Start with properties your crews can serve, identify the organization responsible for the work, and verify the relevant buyer. Keep account fit, contact accuracy and project timing as separate fields.
Define the territory around delivery
Draw the market around where you can supervise work reliably. Travel time, mobilization, equipment, evening access and crew availability affect whether an account makes sense. A familiar regional property manager can still own sites outside your practical range.
Choose one segment for the first list: office properties, retail centers, managed multifamily common areas or another segment where you have relevant experience. Record what you can do for that segment. Avoid implying expertise in regulated or specialized facilities unless your team has it.
The Painting Contractors Association’s commercial repaint resource emphasizes finding decision makers and maintaining account relationships. The workflow below turns that account approach into a research sheet; it is Sourci’s recommendation, not a published industry benchmark.
Research the property and buying organization
Use the property’s official page, the management company’s portfolio, public business pages and procurement information to establish the relationship. Record the source URL and date you checked it. A leasing contact, registered owner and maintenance decision maker may be three different people.
Use evidence labels that preserve uncertainty. “Management company listed on property website” is stronger than “looks like the manager.” If the source only says a company owns an asset, leave the manager unknown until verified. A new tenant or a property sale may justify a research question, but neither proves a repaint project exists.
Research business contact routes that are appropriate for the role. Ask who coordinates vendor selection if responsibility is unclear. Avoid spreading the same introduction across several unrelated employees simply because their addresses are available.
Use a compact account record
| Field | What to record |
|---|---|
| Account and website | Verified business identity and canonical domain |
| Property or portfolio | Relevant locations and source of the relationship |
| Service fit | Work type, geography and known exclusions |
| Buyer and role | What the person is actually responsible for, or unknown |
| Evidence | Source URL, checked date and factual observation |
| Timing | Buyer-confirmed date, exploratory timing, or unknown |
| Existing relationship | Customer, active proposal, previous contact, or uncontacted |
| Next step | Action, owner and due date |
Keep a separate do-not-contact field and check it before outreach. Deduplicate at both company and property level. Multiple buildings can be one account; multiple managers may belong to one parent organization.
Turn the list into a working account plan
Review a small sample with the person who estimates the work. Ask which accounts deserve time and why. If most need an explanation to fit the brief, tighten the criteria before extending the list.
Prepare one relevant introduction for each segment and give the buyer a simple next step. After replies arrive, update the record using the buyer’s own information. Separate active scope, later planning, vendor onboarding, referral to another contact and no interest.
Refresh the list when responsibility changes and before reactivating older accounts. Retain the original source and update history so a teammate can understand why the record changed. Continue with the lead qualification guide when a buyer responds.
Sources & editorial note
This guide combines Sourci’s recommended workflow with the industry references below. It is not a claim about past Sourci customer results.
Put this into practice
Download the account research worksheet (CSV) · Download the opportunity handoff worksheet (CSV)
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