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# System prepended metadata

title: 'Step 1: Finding the right companies'
tags: [A2, ' Prospecting']

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tags: A2, Prospecting
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# Step 1: Finding the right companies

**The first step in generating great leads is to produce a list of companies that match your ICP criteria.**


The easiest way to do this is by finding similar companies to the ones you already know match your ICP! 

1. Take a look at your wanted leads list and your ICP and try to discern a list of common traits to look for, for example:

    - Industries
    - Geography
    - Product type
    - Revenue model
    - Company size
    - Revenue level
    - Tech stack
    - Any other factor

2. With this in mind, jump on Google and start looking for potential companies that fit the criteria and add them to your sheet (just the company information, we will get to the contact information shortly).


Let's walk through an example:

::: info
**Let's take Hyrise Academy as an example.**
&nbsp;
Our clients are companies looking to hire amazing sales talent (like you).
&nbsp;
**1. We know our ideal ICP matches the following criteria:**
- SaaS Companies with growing sales teams
- With a strong presence in Europe
- Performing transactional as well consultative type sales (in other words, offering products that are easy to explain and are relatively inexpensive to  complex, capital-intensive products)
- Showing high growth
- Having raised investor money (Series A, Series B funding)
- Not #1, but a challenger in their industry (as these companies don't struggle to find talent as much)

A perfect example is **Personio**, which offers cloud-based HR management, recruiting solutions, and software for startups.
&nbsp;
2. With this in mind, we google Personio competitors and we discover a website with Top 10 HR Software providers. We qualify with the criteria mentioned above and narrow it down to two new companies that would make great leads: **BambooHR and Workday.**
&nbsp;
Easy right? 🙂
::: 
&nbsp;
## How to google for leads
Here are some quick search resources to get you started (with CompanyABC as an example):

- Google "CompanyABC vs" or "Company ABC competitors" 
- Search on [Crunchbase](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/personio). You can filter your search by many different criteria, or search for "CompanyABC" and get lists in which they appear with similar companies.
- Search [AngelList](https://angel.co/)
- Search for terms like "companies in ABC industry" or "ABC industry overview"
- Google "product ABC provider comparison" 
- Use comparison platforms such as G2 (and search for the product category) or Capterra
&nbsp; 
## 🤔 What's next? 
Once you have a list of companies, it's time to start looking for people that match your IBP within those companies... let us show you how in Step 2!👇

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