’m a poor typist and the websites most often contain what I need to make a first contact either via snail mailings or e-mailings followed by an initial qualifying phone contact.

Two other points worth mentioning are: #1] At www.salesgenie.com, a paid subscription database, you will find all of this same information with the sizes of their Yellow Pages Display Advertising for the phone directories vendors such as these have purchased advertising; # 2] A terrific labor and time saving tool I can’t do without is eGrabber. This inexpensive desktop tool is compatible with ACT; most major contact software programs and MSN’s Excel spreadsheet software. It  enables me to Control+Copy to quickly capture individual company contact data and entire lists with only a few keystrokes. Check out eGrabber and List Grabber at www.egrabber.com.

So, your FREE copy of your printed Yellow Pages Directory, when you have a limited prospecting budget is an excellent source of prospect contacts, provided you read between the lines.  

In my next post, I’ll discuss another FREE printed list source available at the Reference Desk of most public libraries: The NTPA Directory, and how to get more FREE prospect contacts to build your database. Go for it and let’s see some of your Comments.

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