Advanced Tips for Customizing Lead Filters in Wiza for Precise Targeting

If you’re reading this, you’re probably not new to sales prospecting—or to the headaches that come with messy, bloated lead lists. You want fewer dead ends and more real opportunities. Maybe you’ve poked around Wiza’s filters and wondered: “Am I squeezing as much value out of this as I could be?” If so, you’re in the right place.

This guide is for people who already know the basics and want to get surgical with their lead targeting. We’ll skip the fluff, get into what works, and call out what’s just marketing noise.

First things first, if you need a quick refresher or you’re new to Wiza, it’s a tool that scrapes and enriches leads from LinkedIn Sales Navigator and other sources. But like any tool, the results depend on how sharp you are with the filters.

1. Understand What Wiza Filters Actually Do (and Don’t)

Before you start stacking filters like a sandwich, it pays to know what’s under the hood.

  • Wiza pulls from LinkedIn Sales Navigator. If your Sales Nav search is junk, your Wiza exports will be, too.
  • Filters are only as accurate as LinkedIn data. People lie, don’t update, or fudge titles. Wiza can’t fix that.
  • Some filters are much more reliable than others. Location and industry are usually safe bets. “Seniority” and “function” can be hit or miss.

Pro Tip: Always sanity-check a small sample of leads before doing a big export. No tool fixes bad inputs.

2. Get Ruthless with LinkedIn Sales Navigator Search

Wiza is only as good as your LinkedIn Sales Nav search. Here’s how to get laser-focused before you even hit “Export.”

a. Start with the Basics—But Don’t Stop There

  • Location: Go beyond just “United States.” Try specific cities or even zip codes if you care about time zones or regions.
  • Industry: Use LinkedIn’s preset industries, but know they’re broad. “Information Technology & Services” is a catch-all for a reason.
  • Company headcount: Filter out the one-person shops if you’re selling to mid-market or enterprise.

b. Layer in Keywords—With Caution

  • Titles: People invent wild titles. “Growth Ninja” isn’t always “VP of Marketing.” Use boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to cover your bases.
    • Example: ("VP Marketing" OR "Vice President Marketing" OR "Head of Marketing") NOT "Assistant"
  • Spot-check the results. If you see interns or consultants sneaking in, tighten your keywords.

c. Use the “Past Company” and “School” Filters Sparingly

  • These are helpful if you’re running ABM (account-based marketing) or alumni plays, but don’t overdo it. You’ll shrink your pool fast.

3. Tweak Wiza’s In-Platform Filters for More Precision

Once you import your Sales Nav search into Wiza, you’ll see extra filtering options. Here’s how to make the most of them:

a. Email Validity

  • Verified vs. Unverified: Always start with “Verified” emails if deliverability matters (it should). Unverified sometimes means “guesswork.”
  • What to ignore: Don’t get hung up on “catch-all” domains unless your bounce rates are a problem.

b. Contact Seniority and Function

  • Seniority: VP and C-level are obvious, but “Director” can be gold, especially in larger companies.
  • Function: Wiza tries to map job titles to functions like “Sales” or “Engineering.” It’s not perfect, but it’s better than nothing.

Pro Tip: If you’re getting too few results, loosen one filter at a time. Don’t just nuke everything.

c. Company Filters

  • Industry and size: Double-check that your selections match your ICP (ideal customer profile). Don’t trust defaults.
  • Revenue: If you’re using the revenue filter, know that it’s a rough estimate. Take it with a grain of salt.

d. Custom Fields

  • Use tags or notes: If you’re running multiple campaigns, tag leads as you pull them. It saves headaches later.

4. Get Creative with Boolean Searches

You don’t need to be a regex wizard, but knowing some boolean basics can help you zero in on the right people.

  • AND: Narrows the search.
    • Example: "Marketing" AND "SaaS"
  • OR: Broadens the search.
    • Example: "Director" OR "VP"
  • NOT: Excludes unwanted results.
    • Example: "Manager" NOT "Assistant"

Mix and match, but keep it readable. Over-complicating leads to weird results—and missed leads.

5. Build and Test Narrow “Micro-Segments”

Instead of running one big, messy export, try breaking your list into tight micro-segments. For example:

  • By company size: Small (1-50), Mid (51-500), Enterprise (500+)
  • By industry: Don’t just lump all “Tech” together. Separate SaaS from MSPs, for example.
  • By geography: Separate US, UK, and APAC markets if messaging will differ.

Export a small batch from each segment, check the quality, and adjust. This is 10x more useful than blasting a giant, generic list.

6. Know the Limits—And When to Stop Over-Filtering

It’s easy to get carried away with filters and end up with five leads after an hour of tinkering. Here’s what to keep in mind:

  • Don’t chase the perfect list. LinkedIn data is messy. Expect some noise.
  • Watch out for “AND” overload. Every filter you add shrinks your pool. If you’re down to single digits, back off.
  • Some filters just aren’t worth it. “Years in current position” sounds useful but is rarely accurate on LinkedIn.

Pro Tip: If you’re spending more time filtering than you would qualifying by hand, you’re overthinking it.

7. Clean and De-Duplicate Before Importing to Your CRM

No tool (not even Wiza) is immune to duplicates or outdated info. Before you load leads into your CRM:

  • Use Wiza’s built-in dedupe tools, but also spot-check manually.
  • Cross-reference with existing records if your CRM supports it.
  • Remove obviously bad data. If a lead’s company is clearly out of business, don’t waste your SDR’s time.

8. Advanced Filtering: Using Custom Lists and Exclusion Tactics

If you’re running targeted campaigns, you’ll want to exclude certain accounts or contacts:

  • Upload exclusion lists: Wiza supports excluding domains or emails. Use this to avoid hitting current customers or previous prospects.
  • Segment by tech stack: If you care about what tools a company uses, use enrichment data (from Wiza or elsewhere) to filter further.
  • Exclude competitors: Keep your outreach focused and avoid awkward conversations.

9. Keep Records of What Works (and What Doesn’t)

Treat each filtered export like an experiment:

  • Document your filter combos. Screenshot or write down what you used for each batch.
  • Track reply/bounce rates by segment. If one filter set brings terrible results, ditch it.
  • Share findings with your team. No sense in everyone repeating the same mistakes.

10. Ignore the Hype: What Not to Obsess Over

A few things that sound fancy but aren’t worth your time:

  • Title “seniority” algorithms: They miss nuance. Always scan actual titles.
  • Personality/psychographics filters: Wiza doesn’t do this, and most tools that claim to are guessing.
  • “Intent” signals: Unless you have a rock-solid source, treat these as “nice to have,” not gospel.

Summary: Keep It Simple, Iterate Often

There’s no magic filter combo that spits out perfect leads every time. Start broad, test small, and tighten as you go. Don’t fall for the idea that you can automate your way past all the hard parts—real targeting takes some manual work and common sense.

If you find yourself drowning in filter options or second-guessing every tweak, step back. Focus on the basics: a clean search, a few well-chosen filters, and regular spot-checks. The rest is just noise.

Happy hunting.