Reviews

SearchExpo is one of the industry’s most respected electronic search services. Industry experts including Mark Berger, Lou Adler, Scott Love and Jeff Skrentny have tried and recommend SearchExpo.

“This month, I will review SearchExpo, an excellent proprietary, subscription-based database with over 2.7 million companies and almost 9 million people. With this service, researchers and recruiters can generate targeted lists of companies, descriptions of products and services and the names of top management professionals with just a few mouse clicks. You can also zero in on lists of potential candidates quickly, allowing more time to focus on the placement process itself. The researchers at SearchExpo have compiled a database of millions of companies from such well known sources including, but not at all limited to, Thomson Financial, Nelson Information, OneSource, Hart-Hanks, Gale Research, Lexis-Nexis, Harris Info Source, Custom Databanks, and Chain Store Guide. They claim to be the fastest research tool available and keep in mind that your results are downloadable to many popular software formats.

I received a trial membership for the purposes of this review and tried a number of searches. Their web-based interface is very intuitive and easy to use. There are eleven different types of searches you can run through this interface.

The main search feature allows you to search the database by Industry (including SIC, products/services, and size), locations (including state, region, area code, zip code radius, county, and/or map), and finally the keyword search. Included in the keyword search is a thesaurus feature that allows the database to assist the user with generating more relevant results. You can search using any or all of the available search criteria. They also have a simple search interface where you can simply type in keywords and/or locations and see what results you get. "Find a Person" and "Find a Company" are also easy to use by filling in simple keywords including phrases, AND's and OR's. For the MIS/IT recruiters a special feature includes the ability to type in a city and some hardware or software and get a list of IT shops to target for marketing or recruiting. The "Search Wizard" is an easy-to-use interface that walks you through the database search process. There are also two separate searches for Canadian companies if you have client needs in that country. There is a news search feature if you are looking for articles on your target company or executive.

There is a feature to research the "Top 10" reports by choosing the type of company you are searching for, along with a state or region. I am told more industries will be added soon. Lastly, there is a search feature to search for business information resources in six different categories. As you see this is an extremely comprehensive interface, more so that many of the competitors in the business area.

I used the search feature to search for Executive Search Firms in Missouri . Obtained 263 results for that one. The results are presented in a table format with the company contact and other information available by clicking on the company name. I did a company search on Monsanto, a large headquarters where I live. I got back 95 results, all different Monsanto locations nationwide with links to contact information as well. I then used the IT search feature to search for Oracle shops in the St. Louis area Surprisingly, I got back 176 results, more than I thought there were in this area. Using the News Search, I searched for a small company I know locally and found three very relevant, interesting articles about this firm, again this was surprising as this is a very small company. Due to time constraints I didn't try all the searches available but if I were a paying customer of this service, I know I could find good uses for all of these features, either to create a marketing plan or a recruiting list.

“As a result of that trial, I located a system architect as a referral from one of the contacts I found through your product, and the end result was closing a $33,000 fee before the end of the year. (The candidate) will begin his new job with one of my top clients next Monday, and I am confident of his success for one of my most important clients. Without SearchExpo, I know I would not have located (the candidate), and I am not sure if I would have closed this deal with the other candidates I had in process.”

Pricing for this web-based service is up to $4000 for an initial user annually depending on features required. Additional users in the same office are $1,000.00. Lesser services can result in lower pricing packages.

I want to thank Jake Burke, the VP of Business Development for SearchExpo for his help in writing this article. Anyone with any interest in learning more about this excellent service can reach Jake via voice at 1-888-267-0321 or via email at jake@searchexpo.net. You can also visit the SearchExpo website at www.searchexpo.net.

Mark Berger, The Fordyce Letter

Reprinted with the permission of The Fordyce Letter, P.O. Box 31011, St. Louis, MO 63131, (314) 965-3883 – www.fordyceletter.com.

“If you want to hire more passive candidates SearchExpo must be part of your recruiter’s toolbox. This low cost system can get you the names of mid- to senior-level managers in just about every company in the country within minutes. There is no better way to build an instant network of great contacts and leads.”

Lou Adler ( lou@adlerconcepts.com ), president of The Adler Group, a training and consulting firm helping companies make hiring top talent a systematic process ( www.adlerconcepts.com ). His Amazon best seller Hire With Your Head (John Wiley & Sons, 1997, 2002, 2004 Chinese edition) started the performance-based hiring and selection movement.

“Want to do better research? You have got to check this out. I have found the best resource on getting information on companies. I couldn't believe it when I first met these guys, but they serve our industry and are even veterans of the search industry. The company is SearchExpo. They have a comprehensive database that can give you legal access to information on companies all over the United States. Annual revenue, number of employees, names of key employees, locations, the works. It's a complete service which takes dozens of databases and puts all of this information into one resource. Even a political science major like myself can maneuver through it easily. And it's very reasonable for the value that you get out of it. I give them my personal endorsement. (I don't even ask for, get or want commissions from things like this so I can enthusiastically recommend products and services that I believe can help a recruiter bill more). Check them out for a free trial on a limited use basis:

http://www.searchexpo.net/v2/trial. You have got to check it out. I strongly endorse and recommend this service. For more information call Jake Burke at 1-888-267-0321.

- Scott Love, author of The Recruiter's Adventure Book! Your Mental Map to Buried Treasure (foreword by Jeffrey Gitomer), and Selling to the Top: Secrets of Selling to Senior-Level Decision-Makers.

"Search Expo gives recruiters a competitive advantage...a needed weapon to compete in today's market. Its service delivers company and candidate contact information quickly and easily. This allows our firm to focus on calling prospects and networking rather than sourcing names. Bottom line -- it cut down our firm's sourcing time by over 50%, enabling our team to focus on placement activities."

Mike Ramer, Ramer Search Consultants / Industry Trainer

“Dear Jake:

I am more a believer in SearchExpo than ever. As you know, I wanted to be able to give SearchExpo a try ahead of our event in December, and to that end you gave me a trial subscription to review your service. As a result of that trial, I located a system architect as a referral from one of the contacts I found through your product, and the end result was closing a $33,000 fee before the end of the year. Zoltan will begin his new job with one of my top clients next Monday, and I am confident of his success for one of my most important clients. Without SearchExpo, I know I would not have located Zoltan, and I am not sure if I would have closed this deal with the other candidates I had in process. So THANKS. Let's talk about how to get me signed on to your service for 2005. Clearly SearchExpo is a recruiting tool that is ESSENTIAL for all serious search and higher end contract staffing industry professionals. I am pleased Mike introduced us, and I hope that we will now have a long and mutually profitable relationship. How can we not? Your service got off to a great start with this recruiter, and I plan to tell everyone in the industry about it. All the best for a great year with your great service...A service I can't wait to tell the industry about. I hope I can count on a number of other deals as a result of my subscription to this service; I look forward to sharing those successes with you at year's end.

Sincerely,

-Jeff Skrentny Enthusiastic Training, Development and Consulting Services Specifically Designed for the Recruiting, Search and Staffing Industries