How have you historically sourced people to interview while developing personas?

If you’re looking for specific titles, I think the approach you laid out makes sense. The screener survey is super important for making sure you’re find representative folks to talk to (based on your customer base or intended customer base), and not wasting your time. For sourcing the initial list, I try to make them a mix of current customers (sourced from our database) and potential prospects.  For prospects, I use an intercept on some of our web content, and sometimes tap into panels like Google Surveys.  For specific titles, you could also try LinkedIn targeting which I think allows you to target professional groups.

Based on your question detail, it sounds like you are targeting some specific persona details. If you have the time and capacity to take the approach you described, then it's a good way to do it.

The other is to use a third party. I've used a few in the past, SurveyMonkey and Respondent.io. They were both pretty easy to use and got us the insight we needed without the hassle of prospecting.

If you're going after a whole new market, consider using services like G2G where you can provide the desired profile including industry, companies, titles, and areas of expertise. Then you'll get scheduled interviews where you can ask very specific questions. Set aside some budget for these interviews and be selective because they are costly. 

This is a great approach. It's best if you get as specific as possible to identify prospects (ie. country, company size, verticle/industry, job title) and get clear on where you want to focus. 

I shared in another answer that we partnered with a leading thought leader for a specific vertical (retail) and conducted a survey with their audience, who was our target person (retail execs). We used the survey results to share industry trends and insights and used this asset for lead generation, which drove a ton of interest! 

Always consider, what's in it for them? I'm always pleasantly surprised when prospects are just interested in sharing their opinion to inform/improve a product without feeling like they're engaging in a sale.

I think your plan is a good way of moving forward. If money is no object, you could obtain a panel, and do a survey, and then contact those who seem to fit the profile for a deeper interview. 

I've used LinkedIn for reaching out to target personas and asking them for 30 minutes of their time to chat. If you leverage partners in your GTM, they may have some contacts to connect with.

I've also learned about this resource recently, but have not yet used them. Userinterviews.com.

Here's how I've done it, even when there weren't existing customers that perfectly matched the persona criteria:

1. Internal Teams and Stakeholders: I start by collaborating closely with internal teams, such as Sales, Customer Support, Product, other marketers. They often have valuable insights and interactions with potential persona candidates.

2. Market Research: I conduct market research to identify potential candidates who fit the desired persona. This research can involve industry reports, forums, social media groups, and online communities where professionals in the target segment are active. I'll also circulate my linkedin or personal network for introductions and connections. It's often three degrees of separation and not six.

3. Surveys and Screening: I've used surveys as a pre-screening tool. Survey responses help identify individuals who closely align with the persona definition. I'll then prioritize among those respondents for one-on-one interviews. Likewise, sites like user testing can be helpful to recruit individuals to talk to that fit your specific criteria. An incentive helps here.

4. User Groups and Communities: If applicable, I engage with user groups and online communities related to the product or industry. These forums often contain enthusiastic and knowledgeable individuals who can provide insights.

Respondent.io is great tool for this - you can target specific job titles in any number of industries and weed out interviewees based on a survey. We typically ask things like company size, job function, whether or not they're already using our software, etc. We just redid all of our personas and Respondent.io was amazing.

I also sent out a survey via PeopleFish which is another great (and typically cheap-er) way to get intel outside of your customer base.

First things first, I believe that a representative sampling of non-customers can actually be a better source of information than current customers, so you're in a good position there. However, I wouldn't start with a survey. I would instead start internally (product and sales) to understand who this was built for, what it can do for them, why they should care and how they react when presented with it. 

Quality interviews with product and sales should help you figure out your "who" for profiling. When it comes to the interviews themselves, my best advice: Ask colleagues for introductions to whomever they may know that fits your demographic. Warm introductions are sooooo much better for this purpose, and you can get pretty conversational. By the end, you'll likely walk away with insights you didn't even know you were looking for. 

By the way, this is what I consulted on prior to my current role, so feel free to reach out if this triggers additional questions.

This all depends on your company stage and customer size. 

In the early stages (less than 50 customers), I would honestly try to talk with all of them. Offer free coffee, a heavy discount, or whatever you have to. This will help you understand your early adopter target audience - once you have this, you can double down on marketing channels and an early distribution strategy. But keep in mind, your more mature product will have more segments, so this is only good until about 500-1,000 customers depending on your TAM. 

Next, your hyper growth stage customers will depend on whether you are primarily PLG or SLG as well as your TAM. PLG has a higher influx of users, and therefore should be easier to acquire customers for interviews (and even more helpful... churned users). 

I've typically used product analytics tools such as Amplitude, Mixpanel, or Pendo to segment users based on usage then reach out via email. You can also ask via in-app popup. 

I might stay away from prospecting since this could have a negative effect on your brand. If you don't have product analytics, ask your CSMs to gather a list of folks who match the segment you're looking for!