Key takeaways
- One shared suppression list beats each seller remembering their own exclusions.
- Exclude in the search to save effort, and check again before the send to catch what changed.
- Match on company domain as well as name, because names are written many ways.
- Keep a minimal record of people who opted out, so they are never added back.
What belongs on a do not contact list
A do not contact list holds every company and person your outreach must skip, with the reason for each. Some entries cover a whole company, others a single person.
- Current customers, so they hear from their account manager, not a cold email.
- Companies with an open deal, which already have an owner.
- Partners, resellers and investors.
- Competitors.
- Anyone who unsubscribed, objected or asked not to be contacted.
Where should prospect list exclusions happen
Prospect list exclusions should happen twice: in the search, so excluded companies never enter the list, and just before the send, so anything that changed in between is caught. Either check alone leaves a gap.
The search-time check saves research effort. The send-time check matters because a deal can open or a contact can unsubscribe between building the list and sending to it.
How do you exclude customers from outreach in practice
Exclude customers from outreach in practice by matching each new list against your suppression list by company domain first, then by name. Customer records often hold a trading name while a lead list holds the legal one, and only the domain matches reliably.
Watch for subsidiaries and group companies. A customer's sister company may be a fair prospect, but the account owner should know before anyone writes to it.
Why do unsubscribes and objections need honouring
Unsubscribes and objections need honouring because under GDPR a person can object to direct marketing at any time, and you must then stop. Contacting them again also damages your reputation with the very companies you hope to sell to.
Do not delete people who opted out. Keep the minimum needed to recognise them, such as their email address, so they are not added back by the next list.
What does Pebbles Ai do to keep customers out
Pebbles Ai keeps customers out mainly through how you search and a check at the send, not through a dedicated suppression list. Find fresh leads searches only the companies you name and accepts exclude keywords, so customers stay out as long as you leave them off the target list.
In the CRM, in Beta, an admin can add a Yes or no custom field such as Do not contact, so the flag shows on the record. Template sends to a CRM segment always ask for approval, which is the moment to confirm the segment holds nobody it should not.
How to keep customers out of prospect lists, step by step
Build the list once, then check against it at both ends of every campaign.
- Build one suppression list from your CRM: customers, open deals, partners, competitors and every opt-out.
- Add the exclusions to your search where the tool allows it, such as exclude keywords or leaving companies off the target list.
- Match each new prospect list against the suppression list by company domain as well as by name.
- Check the CRM again just before sending, in case a deal opened or a contact opted out since.
- Add every new unsubscribe or objection to the suppression list on the day it arrives.
Where Pebbles Ai fits
- CapabilityProspecting & customer recordsFind fresh leads searches only the 1 to 10 companies you name, with optional exclude keywords, and leads land as CRM contacts in a segment you can review before any outreach.
- CapabilityOutreach contentA template send to a CRM segment always asks for approval, in every execution mode, so a person confirms the recipients before anything goes out.
Common questions
Should people who unsubscribed be deleted from the CRM?
No. Keep the minimum needed to recognise them and mark them as not to be contacted, or the next imported list may add them back.
Does a suppression entry cover a whole company or one person?
It depends on the reason. A customer or an open deal usually covers the whole company; an unsubscribe covers that one person.
Can an assistant compare a prospect list with my customer list?
Yes. Paste both lists into the chat and ask it to mark the overlaps, then check the result yourself before you act on it.
About this page. Written by the Pebbles Ai team for people who run sales, marketing and growth. Last updated .
