Prospecting a municipality's new companies, step by step

A newly created company has to choose an accountant, open an account, take out insurance and sometimes get advice on its articles or contracts, all within a few weeks. For a firm based in a municipality, that is an opportunity that comes back every day. You still need a method: here it is, in six steps, designed for accountants, lawyers and brokers.

Step 1: choose your area

Start small. A firm rarely works across all of Belgium: it serves its municipality, the neighbouring ones, sometimes a district. List the three to five municipalities your best clients come from, or those you can serve in person.

To gauge the volume, open each city's page on Company Belgium, for example Liège, Namur, Charleroi, Ghent, Antwerp or Brussels. Each one shows the creations of the day and of the last 7 and 30 days: you will quickly see whether your area brings a few companies a week or several a day.

Step 2: receive creations without thinking about it

Prospecting that depends on memory stops at the first busy spell. Turn on the Company Belgium BCE alert for your municipalities: the free plan covers 5. Every day, from 11 a.m. by default (you set the time), an email announces the number of new companies in your area, with the most represented municipalities and activities.

The full list opens in your free Company Belgium account, after signing in with a code sent by email: name, BCE number, activity and a link to each record. With a paid plan, the list and a PDF arrive directly in the email.

Step 3: sort in two minutes

Not every creation concerns you. Each morning, go through the list and keep the ones that match your clientele. Three criteria are enough:

• The activity: a firm specialised in hospitality or construction does well to focus on those sectors. The NACE code filter, with the Pro plan, does this sorting for you.
• The legal form: an SRL/BV has accounting obligations that a self-employed person does not.
• Proximity: a company ten minutes from your office is easier to meet.

Step 4: qualify with the record

Before making contact, open the company's record. You will find its name, legal form, address, start date, declared activity and, when published, its contact details. Two minutes of reading avoid an off-target message and let you talk about the company's actual business.

What to look at depending on your profession

• Accountants and trust offices: the legal form and the activity, which tell you which accounting and tax obligations await the company.
• Lawyers: the activity and the form, which point to likely needs (contracts, terms and conditions, leases, relations between shareholders).
• Insurance brokers: the activity, which determines the insurance that is compulsory or useful at the start.

Step 5: make contact with a useful message

The first contact decides everything. A generic message ("we offer our services") gets lost; a message showing that you know the company's situation gets attention. A few principles:

• Talk about their start, not about your firm: the deadlines of the first months, the obligations of their legal form, the points to watch in their sector.
• Choose the right channel: a well-crafted letter, an email to the published address, a visit if the company is nearby.
• Keep it short and suggest a simple action: a fifteen-minute call, a meeting, a useful document.

Follow the rules that apply to prospecting and personal data. Telephone prospecting requires you to respect the "Do Not Call Me" list.

Step 6: follow up

Few new companies reply to the first message: they are busy getting started. Record each contact (date, channel, answer) in your tracking tool and plan a follow-up a few weeks later, when the first concrete questions come up. One well-timed follow-up is often worth more than three messages in the same week.

Also measure what works: how many companies contacted per month, how many meetings, how many clients. After three months, you will know which municipalities and activities deserve your time.

An example routine

An accounting firm following five municipalities can keep this routine in fifteen minutes a day: read the alert email, open the list, pick the companies that fit, send each one a personal message and note the follow-ups. Regularity matters more than volume: a few useful contacts every day end up filling a calendar.

In short

Prospecting the new companies in a municipality comes down to six moves: choose your area, receive creations with the BCE alert, sort, qualify with the record, make contact with a useful message, then follow up. The rest is a matter of regularity.

Frequently asked questions

How many municipalities can I follow for free?

The free Company Belgium BCE alert covers 5 municipalities. The email announces the new companies every day and the full list opens in your free account; paid plans receive it in the email with a PDF.

Can I filter by sector?

Yes, with the Company Belgium Pro plan: the NACE code filter keeps only companies whose main activity falls within the chosen sectors.

Can I call the new companies?

Telephone prospecting requires you to respect the "Do Not Call Me" list. Beyond that, follow the rules that apply to prospecting and personal data.