Buyer guide
Should you research direct buyers, distributors, or referral partners?
Start with how the relationship would work. A direct customer uses your offer. A reseller or distributor may sell it onward. A referral partner may introduce someone else. Each role calls for a different research brief.
Name the action you want the company to take
“Buy our product,” “carry our product,” and “introduce relevant customers” are different requests. A company can operate in your market without being suited to the relationship you need.
Use business role as a separate field from industry. A restaurant, an equipment distributor, and a restaurant adviser may share a market while serving very different purposes in your sales plan.
For direct buyers, check use and fit
Ask whether the company appears able to use the offer within your delivery limits. Consider the relevant operation, location, product need, and exclusions.
Public evidence of a possible use does not establish a current purchase plan. Keep the reason for fit separate from questions about budget, timing, authority, and interest.
For channel partners, check the relationship itself
For a reseller or distributor, look for evidence of the selling role, relevant product categories, customer groups, and geographic reach. Mark supplier rules and commercial terms unknown unless they have been checked.
For a referral partner, examine whether its work reaches suitable buyers and complements your offer. Audience size alone does not establish trust, willingness to refer, or permission to share customer information.
Keep separate briefs until the roles are clear
Use separate inclusion rules and next checks for direct buyers and potential partners. Combining them too early can make a large list look useful while hiding the different work required.
Start with the route your team can support now. Before approaching any partner, decide who owns the relationship and what agreement would be needed. Being a research candidate does not establish a partnership or endorsement.
See what this looks like in practice.
Read the public-data sample to compare source facts, fit judgments, and open questions.
Use a research planning worksheet to turn these questions into a working brief.
- Should you buy a business list, research it yourself, or hire help?
- Why is your target list not turning into sales conversations?
- Which target companies should your sales team review first?
- What makes a B2B target list useful?
- What should a target research project include?
- What drives the cost of B2B target research?
What sales decision are you trying to make?
Tell Henok what your business sells, who you want to reach, your role, and where your current search gets stuck. If there is a fit, the next step is to agree on a paid research scope, fee, and delivery date.
A short description is enough to start. Please leave out private customer records and other sensitive information.