List Building Skill

Build targeted lists of potential buyers from LinkedIn based on Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) criteria. This skill is for prospecting - finding people who might buy your product or service, not for competitive analysis.

Process

Step 0: Load Defaults & Check Scope

First, check for saved decisions:

Read .business_growth/sales/DECISIONS.md if it exists. This file stores global defaults like:

• Buyer persona and target titles

• Target industries and exclusions

• Company segment preferences

• Sales Navigator availability

• Competitors to exclude

If DECISIONS.md exists: Ask the user: "I found your saved preferences. Want to use these defaults, or customize for this specific list?"

• (A) Use defaults → Skip to Step 1, only ask list-specific questions (target lead count, any overrides)

• (B) Customize → Go through the full discovery questions below

• (C) Update defaults → Go through questions and save new answers to DECISIONS.md

If DECISIONS.md doesn't exist: Go through the full discovery process and offer to save answers as defaults at the end.

Step 0b: Resolve Campaign Context

If campaign_id provided:

• Use it directly as the campaign context

If campaign_id not provided:

• Check for existing campaigns in .business_growth/sales/campaigns/

• If campaigns exist, ask user:

• (A) Create new campaign → Generate a meaningful snake_case name based on criteria (e.g., campaign_fintech_vp_eng )

• (B) Add to existing campaign → Select from available campaigns

• If no campaigns exist, create a new one

Establish campaign_id before proceeding.

Step 0c: Full Discovery (if not using defaults)

Gather context:

• Check existing campaigns in .business_growth/sales/campaigns/ to understand prior work

• Review any existing ICP definitions or campaign history

Ask clarifying questions (one at a time):

• Prefer multiple choice when options are clear

• Focus on understanding: purpose, constraints, success criteria

Global questions (save to DECISIONS.md):

• "Who is your buyer? What role typically makes or influences the purchase decision?"

• "What problem does your product solve for them?"

• "Any industries where your buyers typically work? (e.g., security, fintech, healthcare)"

• "Any spaces to exclude? (e.g., no agencies, no consulting firms, no competitors)"

• "Company segment: (A) SMB (< 50 employees), (B) Mid-market (50-500), (C) Enterprise (500+), or (D) Any size?"

• "Do you have LinkedIn Sales Navigator?"

List-specific questions (always ask):

• "What's the goal for this specific list - demos, trials, partnerships?"

• "How many leads are you looking to have in this list?"

• "Any specific geography or filters for this list?"

Explore approaches: After understanding requirements, propose 2-3 different approaches:

• Present options conversationally with trade-offs

• Lead with your recommended approach and explain why

Save decisions: If user went through full discovery, ask: "Want me to save these as your defaults for future lists?" If yes, create/update .business_growth/sales/DECISIONS.md

Step 1: Define ICP Criteria

Once you understand the user's goals from Step 0, nail down the specific buyer criteria. Fill in any gaps by asking targeted questions (one at a time):

• Buyer Persona: Who buys? Decision-maker vs. influencer vs. end-user

• Target Titles: VP Engineering, Head of Product, CTO, Director of Sales, etc.

• Target Industries/Verticals: Where do your buyers work? Security, fintech, healthcare, SaaS, etc.

• Company Segment: SMB (< 50), mid-market (50-500), enterprise (500+)

• Company Characteristics: Funding stage, revenue range, tech stack

• Geography: Countries, states, cities

• Exclusions: Industries to skip, competitors, company types to avoid

• Additional Filters: Years in role, keywords, specific companies to include/exclude

Step 2: Create ICP Document

Save ICP definition to .business_growth/sales/campaigns/<campaign_id>/icp.md :

ICP Definition

Buyer Profile

• Buyer Persona: <decision-maker / influencer / end-user>
• Titles: <list of titles>
• Problem We Solve: <what pain point does this buyer have?>

Target Companies

• Industries/Verticals: <list of industries>
• Company Segment: <SMB / Mid-market / Enterprise>
• Company Size: <employee count or revenue range>
• Funding Stage: <stages>
• Geography: <locations>

Exclusions

• Industries to Skip: <e.g., agencies, consulting, government>
• Competitors: <companies to exclude>
• Other Exclusions: <e.g., no startups under 10 people>

List Goals

• Target Lead Count: <estimated number of leads>
• Sales Navigator: <yes/no>

Search Strategy

• LinkedIn Search URL: <url>
• Filters Applied: <description>

Notes

<any additional context>

Step 3: Search LinkedIn

• Get browser context with tabs_context_mcp

• Navigate to the appropriate search tool:

• With Sales Navigator: Go to linkedin.com/sales/search/people

• better filters (company size, seniority, years in role), higher limits, lead saving

• Without Sales Navigator: Use standard LinkedIn search at linkedin.com/search/results/people/

• Apply search filters based on ICP

• Take screenshot to verify results

• Adjust filters if results don't match expected count

Important Rate Limits:

• Sales Navigator: ~100 profile views/day, can save leads to lists

• Standard LinkedIn: ~30 profiles/hour, ~100/day

• Space out searches to avoid restrictions

Step 4: Extract Lead Data

For each prospect, capture:

• Name: Full name

• Title: Current job title

• Company: Current employer

• LinkedIn URL: Profile URL

• Location: Geographic location

• Headline: Profile headline

Use read_page to extract structured data from search results or profiles.

Step 5: Save Lead List

Create .business_growth/sales/campaigns/<campaign_id>/LIST.md :

Lead List: <Descriptive Name>

Metadata

• Campaign: <campaign_id> # e.g., campaign_fintech_vp_eng
• Created: <ISO timestamp>
• Source: LinkedIn Search
• ICP: See icp.md
• Total Leads: <count>

Leads

1. <Full Name>

• LinkedIn: <url>
• Role: <title> at <company>
• Location: <location>
• Headline: <headline>

2. <Full Name>

• LinkedIn: <url>
• Role: <title> at <company>
• Location: <location>
• Headline: <headline>

<!-- Continue for all leads -->

Step 6: Report Summary

Provide summary to user:

• Total leads found

• Breakdown by title/company/location

• Recommendations for next steps (create campaign, research top prospects)

• Any issues encountered (rate limits, restricted profiles)

Browser Tools Used

Tool Purpose

tabs_context_mcp

Get browser context

tabs_create_mcp

Create new tab for LinkedIn

navigate

Go to LinkedIn search

read_page

Extract search results and profiles

find

Locate search filters and results

form_input

Enter search criteria

computer

Click, scroll, screenshot

Tips for Better Results

• Use Boolean search: Combine terms with AND, OR, NOT

• Leverage 2nd degree connections: Often higher response rates

• Check for recent activity: Active profiles are more responsive

• Note shared connections: Useful for warm introductions

• Save search URL: Can rerun later for new prospects

Next Steps After List Building

Suggest to user (pass campaign_id to each):

• Use /opportunity-master:lead-research <campaign_id> to research top prospects

• Use /opportunity-master:campaign-creation <campaign_id> to create outreach campaign

• Review and prioritize list before outreach

Global Decisions File

The .business_growth/sales/DECISIONS.md file stores user preferences to avoid repetitive questions:

Sales Decisions & Defaults

Last Updated

<ISO timestamp>

Buyer Profile

• Buyer Persona: <decision-maker / influencer / end-user>
• Target Titles: <list of titles>
• Problem We Solve: <what pain point do we address?>

Target Market

• Industries/Verticals: <list of industries>
• Company Segment: <SMB / Mid-market / Enterprise>
• Geography: <default regions>

Exclusions

• Industries to Skip: <e.g., agencies, consulting, government>
• Competitors: <companies to always exclude>
• Other Exclusions: <company types to avoid>

Tools

• Sales Navigator: <yes/no>

Notes

<any other standing preferences>

When to update DECISIONS.md:

• First time running list-building or lead-research

• When user says "update my defaults"

• When user's ICP fundamentally changes