154: Ivana Taylor – Building Prospect Lists with AI (Part 1)

Guest Bio: Ivana Taylor has spent 35 years translating complex marketing into simple, executable strategies. She's the founder of DIYMarketers.com, where she helps entrepreneurs compete without enterprise budgets. She's a self-described AI power user who tests tools for six hours a day. And she's built follow-up systems for everyone from manufacturing companies to consultants.   Key Points: AI has fundamentally changed prospecting and outreach—making it faster, cheaper, and more targeted—but only when combined with clear strategy and direct sales fundamentals. The Old Way Is Broken Cold outreach traditionally means endless spreadsheets, bad or outdated contact data, spray-and-pray marketing (webinars, lead magnets, mass email blasts), and huge time investment with little guarantee of ROI. Buying lists or relying solely on inbound marketing is increasingly ineffective. What Still Works Direct sales and direct outreach remain the most reliable growth strategy. Success starts with absolute clarity on your Ideal Prospect; industry, role/title, geography and specific expertise or problem area. Without this clarity, AI just produces faster garbage. How AI Changes Prospect List Building AI dramatically reduces the manual labor of prospect research. Instead of hours of Googling and data entry AI can find names, companies, websites, social profiles, and sometimes contact info and AI can organize data into usable spreadsheets. AI works best in small-to-medium batches (10–50 at a time). Tools Mentioned for Prospecting & Enrichment General AI platforms (for defining criteria and searching): ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. Spreadsheet & research automation: GenSpark (noted for strong spreadsheet creation) Data enrichment & contact info (especially B2B): Apollo.io, Hunter.io, Clay.com Outreach & CRM tools: Nimble.com (emails sent directly through Gmail for 1:1 feel) Deal-finding for tools: AppSumo (one-time purchase tools) What AI Can (and Can't) Do AI can build targeted prospect lists faster. Find websites, LinkedIn profiles, phone numbers, and some emails. Segment prospects by expertise or role. Reduce human error in outreach sequences. Ai can't guarantee perfect data (bounces still happen). Replace human judgment. Eliminate the need to review and understand each prospect. Best Practices for AI-Powered Prospecting Always review and "get your hands dirty" with the data. Read prospect websites and make personal notes. Expect some bad data—scrubbing is still required. B2B data is far easier to find than consumer data. Free versions of tools are sufficient to test and validate workflows. Outreach Strategy Matters Use AI to support structured outreach sequences, not spam. Follow a 3–5 touch email sequence. Personalization improves responses. Segment based on expertise, role, or interest. Automation reduces mistakes while preserving a personal tone.    Guest Links: FREE GIFT Business by Referral Course: https://diymarketers.trainercentralsite.com/course/business-by-referral  Promo Code "WENDY25"   AI + Sales Tools from the Podcast ChatGPT – Use it to write outreach emails, brainstorm follow-ups, or summarize client notes quickly and naturally. Genspark – Great for researching topics and generating accurate, human-like marketing or sales content fast. Perplexity – Ideal for researching prospects, finding their websites, social links, and key insights before reaching out. Hunter.io – Find and verify professional email addresses so you always reach the right person. Apollo.io – Combines verified contact data with built-in email outreach and engagement tracking in one platform.   Learn More Visit DIYMarketers.com – Simple, actionable marketing strategies for small business owners who want to do marketing on less than $17 a day. Fix Your Marketing Problem in Less Than 24 Hours – Fill out the form, tell me your marketing challenge, and I'll send personalized recommendations in less than 24 hours.   About Salesology®: Conversations with Sales Leaders Download your free gift, The Salesology® Vault. The vault is packed full of free gifts from sales leaders, sales experts, marketing gurus, and revenue generation experts. Download your free gift, 81 Tools to Grow Your Sales & Your Business Faster, More Easily & More Profitably. Save hours of work tracking down the right prospecting and sales resources and/or digital tools that every business owner and salesperson needs. 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