I’ve had the privilege to consult with over one hundred and seventy-five technology companies as a sales trainer, sales enablement consultant, and win-loss study researcher. These companies range from start-ups to industry giants that provide cloud, software, hardware, security, consulting, and managed services solutions. Since my area of expertise is Sales Linguistics (the study of how customers use language during the complex decision-making process), I frequently help my clients create the marketing campaigns they use to penetrate new accounts. As a result, I’m asked which contact data provider is the most accurate and best to use.
As part of a recent client engagement, I conducted a study to determine DiscoverOrg’s contact data accuracy. It’s important to note that this was a completely independent study. DiscoverOrg had no foreknowledge that I was measuring their data accuracy and no influence over the sample data set I used. From a list of over ten thousand contacts, I randomly selected one hundred records and then personally researched each one. You can download the study results below. Since this data was to be used for new client outreach via email and social media, I was primarily concerned with the following areas:
1) Name accuracy – Was the contact’s full name accurate, spelled correctly, and did it include an addressable nickname where applicable.
2) Company accuracy – Was the contact’s company current.
3) Title accuracy – Was the person’s title correct and did it specifically reflect their role in the organization.
4) LinkedIn URL accuracy – Was the person’s LinkedIn URL provided and was it correct.
5) Seniority level accuracy – Was the seniority level designation accurate so that outreach campaigns could be targeted by hierarchical role within the company.
6) Email address accuracy – Was the email address valid and correct.
7) Twitter handle identity accuracy – Was the person’s twitter handle correct.
Download An Independent Study of DiscoverOrg Contact Data Accuracy
About Steve W. Martin
Steve Martin is a technology sales author, noted sales researcher and a frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review. His latest book is titled Heavy Hitter I.T. Sales Strategy: Competitive Insights from Interviews with 1,000+ Key Information Technology Decision Makers and Top Technology Salespeople. Visit www.stevewmartin.com for more information.