Our Advanced Search feature includes 17 search fields and presents millions of potential criteria combinations.

As a result of this, we tend to go “criteria crazy” and narrow down the database far more than is necessary.

Searching for B2B sales agents is a balancing act: on one hand, you don’t want to narrow down the database so far that you have a handful of agents to invite—and on the other hand, you don’t want to invest time inviting hundreds of agents who aren’t likely to be a good fit for your business.

Here’s the good news: using this simple 3-step method, you can easily strike this balance and tap into a much deeper pool of potential agent partners while optimising potential agent fit.

Your baseline criteria include your “non-negotiables” that will apply to all your agent searches.

Because of this, it’s important to keep your baseline criteria as broad as possible. If you make these criteria too stringent, you’ll limit all searches from the outset.

In most cases, baseline criteria should include location only. Useful search fields include Target world regions, Target countries and Based in country. If possible, stick to Target world regions and narrow down further only when absolutely necessary.

Your baseline criteria may also include Languages, but only specify languages if you’d like business to be conducted in a language other than English. Otherwise, leave Languages blank.

In rare cases, Minimum years of experience may be included in your baseline criteria. However, it’s usually best to leave this field blank. You can always sort your results by years of experience later.

After going through this process with thousands of companies, we’ve identified three effective ways to narrow down our agent database for maximum results.

Think of each of these search formulas as yielding a specific “crowd” of agents who could be highly beneficial to your business in different ways.

Agents in this crowd target the same industries you target. Use Target industries to perform this search.

These agents may have priceless hands-on experience selling to companies that match your ideal client profile.

For example, if you sell software to companies in renewable energy, imagine how valuable it would be to work with an agent who already sells to companies in renewable energy!

This crowd includes agents with relevant existing connections with your potential customers even though they might not specifically state they are looking to sell your particular product or service on their profile. Experiment with any of the fields in the Network connections section of the Advanced Search tool to access this crowd—particularly the Network industries field.

Agents in this crowd may have invaluable connections with your target decision-makers. Beyond connections, these agents may also bring expertise in reaching and selling to relevant decision-makers.

When reaching out to these agents, let them know you are aware that they don't specify they are looking to sell your type of products or services, but they are potentially already in contact with customers who need your services and you'll be happy to pay a commission on any introductions they can make on your behalf.

Agents in this crowd have experience with your industry or products/services. Use Industry experience, Product/services agent has sold and Products/services agent wants to sell to access this crowd.

These sales reps are more likely to be familiar with your products and services and understand how to sell them effectively. They may have subject matter expertise, industry-specific objection-handling skills or insights around your ideal prospects.

This is the secret to maximising your search results while optimising potential agent fit: search one crowd at a time!

Combining criteria across these three crowds often leads to unnecessarily narrow results. We say “unnecessarily” because agents in each one of these crowds can offer significant value to your business.

First, use your imagination to think about how agents who match your scenario in different ways could offer profitable partnerships. For example, when choosing Target industries criteria, scroll through the industry list and look for additional complementary industries rather than limiting yourself to the most obvious selections.

And second, if you’re still getting a low quantity of results, please contact our support team immediately so we can help you find a solution!

We hope this 3-step process goes a long way in helping you maximise your search results while optimising your potential agent fit!

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