Build an RIA prospect list with a reason behind every account

Define the account before opening the filters

Complete this sentence: we help this type of firm solve this specific problem. Then list what would make an account unsuitable. A service sold to a small advisory practice may have a different buyer and implementation process from a product sold to an institutional manager, even when both appear in an adviser dataset.

Create two groups of criteria. Mandatory criteria might include the territory you cover or the type of business you can support. Research clues might include a service mentioned on a website or an observed client portal. The first group determines whether an account belongs in scope; the second helps you decide what to investigate.

Build the list in layers

Begin with account type and geography. Add a reported asset range only if size changes your ability to serve the account. Next, search collected source text for the language that matters to your offer. A result should be explainable before it earns a place on the working list.

Open the matching passage rather than relying on a firm name or highlighted word alone. A discussion of a service can be a current offering, a historical article or a description of somebody else’s approach. Record which one you found. If a field is missing, mark the question for research instead of quietly treating an unknown as a negative.

• Start broad enough to see the market you are screening.
• Add one meaningful filter at a time and review the effect.
• Inspect a sample of accepted and excluded results.
• Keep the source and observation date with your selection reason.

Review the people at each accepted firm

Choose a role that relates to the problem you solve. An operations leader may be useful for a workflow discussion; an investment role may be relevant to a portfolio process. Titles are research clues, so confirm responsibility rather than assuming that a senior title owns every decision.

Check the person’s firm relationship and the source of the role. Several source records may describe the same individual. Avoid creating separate outreach tasks for each spelling until you have reviewed the identity. Published contact information also needs its own freshness and deliverability checks.

Save the context with the list

Give the list a name that explains its purpose and owner. Save the criteria for repeat research, then record the accepted accounts and what still needs confirmation. Keep exclusions such as existing customers or accounts already being worked in your sales process.

BreakawayIQ can save audiences and selected records and record exports. Use those receipts as a record of what left the workspace, not proof that your CRM accepted an import. When a colleague picks up the list, they should be able to understand the next action without repeating the initial research.