How to build a prospect list with Database Search

This guide explains how to use Database Search to find prospects and build targeted contact lists using filters like job title, location, industry, company size, and more.

Our database includes more than 50 million prospects from around the world. We update it monthly with new contacts and fresh data for existing prospects, so you always work with up-to-date information.

Before you start

Read our guide on How to define your ICP for your company and product. This guide helps you identify buyer personas and their pain points, so you know who is most likely to benefit from your offer. After researching your potential customers, you’ll have clear criteria to use in your searches.

Search for prospects

Go to Database Search from the Finder section in the top menu.

Open the Prospects tab and add your filters to start the search.

Build searches with AI

You can use built-in AI Search to find prospects faster. Describe the prospects you want to find and the type of company they should work for. AI will help configure the right search filters for your criteria.

To search for companies and their data, switch to the Companies tab.

Set search filters

Select filters to search for prospects based on your exact criteria. Use filters like job title, location, or company size to find prospects matching your ICP.

You can search by prospect details or company details.

As you add or edit filters, click Search below to show or update your search results. Click Save at the top to save the filter preset and repeat the search later in one click.

Improve your targeting by combining different search filters. To learn how each filter works and when to use it, see the Database Search filters overview.

Prospect filters

Find prospects by their personal attributes: Job title, Skills, Location, Management level, and Department.

Specify the Management level to find prospects based on seniority. Narrow your search to decision-makers, executives, seniors, or team leads, depending on your ICP or campaign goals.

Specify the Department to find prospects working in specific departments of a company. Filter to the right functional area and focus on the team most likely to benefit from your solution.

Company filters

Find prospects by the type of company they work at: Company location, Industry, Size (by number of employees), Revenue, Specialties, Founding year.

Specify the Revenue range to find companies that match your target customer's financial profile. This helps you prioritize accounts most likely to have the budget for your solution.

Specify Specialties to narrow your search to companies focused on particular technologies, services, or practices. Useful when your product solves a problem specific to a niche within a broader industry.

Add prospects to your list

The search results preview includes the prospect name, job title, and company. Email addresses and other contact information are added to prospect profiles after you save them to a list.

Check the Prospects found number at the top left. This number shows how many prospects are available for your current search filters.

Select prospects using the checkboxes on the right, then click Add to list to save them to your Leads dashboard. From there, you can launch a campaign or export prospects to a CSV file.

Prospects in Snov.io include verified email addresses and LinkedIn profile URLs in their contact information, so they’re ready for engagement through email or LinkedIn.

Note about alternative emails
In rare cases, you may notice that the domain in a prospect’s email address is different from the company name in the search results.

Here’s why: If no valid email is available for the current company, we’ll search for an alternative email address from the prospect’s employment history.

This email still belongs to the same prospect but is associated with their previous company. You will be charged for adding alternative emails only if their status is valid (green) or unknown (yellow).

Add prospect in bulk

Database Search supports bulk options, so you can save entire prospect segments at once.

Click the checkbox at the top of the search results to open the Bulk selection and prospecting settings. Upgrade your plan to Pro S or higher to access advanced settings.

Save prospects in batches

The All on page option selects all prospects on the current page. Each page in Database Search results includes up to 50 prospects. To view more results, click Next at the bottom.

Save all prospects available

The Maximum available option selects all prospects you can save from this search. This option is useful when your filters are precise and you want to save a larger prospect segment without reviewing each page manually.

Use the Unselect all option to clear your selection in one click and start again if needed.

Advanced search settings

The bulk selection menu also includes settings that help you control how many prospects you save from the current search.

The advanced settings apply only to the current search results. Adjust them again in your new searches.

Number of prospects to select

Specify the exact number of prospects you want to select from your search results.

Use this option when you already know how many leads you need for your list or campaign.

Max prospects per company

Specify how many prospects can be selected from a single company. This limit helps control how broadly you reach into any one organization.

Set a max of 5 prospects to avoid spam filters and ensure your outreach feels targeted rather than mass-sent.

Skip previously saved

Enable this option to avoid saving prospects you already added in previous searches. This helps prevent duplicate prospects from appearing in your lists.

Search history

Under Saved searches, you’ll find filter presets you saved using the Save option at the top.

This makes it easy to quickly continue prospecting with the same criteria to save more matching prospects.

Your previous searches appear in the Recent searches section on the right. Open a search record to view its details, or click Save to save it as a preset and repeat it later with the same filters.

Next steps

Here are a few recommended ways to continue working in Snov.io:

• Create a list and folder structure to organize prospects by ICP, company type, or campaign goal
• Launch an email campaign or set up multichannel outreach with LinkedIn Automation
•  Export prospects to a CSV file to continue management in your other tools
• Add your product to Snov.io to generate more ICPs, discover new audience segments, and create personalized emails in AI Studio