Lead Generation for SMEs Step 1: Find the Right People, Not Just More People

Clare Patterson
Sep 7
4 min read

Updated: Sep 14

A few weeks back I laid out the five biggest choke points in SME lead generation — and how AI can actually help unclog them.

Here’s the reminder list:

Find the right people, not just more people
Stop wasting hours on dead ends
Build trust before you pitch
Make outreach warmer, not colder
Measure what actually matters

I promised I’d dig into each one. I went slightly off-piste in between, but we’re back on track.

And we’re starting where every sales and marketing process worth its salt should: getting your target audience nailed down.

Because if you don’t know who you’re talking to, you’re not building a pipeline — you’re just keeping busy.

Pre-Step for lead generation: Who are you selling to?

Before we even talk about Apollo, ZoomInfo, or databases, sometimes SMEs that I have worked with aren’t entirely sure who they should be selling to in the first place.

If that’s you, don’t panic. It’s normal. And it’s fixable.

Fire up ChatGPT, Manus, or DeepSeek and ask it:

“Act like a market researcher. Ask me 20 questions to help me define my target audience. Cover my product, pricing, the pain points I solve, and what industries or roles might care.”

Answer those questions, and you’ll come out with a much sharper picture of who you’re aiming at. Spray and pray no longer works.

A woman with dark hair, tied up, wearing glasses, sitting at a laptop, doing market research, with a large navy circle behind her on the wall. — Lead generation for SMEs

More names ≠ better lead generation for SMEs

Here’s the trap: you think you have a “lead problem.” What you actually have is a “random list of names who were never going to buy from you anyway” problem.

It’s like turning up to paintball with a blindfold on and just spraying and praying. Sure, you’ll hit something eventually — but mostly you’re just annoying strangers.

Or worse: you’ve got a database of 3,000 names that hasn’t been touched in years. Half of them have moved jobs. Some companies have folded. And meanwhile, you’re paying HubSpot or other marketing automation tool every month to email them. That’s not lead generation. That’s self-sabotage with a direct debit attached.

More names don’t mean more opportunity. It just means more noise.

Use AI to sharpen your aim

Twenty years ago you’d buy a dodgy database from some bloke who “had contacts.” Half the emails would bounce. A few people would politely tell you to sod off.

Now, tools like Apollo.io and ZoomInfo Lite make that look like the Stone Age. Instead of bulk names, you can zero in on intent signals — signs that a company might be ready to buy.

Hiring new staff? Expanding into new markets? Raised fresh funding? Those aren’t random names; they’re buying signals.

And yes — Apollo even lets you filter by tech stack (1,500+ options). If you’re an IT services firm, you can literally say: “Show me everyone running Microsoft 365 but not yet on Azure.” That’s not a list. That’s a shopping aisle.

Don’t just build lists. Clean them.

Already got a database sat in your CRM? Don’t just hoard it like fine wine. Export it as a CSV, run it through Apollo, and watch the garbage drop away.

Here’s why it matters: if you’re on HubSpot (or any other “pay per contact” system), every out-of-date record is money you’re wasting.

Practical step: Take your dusty old CRM list → run it through Apollo → cleanse out the dead weight → save yourself money.

And if you don’t have a CRM at all? Apollo can pull double duty as a lightweight marketing + CRM tool. It’ll hold your data, track activity, and keep things sane without spreadsheets. Costs go up as you stretch it, but for many SMEs it’s more than enough to get moving.

What filters actually matter (and which are fluff)

Most people log into Apollo once, panic at the dashboard, and never come back. Don’t be that person.

Here are the filters worth your time:

Company size: If you’re selling a £2,000/month service, you don’t need Tesco. Stick with 20–200 employees.
Geography: If you can’t sell to them (or even travel to them), why are they on your list?
Hiring signals: New hires = new headaches. New headaches = they’re looking for solutions.
Funding rounds: Raised cash? They’re spending soon.
Tech stack: If you sell IT, filter for who’s using the tools you integrate with.

Ignore the vanity filters. Stick with these.

Practical step (do this today):

Open Apollo.
Filter by industry (IT services, renewables, manufacturing).
Add company size: 20–200 employees.
Layer on “Hiring” or “Recently Funded.”
Export 50 names. Stop there.

Congratulations — you’ve now got a list that isn’t total garbage.

And more importantly:

You can call them.
You can email them.
You can warm them up with thought leadership and content.
You can connect with them on LinkedIn.

That’s not a spreadsheet of strangers. That’s a pipeline.

Personas: stop talking into the void

Even if you’ve got the “right” people, you’ll still miss if you don’t know what actually matters to them.

This is where AI tools like Manus AI or ChatGPT can save you hours. Ask them to build buyer personas:

What keeps an IT Director awake at night? (Legacy systems that make them look bad in front of the CFO.)
What pressures are on a Head of Ops in renewables? (Project overruns, government targets.)
What makes a Manufacturing MD twitch? (Downtime, scrap rates, energy costs.)

Practical step: Feed AI a sector + role and ask:

“Build me a persona for a Head of Ops in a 100-person renewables firm. Focus on pain points, buying triggers, and language they’d use.”

You’ll get a draft. Then sanity-check it against your real-world conversations.

Quick checklist (stick this on your desk)

Define your ideal client profile (sector, size, geography).
Build or cleanse a list of 50 companies using Apollo or ZoomInfo.
Use AI to draft personas (then refine with your own knowledge).
Stop chasing thousands. Talk to the right 50.
Remember: more names = more noise.

The Takeaway

Lead generation isn’t about shouting louder. It’s about pointing the megaphone in the right direction.

If you don’t know who you’re aiming at, you’re not doing lead gen. You’re just keeping busy.

AI doesn’t replace strategy — it sharpens it. If you’re clear on your ideal client, the tools will give you leverage you could only dream of a decade ago.