The Prospector is SalesQL's lead search engine. You apply filters, it returns matching contacts — with verified emails, direct phones, or both. No guessing, no manual research.
This article covers every filter, what it does, and how to combine them to build targeted lists quickly.
Before you start: the credit logic
One credit = one contact with at least one email retrieved. That's it.
A few things worth knowing:
If SalesQL finds multiple emails for the same contact, it still costs one credit
Phone numbers are included at no extra cost on paid plans — you're never charged separately for them
Credits are only deducted when an email is successfully retrieved — no email found, no charge
The better your filters, the fewer irrelevant contacts you download — and the further your credits go.
Contact Details — the most important filter
Set this one first, every time.
It controls what kind of contact data must exist before a result shows up. There are three sub-settings:
Data — Email and/or Phone Status — Verified and/or Unverified Type — Work and/or Direct
Recommended setups:
Goal | Settings |
Cold email campaigns | Email + Work + Verified |
Cold calling | Phone + Direct + Verified |
Multi-channel sequences | Email + Phone + Verified |
Wide prospecting | Email + Unverified |
If you're running outbound calls, always filter for Direct + Verified before downloading. Biggest single impact on connect rates.
Person info filters
Contact full name
Search for a specific person by name. Best when you already know who you're looking for and just need their contact data.
Best combo: Add Company Name to disambiguate common names — "John Smith" at "Acme Corp" returns one result instead of hundreds.
Location (Person)
Filter contacts by where they're personally located — city, state, or country.
Best combo: Job Title + Industry + Location → geo-targeted list in under a minute. Example: "Head of Marketing" + "E-commerce" + "London."
Job title
Filter by current role. Partial matches work — "VP" returns VP of Sales, VP of Marketing, VP of Engineering, and so on.
Best combo: Add Years in Current Position (0–12 months) to find decision-makers who just stepped into the role. They're evaluating vendors and have budget authority.
Past job title
Find people based on a role they previously held — useful when someone's career history is as relevant as their current title.
Best combo: Past Job Title + Current Job Title to map career transitions. Example: ex-"Product Manager" now "Founder."
Years experience total
Filter by overall career length. Useful when your ICP is specifically senior professionals or early-career buyers.
Years in current position
How long someone has been in their current role. Shorter tenure often signals higher buying activity.
Best combo: Years in Current Position 0–1 + Job Title Director or above + Company Type Private → new decision-makers at growing companies. One of the highest-converting setups in Prospector.
Industry (Person)
Filter by the industry the person works in — contact-level, not company-level. Useful when someone's background differs from their current company's primary industry.
Company info filters
Company name
Target contacts at a specific company. Returns everyone at that org with available data.
Best combo: Add Job Title to map the buying committee at a target account. Example: "Stripe" + "VP, Director, Head of" → every senior stakeholder in one search.
Past company name
Find people who used to work at a specific company. Ex-employees carry institutional knowledge and are often warm to familiar vendors.
Best combo: Past Company Name + Current Job Title Founder or CEO → people who left a known company to start their own. Strong signal filter for startup-focused outreach.
Year founded
Filter companies by when they were started. Early-stage companies (last 1–3 years) are actively building their stack.
Best combo: Year Founded last 2 years + Headcount 10–50 + Industry SaaS or Tech → startups in their first major tooling wave.
Location (Company)
Filter by company HQ location — separate from where the individual contact is based. Use when territory is assigned by company HQ, not contact location.
Headcount
Company size shapes deal size, cycle length, buying process, and who the right contact is.
Segment | Setup |
SMB (1–50) | Headcount 1–50 + CEO or Founder — buyer, user, and champion in one |
Mid-market (50–500) | Headcount 50–500 + Director or VP + Contact Details Verified |
Enterprise (500+) | Headcount 500+ + Industry + Location + VP or C-suite |
Industry (Company)
Filter by the company's primary vertical. The backbone of any ICP-focused campaign.
Best 4-filter combo: Industry + Headcount + Job Title + Contact Details Email Verified → fully-defined ICP list, ready to export.
Company type
Filter by ownership structure: private, public, non-profit, government, self-employed.
Best combo: Private + Headcount 50–200 + Year Founded 2019–2023 → venture-backed growth-stage companies. Funded, scaling, actively buying.
Ready-to-use filter combinations
Outbound email list Contact Details: Email + Work + Verified → Job Title → Industry → Headcount
Direct dial list Contact Details: Phone + Direct + Verified → Job Title Director or above → Company Location
New leader outreach Years in Current Position 0–12 months → Job Title Director or above → Company Type Private
Startup prospecting Year Founded last 3 years → Headcount 1–50 → Job Title CEO / Founder / CTO
Account-based (ABM) Company Name: your target accounts → Job Title: multiple levels → Contact Details: Email + Phone + Verified
Alumni targeting Past Company Name: major brand or competitor → Current Job Title: VP or C-suite
Save your searches
Once you've built a combination that works, save it using the Saved Searches dropdown at the top of the sidebar. One click to rerun it anytime.
