In brief
- A good B2B prospect list starts from the target (industry, area, contact person) and the channel (phone, email, post), not from the number of rows.
- Of the 1,577,933 records in our database, 84% have a phone number, 79% a website and 42% their own email address: the chosen channel sets the useful volume.
- Before the first campaign, match the file against your customer file and your objection list.
- Towards professionals, the offer must relate to their business, and every message must allow them to refuse further ones.
A B2B contact database is judged by what it produces: meetings, quotes, customers. A poorly targeted prospect list costs you twice, at purchase and then in lost sales time. Here is a five-step method for building a useful list of French companies, whether you buy it or build it yourself.
1. Define the target
Start by describing the company that buys your offer, using three criteria:
- The industry. Translate it into NAF codes: “plumbers” becomes 43.22A, “accounting firms” 69.20Z (see NAF and APE codes). Our 21 lists by industry group these codes into broad trades.
- The area. All of France, some regions or some departments, taking account of the area your sales staff actually cover.
- The size. Our export contains neither headcount nor turnover. If size is decisive, cross your selection with the headcount bands of the Sirene database once the SIRET number is available.
Finally, write down who in the company must read your message: the manager of a restaurant, the purchasing department of a manufacturer, the partner of a firm. That decides the channel.
2. Choose the channels, and with them the volume
Not every contact works for every campaign. Status of our database on 4 November 2026:
| Channel | Records | Share | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phone | 1,326,371 | 84% | calling campaign, booking meetings |
| Website | 1,247,091 | 79% | qualification before contact, contact form |
| Own email | 659,494 | 42% | email campaign, follow-up after a call |
| At least one of the three | 1,505,366 | 95% | targeted mail, multichannel campaign |
Making a channel mandatory shrinks the file: requiring an email address cuts the volume by more than half compared with all records. For a multichannel campaign, keep all reachable records and assign each one the channel it has. The sources of each channel are explained in B2B email lists of French companies and on the sources and methodology page.
3. Compare with your customer file
A prospect list inevitably contains companies you already know: active customers, former customers, open opportunities. Before any send, match it against your CRM:
- on the SIRET or SIREN number when both sides have it; it is the only safe key;
- otherwise on the website domain and the normalised phone number (+33 format);
- as a last resort on the company name and postcode, with a manual check: two similar names do not always mean the same company.
The same matching lets you enrich your customer file: a customer record without a phone number or website can take these details from the export if the match is certain. Keep track of the source and date of every detail you add.
4. Qualify before contacting
The website is the best qualification tool: it shows what the company really does, where it works and sometimes whom to address. For a high-value offer, two minutes on each prospect’s website before the call are worth more than a thousand generic emails. Sort the records into three groups, priority, to test and out of scope, and start with the first.
5. Prospect by the rules
Towards professionals, the CNIL accepts email and phone prospecting without prior consent when the offer relates to their profession. Three obligations are not negotiable: identify the sender, allow recipients to refuse further solicitations simply, and respect those refusals. Keep a suppression list and compare every new file with it. Since 11 August 2026, cold calling consumers requires their prior consent, so a sole trader reached on a mobile number calls for a cautious approach. Details: B2B email and phone prospecting in France.
The budget
At basedecontacts.fr, the contact list of a whole industry costs €229 to €449, as a one-off payment without a subscription; a selection by area or channel is quoted individually (prices). To compare offers, divide the price by the number of records actually usable for your channel, not by the number of rows in the file. A sample file with fictitious companies lets you test the import into your CRM: export and sample file.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a customer file and a prospect list?
A customer file holds the companies you already do business with; a prospect list holds the ones you want to win. The rules differ: towards your customers, the existing relationship can justify offers for similar products or services; towards business prospects, the offer must relate to their activity and every message must allow them to refuse further ones.
How many contacts does a B2B campaign need?
There is no universal figure: start from your capacity to follow up. A team that can call back fifty companies a week does not need ten thousand emails at once. A targeted, recent file used in waves beats a large volume sent once.
Should a purchased file be de-duplicated against your CRM?
Yes, before any campaign: you avoid prospecting your own customers as strangers and contacting people who have objected. Match on the SIRET number when it is known, otherwise on the website and the normalised phone number; check doubtful cases by hand.
As of 8 November 2026. Figures of our database as of 4 November 2026 (Overture Maps and company websites); prospecting rules according to the CNIL. General information, not legal advice.
