Name Generation Lists for Executive Search: Cost, Scope, and When to Use Them
Name Generation Lists for Executive Search: Cost, Scope, and When to Use Them
Name generation is a targeted list of people who hold or have held relevant roles at companies you want to recruit from: names, titles, and contact details so your team can start outreach. It is the research front end of a search, not a finished shortlist of interested candidates. Professional Research Services, Inc. (PRS), a recruitment research firm in Bernalillo, New Mexico, sells name-generation lists from $1,000, with fixed tiers for 25, 50, and 100 names.
What name generation is (and is not)
In recruitment research, "name gen" means building the long list: names, titles, and contacts at the companies you want to recruit from. It is the oldest and lowest-cost tier of search research, and it carries a limit every buyer should accept up front — a name is not a candidate. Someone still has to contact the person, confirm interest, and judge fit.
That is the right frame for DIY lists. You buy speed into the market. You keep qualification and selling the opportunity.
What PRS name-generation lists include
PRS Do It Yourself name lists are built for employers and executive search practices that will run their own outreach. Typical fields:
- Company
- Contact name
- Title
- Phone / extension
- City / state
- Email (when available)
- Mobile (when available)
- Comments
PRS helps identify companies in your industry and targets passive people at those firms. Staff call to confirm name and title or function. They do not qualify the person after confirmation, so your recruiters are not compromised by a third party selling the role first.
Full service page: Targeted sourcing lists and name generation.
Name generation cost (PRS tiers)
List sizeRegular rolesTechnical roles25 names$1,000$1,50050 names$2,000$3,000100 names$3,500Quoted by difficulty
Fees for standard name projects bill at completion. Custom projects bill after every 50 names delivered. PRS aims to finish a 25-name assignment in about 5–7 working days and emails partial lists as names clear. Technical seats can take longer. Extra names cover incorrect entries; PRS replaces names if the count of correct names falls below the project guarantee (25, 50, or 100).
How name gen compares to other research buys
DeliverableWhat you getWho does outreachTypical PRS price pointName generation listVerified names and contactsYouFrom $1,000 (25 names)Candidate Generation (done for you)At least 5 interested, background-checked passivesPRS develops interest; you interview$5,995 (5) / $9,995 (10)Talent mappingBroader market picture for succession or complex hiresVaries by scopeQuoted per project
For context, executive search research firm Intellerati notes that retained executive search runs about 30–33% of total first-year cash compensation for senior hires. Name generation sits far below that because its scope stops at the list.
When a name list is the right buy
- You have recruiters who will call and email the same day.
- The role is clear and you only need volume into target companies.
- You are a retained executive search practice that owns client relationships and needs research capacity outside your database.
- Budget is tight and you accept that response rates depend on your outreach.
Choose done-for-you candidate development instead when the seat is hard, prior postings stalled, or the hiring manager will not take thin profiles. In that case PRS screens education, experience, and current responsibilities and returns interested people with detailed backgrounds: Done For You Candidate Development.
About Professional Research Services, Inc. (PRS)
Professional Research Services, Inc. (PRS) is a recruitment research firm in Bernalillo, New Mexico, led by president Tom DeBourcy. PRS provides passive candidate sourcing, name-generation lists, and talent mapping to corporate talent acquisition teams and executive search firms, on a flat fee, across a wide range of industries. It is not affiliated with any similarly named market-research or peer-review survey company. Contact: tom@prs1.com · 847-487-8100 · prs1.com
