Case Study

Name: Roy Henderson
Job Title: Owner

Profile: Northern and Southern CA High Tech Directories

Pinnacle Engineering & Design is a small, one-man consulting practice and you're looking at him! I specialize in engineering mechanical design work, mostly for corporations, and I bring in additional associates and assistants as needed. Most of my work involves product design development and automation design and all the work I do is individual contract work, so I have to personally contact each potential customer and pitch them on my services. By using Rich's High Tech Directories as a first step to identify and reach out to new customers, I've grown my business substantially over the years.

I started using Rich's almost eight years ago because they met my customer prospecting needs perfectly. Rich's centers on BioScience and Hi Tech which are my target audience, and I needed to identify prospects within my specified geographic territory: San Diego and Orange County, California. What I like best about Rich's Directories is that the company listings include a short paragraph about the nature of each company. I use this information to qualify each potential lead. Knowing whether a company meets all or at least some of my criteria really empowers me when I make that initial call. I have also found that the contact info listed in Rich's Directories is current and accurate.

Currently I am using the electronic version of the directories, which is great if you want to sort the database using various criteria, but I also like to thumb through the print editions because sometimes a new company will catch my eye that I had not noticed in the electronic version. I take the electronic version spreadsheet and field map it into an ACT! database, which allows me to create groups by criteria and flag prospects for next steps and so on. Perusing the electronic version can be more effective than using ACT! because Rich's version allows you to look at more than one prospect at once. I leave it within an Excel spreadsheet so I can create custom columns and rearrange it to fit my personal viewing preferences.

This past year, my unique needs around the database have probably expedited Rich's decision to launch new Web services. They have been super friendly and cooperative in helping meet my needs in the meantime, while the new Web services were launched.