Finding the One: How to Stop Wasting Time on the Wrong Prospects

2500 free credits just for Relationship of Sales readers

Feb 18, 2025

Would you date someone 300 miles away? You wouldn’t plan a future with someone who lives across the country (unless you love long-distance misery). So why waste time on leads who will never convert? In sales, setting your target audience too broadly means you’ll end up chasing people who will never actually buy.
All the good ones are taken or using Salesforce: Ever matched with someone who looks like everything you’ve ever wanted, only to find out they’re just here for validation? Some leads seem ideal but are tied up in long-term contracts, lack the budget, or just aren’t serious buyers. Instead of getting strung along, check for commitment signs, hiring trends, funding rounds, or clear pain points, before putting in the effort.
The ‘Perfect Fit - Wrong Timing’ Scenario: Ever met someone amazing, but they just got out of a messy breakup and ‘aren’t ready’? In sales, timing is everything. A great lead might be the perfect fit, but if they just switched software or aren’t in a buying cycle, you need to nurture, not push. Stay on their radar, and when they’re ready, they’ll think of you first.
Over the last two posts, we’ve covered how to make deeper connections by personalising your messaging and updating your profile, basically, you’ve gotten yourself dressed up and ready to impress. But now comes the big question: who are you actually going on dates with?
Just like in dating, sales isn’t about running into a bar, shouting your name, and hoping someone shows interest. You need filters, a game plan, and a clear idea of who actually wants to grab a drink with you. If you’re just throwing yourself at anyone with a LinkedIn profile, you’ll end up with a lot of bad dates (and unread messages).
As your lead generation dating coach, I get it, you’ve been burnt before. You thought that AI powered new software would be your matchmaker, only to realise you’ve been set up with all the wrong people. You even paid ‘expert agencies’ to find the one, only to end up with leads who barely knew you existed.
It’s frustrating, it’s exhausting, and honestly, you’re about to give up. But don’t worry, I’m here to stop you from speed-dating bad prospects. Stick with me, and in just 10 minutes, you’ll have a curated list of your dream connections, complete with all the personal details you need to start a meaningful sales relationship.
Your Perfect Wingman: Meet Freckle
In a world where sales tools feel more complicated than assembling IKEA furniture blindfolded, wouldn’t it be nice to go back to something simple? A layout you actually understand, a system that doesn’t make you want to throw your laptop out the window. Well, let me introduce you to Freckle, your 2025 dating coach for lead generation. It does all the heavy lifting in finding ‘the one’ for you, no awkward small talk required. Just tell it what you’re looking for, and let it work its matchmaking magic.
Time to Set Up Your Dating Profile, AKA, Your Prospect List
When you log into Freckle, you’ll see a beautiful blank screen waiting for you to take action. Just click ‘Create New’, and you’ll get options to:
- Upload a CSV (for those who already have a ‘dating history’ of leads they want to re-engage, maybe check if they’re single again and ready to buy).
- Start with a Blank Table (for those who want to go slow, meet leads organically, and build their list one by one, no rush, just taking your time).
- Build a Lead List with Company Lookalikes (the ultimate shortcut, tell Freckle who you wish you were dating, and it’ll find you similar prospects).
- Find Local Businesses Using Google Maps (ideal for when you’re looking for love, or leads closer to home).

We’ve all had our hearts broken in sales. We’ve chased leads who were never serious, wasted time on bad matches, and ignored the red flags. But this time, you’re in control. Start by finding businesses that resemble your best customers, and let Freckle do the matchmaking magic.

Refining Your Search—What Makes the Perfect Match?

Once you click on the Build Lead List with Company Lookalikes, you’ll be asked to add a few companies. Think of it like picking three dream matches, businesses that represent your ideal customer. From there, you can apply additional filters like location, industry, website traffic, and more to ensure your lookalikes are within specific parameters.

Freckle is already a pro at finding lookalikes based on websites, so no need to tweak too much, but remember, the more details you provide, the better the results.

Then, it’s decision time:

Want lots of leads to sift through? Set the minimum relevance to 80%.
Looking for a perfect match? Crank it up to 90%.

Finally, hit Preview Results and let Freckle work its matchmaking magic, lining up your ideal prospects like the dating app of your dreams. You’ll see a list of potential matches, and if they look promising, just click Find Companies and Create Table to start enriching the data.

I’d suggest starting with 30 companies to start testing, think of it as a first round of speed dating. If you like what you see, you can always expand your list and take things to the next level.

Next, Enrich Your List, Because First Impressions Matter

Now, it’s time to enrich your list. Remember you’re looking for long-term relationships, which means putting in the effort to personalise your messages and really get to know your prospects before making a move.

That starts with clicking New Column and pulling in key details to ensure your leads are a great fit. Here’s what I’d recommend adding:

Must-Have Columns:

Founder’s Name – Because ‘Hey you’ doesn’t build trust.
Founder’s Email Address – For when you’re ready to slide into their inbox.
Founder’s LinkedIn Profile – Stalking? No. Strategic research? Absolutely.
Founders LinkedIn Post - Because knowing what they rant about at 2 AM tells you more than their company website ever will.

Bonus Intel (For the Overachievers):

Fundraising Amount – Are they scaling and ready to invest, or still bootstrapping every penny?
Sales Tech Stack – Are they already committed (‘married’) to a competitor, or are they still on the market?

If you’re unsure where to start, just click 'See All Templates', and Freckle will suggest the best data points to collect. Think of it as your dating coach, helping you gather everything you need to make the perfect first impression.

The final step? Making your move. Once you have all the personalised data, it’s time to break the ice and start building that relationship. Personally, I’m not a big fan of AI-generated messages, I prefer voice notes for a more natural touch. So, here’s your choice:

Create a column that generates a personalised email to help get the conversation started.
Or, if you’re like me and prefer a more human approach, create a column that provides bullet points with key talking points for a voice note after you connect with them on LinkedIn.

Either way, the goal is the same, reaching out in a way that feels authentic, engaging, and makes your prospect feel like they’re more than just another name on a list.

Finally, it’s time to be proactive and get started. Export your freshly curated list and feed it into your outreach automation tool (yes, future post spoiler alert 🚀) or drop it into your sales CRM to work through manually, one promising lead at a time.

See Example of Exported Data

Or, if you like keeping things simple, just use Freckle as your CRM and create a Sales Stage column to track where each prospect stands. Either way, you’re now fully equipped to stop chasing the wrong leads and start building relationships with the right ones.

In just 10 minutes, you’ve built your dream dating profile for sales, a highly curated list of your perfect matches, ready for you to reach out. No more awkward blind dates with leads that ghost you after the first message. No more chasing people who were never interested in the first place, leaving you staring at your inbox like it’s a sad rom-com montage.

Just quality prospects aligned with what you offer, ready to talk to you.

This is your GTM strategy (Go to Marry💍).

So, what’s it going to be? Are you ready to take the next step, or are you going to leave your perfect audience waiting at the bar? You’ve fine-tuned your approach, lined up your ideal prospects, and done the groundwork.

Now, it’s time to stop endlessly swiping and start building something real. The only question left is, will you start the conversations, or let them move on to someone who actually makes the first move?

To get started, I’ve arranged something special just for The Relationship of Sales readers:

2,500 free credits to test out Freckle’s prospecting magic.

🎁 How to Claim Your 2,500 Free Credits:

Just send an email to nathan@freckle.io with the subject line PATRICK2500 and you are ready to go 🙌