What you'll get
- 2 copy-ready blocks
- 1 table
- 7 min read
- Results sheet (copy and fill in)
- Results sheet, filled in
How to use it
- Step 1: Open the list you plan to work this quarter.
- Step 2: Answer each question yes or no. "Sort of" counts as no.
- Step 3: Count the yes answers and read your result in Part 2.
- Step 4: Apply the fix for each no. Start with points 1, 4 and 9.
A lead list is a set of contacts. An account list is a set of companies you have decided to win, with the people inside each one mapped. Both have a place. The trouble starts when a team sells enterprise deals from a lead list and wonders why replies never turn into revenue.
Part 1: The 10-point check
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1. Could you name the companies before you had any contacts? Lead list: you filtered a database by title and exported whoever matched. Account list: you chose the companies first. Fix: write the company names in a column on their own, then find people.
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2. Is there a written reason each company is on the list? Lead list: "matches the filter". Account list: a fit score or a one-line reason per account. Fix: score every account. If you cannot say why it is there, remove it.
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3. Is the list small enough to research every account? Lead list: sized to a sending tool's daily limit. Account list: sized to research hours. Fix: work out how many accounts one person can research and work well each month. That is your list size.
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4. Do you have more than one person per account? Lead list: one contact per company, usually the most senior title. Account list: the roles that take part in the decision. Fix: add at least a decision maker, a day-to-day owner of the problem and a technical or financial evaluator.
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5. Do you know each person's role in the decision, not just their title? Lead list: "VP Operations". Account list: "owns the budget", "runs the evaluation", "can block on security". Fix: add a column for role in the decision and fill it in for your top tier.
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6. Is the list tiered? Lead list: every row gets the same sequence. Account list: the top tier gets the most research and the most channels. Fix: split into three tiers and write down what each tier gets.
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7. Does every top-tier account have a reason to talk now? Lead list: timing is whenever the sequence reaches them. Account list: a trigger such as a new executive, an expansion, a published initiative or a contract coming up. Fix: add a "why now" column. Top-tier accounts with nothing in it drop a tier until something changes.
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8. Would a reply from one person change what you send to their colleagues? Lead list: contacts are worked in isolation, and two reps sometimes email the same company. Account list: one owner per account, one shared view of every touch. Fix: group activity by account in your CRM and give each account a single owner.
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9. Do you report by account? Lead list: emails sent, open rate, replies. Account list: accounts reached, buying committees active, conversations open, pipeline per account. Fix: add an account-level view to your weekly report and read it first.
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10. Do you know what happens after the first meeting? Lead list: the meeting is the finish line. Account list: the meeting is the first of several conversations inside the same account. Fix: before each first meeting, write down the next two people you want to meet there.
Part 2: Read your result
| Yes answers | What you have | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 8 to 10 | An account list | Keep going. Put your effort into deeper research on the top tier |
| 5 to 7 | A hybrid | Fix the no answers for your top 20 accounts first, then the rest |
| 0 to 4 | A lead list | Fine for volume deals. For enterprise deals, pause sending and rebuild from point 1 |
Part 3: Results sheet
Results sheet (copy and fill in)
LEAD LIST VS ACCOUNT LIST: [team], [date]
1. Companies chosen before contacts Y / N
2. Written reason per account Y / N
3. Small enough to research every account Y / N
4. More than one person per account Y / N
5. Role in the decision known Y / N
6. Tiered Y / N
7. "Why now" for every top-tier account Y / N
8. One owner and one view per account Y / N
9. Reporting by account Y / N
10. Plan for after the first meeting Y / N
Yes answers: [ ] / 10
First three fixes, with owner and date:
1. [ ]
2. [ ]
3. [ ]Part 4: When a lead list is the right tool
Be honest about your deal. A lead list is the better choice when one person can say yes, the price is low enough to buy without a committee, the market has thousands of near-identical buyers and the sales cycle is days or weeks. Account-based work costs more per company and only pays back when one won account is worth a lot and several people have to agree.
Part 5: What an account scoreboard looks like
In our published BEST SAP case study the funnel reads: 1,500 connections, 800 accounts reached, 30 positive responses, 22 accounts penetrated. Every line after the first is counted in accounts or conversations. There is no line for emails sent. Read the BEST SAP case study.
Worked example (illustrative, not a real company)
A warehouse-software company checks the 400-contact list it planned to email this quarter.
Results sheet, filled in
1. Companies chosen before contacts N exported by job title
2. Written reason per account N
3. Small enough to research every account N 400 contacts, two people
4. More than one person per account N one contact per company
5. Role in the decision known N
6. Tiered N
7. "Why now" for every top-tier account N
8. One owner and one view per account Y
9. Reporting by account N the report shows sends and opens
10. Plan for after the first meeting Y
Yes answers: 2 / 10. This is a lead list.
First three fixes, with owner and date:
1. Name 30 companies first and drop every contact outside them (sales lead, week 1)
2. Add a budget owner and an evaluator for the top 10 (researcher, week 2)
3. Put an account view at the top of the Monday report (operations, week 2)The sending tool was ready. The list was not. Three fixes take two weeks and turn 400 contacts into 30 accounts the team can research.
Five mistakes to avoid
- Counting "sort of" as yes. A half-yes hides the fix.
- Running the check alone. Sales and marketing answer points 8 and 9 differently. Do it together.
- Fixing all ten at once. Start with points 1, 4 and 9.
- Keeping the list size and adding research. Cut the list first, or the research never happens.
- Checking once. Run it again each quarter, before the next list is built.
Why this works on named accounts
Common questions
What is the difference between a lead list and an account list?
A lead list is a set of contacts, usually filtered by job title. An account list is a set of companies you chose first, with the people in each decision mapped.
How many accounts should be on an account list?
As many as your team can research and work properly each month, and no more (point 3). List size comes from research hours, not from a sending tool's daily limit.
When is a lead list the better choice?
When one person can say yes, the price needs no committee and the sales cycle runs days or weeks (Part 4).
Read next
Related articleA Comprehensive Guide to Target Account Selling (TAS)Read →More from the Academy
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For founders and sales leaders who have an ICP on a slide and need a ranked list of named accounts.
You leave with a one-page ICP, an 11-point weighted scorecard and three tiers.
Buying Committee Map
For sellers working a large account through a single contact.
You leave with nine roles to look for, a map you can paste into a spreadsheet, a brief for each person and a coverage check that shows where the account is exposed.
Criteria, Not Company Names
For anyone tempted to ask AI for a list of companies to sell to.
You leave with the prompt that works instead: criteria sharpened, knock-outs found and the places a verifiable list actually comes from.
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