A target account list turns "companies like our best customers" into names someone is responsible for. It is the starting point of account based prospecting: instead of chasing whoever fills in a form, you decide which companies you want and work each one deliberately. This guide explains what a target account list is, how it differs from a lead list and an ideal customer profile, how to build one step by step, how many accounts one person can work, and how to keep the list fresh. There is a template to copy at the end.
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What a target account list is
Three documents are often mixed up. They answer different questions.
Who could buy
Ideal customer profile
A description of the companies that fit: industry, size, region, systems, situation. It has no names on it.
Who we will pursue
Target account list
The named companies, chosen from everyone who fits, with a tier, an owner and a reason to act. Usually tens to a few hundred.
Who to contact
Lead list
People and contact details. Useful, but a lead list without a target account list behind it is just volume.
The order matters: the profile comes first, the account list second, and the people at each account last.
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Step 1. Start from your ideal customer profile
Write down who you are for before you collect a single name. The profile should be drawn from your best existing customers, not from the market you wish you had. If you do not have one yet, use the ideal customer profile template.
The invented example in this guide: a company that sells scheduling software to groups of physiotherapy clinics. Its profile is groups of 5 to 50 clinics, in the US, that still book patients by phone.
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Step 2. Build the universe
List every company that matches the profile's basic facts, its firmographics: industry, size and region. Use a company database, industry directories, association member lists and public registers. Do not filter hard yet; the aim is to know how big the market really is.
In the example, that gives about 2,000 clinic groups.
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Step 3. Filter for fit
Now apply the parts of the profile that need reading, not just a database filter: the systems they run, the situation they are in, and the reasons to leave a company off. Remove existing customers and companies you cannot serve.
In the example, groups already using a modern booking system are removed, and so are groups owned by a hospital network that buys centrally. About 600 remain.
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Step 4. Add a reason to act now
Fit tells you who could buy. A trigger event tells you who might buy soon: a new location, a new operations leader, a merger, a hiring push for front-desk staff, a new regulation. Note the event and its date next to each account. When you reach out, a prospect research template keeps the research on each person short.
In the example, about 90 of the 600 opened a new clinic or hired a head of operations in the last six months.
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Step 5. Sort the list into tiers
Tiers decide how much effort each account gets.
| Tier | Who is in it | How you work it |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Best fit, with a dated reason now | Researched one by one, several people contacted, personal messages |
| Tier 2 | Good fit, or a weaker reason | Light research, a sequence tailored to the group |
| Tier 3 | Fit, but no reason yet | Watched for events, low-touch marketing |
In the example: 15 accounts in tier 1, 75 in tier 2, and the remaining 510 in tier 3.
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Step 6. Give every account an owner
An account with no owner is an account nobody works. Assign each tier 1 and tier 2 account to one person, by region, industry or simply by splitting the list. Write the owner's name on the list, not in someone's head.
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How many accounts one person can work
There is no single right number; it depends on how much time each tier takes. Work it out from the hours you actually have.
An invented example: a rep has about 40 hours a month for prospecting. A tier 1 account takes about 2 hours a month of research and outreach, and a tier 2 account about 30 minutes. Fifteen tier 1 accounts use 30 hours, which leaves 10 hours for about 20 tier 2 accounts. If the list needs more than that, add people or move accounts down a tier; do not quietly spread the effort thinner.
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Account based prospecting on the list
Account based prospecting means working each account as a whole rather than one contact at a time.
- Map the people. Find who decides, who would champion it and who would use it. Many B2B purchases involve several of them.
- Write one reason per account. The trigger event, and what it usually means for a business like theirs.
- Contact more than one person. Each gets the part that matters to them, and none of them gets the same email.
- Use more than one channel. Email, LinkedIn, a call, and for tier 1 sometimes something by post or an invitation.
- Record what you learn. Every reply, even a no, tells you something about the account.
For worked plays at different depths, see account based marketing examples.
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Keeping the list fresh
A target account list goes stale faster than most teams expect. Companies are bought, change leaders, choose a competitor or close. Review it every month.
Move accounts up on events. A tier 3 account that opens a new location or hires the right leader moves up.
Move accounts down on silence. A tier 1 account worked for a quarter with no reply moves down, with a note of why.
Remove what no longer fits. New customers, companies that chose a competitor on a long contract, and companies that changed shape.
Re-check the profile each quarter. If your recent wins look different from the profile, change the profile first.
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Copy the template
Copy it into a spreadsheet: one row per account.
Target account list template
TARGET ACCOUNT LIST Built from: [ideal customer profile, version and date] Reviewed on: [date] Columns, one row per account: Account name Website Industry Size (staff or revenue) Region Fit notes (systems, situation) Reason to act now (event) Date of the event Where the event was seen (link) Tier (1, 2 or 3) Owner People mapped (decider, champion, user) Last contact and outcome Next step and date Reason removed or moved (if any)
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Common mistakes with target account lists
Starting with a database export. Without a profile first, the list is whoever the filters happened to return.
Too many tier 1 accounts. If everything is a priority, nothing gets the depth tier 1 needs.
No reason to act. A list of good-fit companies with no event is a list of companies who are not looking yet.
No owner. Shared accounts get worked by everyone once and by no one after that.
Never reviewing it. A list built once and left alone is a list of last quarter's opportunities.
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The target account list checklist
Before you start working the list
- It was built from a written ideal customer profile.
- You know the size of the whole universe, not only the list.
- Every tier 1 account has a dated reason to act now.
- Every tier 1 and tier 2 account has one named owner.
- The number of tier 1 accounts fits the hours your team actually has.
- There is a date in the calendar to review it next month.
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Questions
How many accounts should be on a target account list?
As many as your team can work properly at the depth each tier needs. Start from the hours available, as in the example above, rather than from a round number.
What is the difference between a target account list and an ideal customer profile?
The profile describes the kind of company that fits. The target account list names the specific companies you have chosen to pursue, with a tier, a reason and an owner.
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Where to go next
To time the outreach on your list, read buying signals in B2B sales.
New to the research side? Start with what sales prospecting is.