How to Find and Prospect to Companies Similar to Your Best Clients

If we could choose a superpower to have at work, cloning our favorite clients would be up there. 

Just imagine: you wouldn’t need to guess what messaging would land when prospecting. You’d know prospects would be interested in your product – every time, Cold call recipients would be positively overjoyed picking up the phone…

Hand on a second – is this a daydream, or real life?!

Let us explain. Targeting lookalike companies to increase deal close rates has been a proven strategy in B2B sales for a long time now. Think about it: companies that are similar to your best clients are likely to share the same challenges. Challenges that, very fortunately, your product or service just so happens to solve. 

The problem is that hunting these lookalike companies down hasn’t always been easy. Combing through long lists of businesses while looking for a very particular set of characteristics is a pretty time-consuming task. Or it used to be…

…until Surfe came along 😉

We’ve built a tool that makes finding lookalike companies so easy, you’ll genuinely feel like you’ve cloned your favorite clients. You can think of this blog post as us passing the superpower along to you: 

• Why Target Lookalike Companies? 
• Using Surfe to Identify Lookalike Companies
• How to Prospect to Lookalike Companies

Once you’ve finished reading, you’ll be able to find companies similar to your favourite clients – or dream clients – at the drop of a hat. And as a result, your deal close rates are going to start multiplying too. 

Get your cape on – let’s get started. 

Why Target Lookalike Companies? 

First up – why would you want to target lookalike companies in the first place? 

Companies in similar industries, similar geographies, or at similar sizes often share common pain points or operational challenges. For example, if a country passes a new piece of legislation, suddenly a lot of businesses will have to find out how to stay compliant. A business that’s rapidly scaled in the last year might suddenly face new people challenges. Or maybe a decrease in funding has left startups in a particular industry scrambling to become financially viable. You get the picture. 

Businesses with similar problems or challenges to clients you already have will be a natural fit for your solution. They’re more likely to see the value in what you offer – which means your pitch will land better, and your value proposition will feel more relevant. 

Targeting companies that resemble your current clients is also much more efficient for you and your team. You already know what works, so you can replicate those winning strategies instead of trying something new every five minutes. 

Sold? Thought so. Here’s how to clone* your clients of choice with Surfe. 

*Ok, not literally clone…but close enough.

Using Surfe to Identify Lookalike Companies

Introducing Surfe’s Company Lookalikes feature – you’re going to love it! 

All you need to do is enter the name, or names, of companies you’ve recently closed or your biggest clients, and then hit ‘Run Search’. 

Surfe looks at key data points like revenue, size, location, and industry, and then searches its database to generate a list of companies with the same characteristics. In a couple of seconds, you’ll find companies that are far more likely to be interested in what you have to say and what you offer. Winning. 

Let’s take an example. Say you’ve had a client for a couple of years, and the whole business loves them. No, we don’t mean you really get on with your POC or you believe in their mission (though those things certainly help, don’t get us wrong). We’re talking more about the numbers: maybe the initial deal size or length was significant, or maybe the way their industry’s going means they’ve happily accepted several upsells since. 

As a canny salesperson, you put the name of this magical business into the Company Lookalikes feature – and Surfe pulls up 50 new businesses with similar characteristics. These businesses are more likely to be interested in what you offer – and because of your prior experience, you’re able to move them through the pipeline more quickly. 

By automating this process, you’ve saved valuable time which you can put into building relationships with these 50 new businesses. In other words, the parts of your job that need a human touch. 

How to Prospect to Lookalike Companies 

Ok, so you’ve got a list of new companies to reach out to. Here’s a step-by-step process to make sure you maximize every opportunity. 

Step 1: Identity Decision Makers 

It’s likely that you sell to a specific role or department – Finance Managers, or the Finance team, for example. 

With Surfe, you can scope these people at your lookalike companies out: you can search for people by job title, department, seniority, personal location, and more. 

Tip: this feature is also useful for sniffing out key stakeholders. You may sell to a Finance Manager, but you’ll probably speak to the Head of Finance too at some point. Better make sure they know who you are before they join the conversation. 

Step 2: Find Contact Information 

You now know the businesses you’re going to sell to and the people you’ll need to speak to to make it happen. 

But how do you, you know, actually get in touch with these people? 

Surfe’s got you. It uses waterfall enrichment technology to aggregate several databases for the right contact data, and then checks and double-checks them to make sure what it’s found is accurate. 

You get verified emails and phone numbers, in bulk if you’d like, and your prospects get the outreach emails and phone calls that (in theory) they’ve been waiting for. 

Step 3: Craft Personalized Outreach 

Knowing what to say in an outreach message can be difficult. How do you get the right tone? What pain point should you refer to? 

Looking at your historical data will really help here. Think about it: you’ve already sold to very similar companies, so why not check out what worked for them and take the same approach? 

To take a really basic example, if you first reached out to a current customer with a message about cutting down admin time, maybe their lookalike will respond to a similar point. Simple!   

The more quickly you can land on a shared pain point or show you understand an industry challenge, the more quickly you can prove to your prospect you’re on their team. It’s never too early to build rapport – the sooner you can do it, the more likely you are to be able to move them to the next step.

Let’s Wrap It Up!

Someone call an optician!

Forget seeing double – use Surfe’s Company Lookalikes tool, and you’ll soon be seeing triple or quadruple of all your favorite clients. 

Use it to find similar companies to those you’ve already had success with, and you’ll enjoy easier prospecting, faster sales cycles, and, ultimately, more deals closed. Turns out you might not want that optician after all. 

FAQs About Finding and Prospecting to Companies Similar to Your Best Clients 

What Are Lookalike Companies, And Why Should I Target Them?

Lookalike companies are businesses that share similar characteristics with your best clients – like industry, size, location, or pain points, for example. Targeting lookalike companies lets you focus on prospects who are more likely to understand your value proposition, increasing your chances of closing deals and saving time on outreach. It’s a smart, scalable way to grow your pipeline using strategies you already know work rather than trying something new. 

How Does Surfe’s Company Lookalikes Feature Work?

Surfe’s Company Lookalikes feature uses data points like revenue, size, location, and industry to find businesses similar to your existing clients. Simply pop in the name of a client (or several!), and Surfe will generate a list of similar companies in seconds. Automating this process eliminates the time-consuming task of manual research, so you can quickly identify high-potential prospects. By focusing on companies more likely to understand your value proposition, Surfe streamlines your prospecting process and gives you more time to build relationships with decision-makers.

What Are The Benefits Of Targeting Lookalike Companies?

Targeting lookalike companies saves time, increases efficiency, and improves your chances of success. Because these companies share similar challenges with your current clients, they’re more likely to relate to your messaging. This means your pitches will land better, and you’ll spend less time trying to identify the right approach. It also allows you to replicate successful sales strategies and enjoy smarter, faster prospecting with better results.

Can Surfe Help Me Find Contact Information For Lookalike Companies?

Yes! Surfe doesn’t just identify lookalike companies – it also helps you find verified contact information for decision-makers. Using waterfall enrichment technology, Surfe aggregates and cross-checks databases to provide accurate emails and phone numbers. You can pull contact details in bulk so you’re ready to start reaching out immediately. This feature waves goodbye to the frustration of searching for contact information manually and gives you more time to craft personalized, impactful outreach.

How Do I Craft Personalized Outreach For Lookalike Companies?

Start by reviewing what worked with similar clients. Use your historical data to identify messaging that resonated – like specific pain points or industry challenges, for example. If a current client responded well to messaging about, say, cutting admin time, try a similar approach for their lookalikes. The key is to show prospects that you understand their challenges and have solutions to help.