If you’re spending hours copying website leads into a spreadsheet, only to hand-type them into your CRM later, there’s a better way. This guide is for sales teams, solo founders, or anyone tired of repetitive lead gen grunt work. We’ll look at how to use Similartech to find leads, then get those leads into your CRM automatically—no manual copy-paste, no more “I’ll do it later” lists.
You don’t need to be a coder, but you do need to be willing to experiment. We’ll cover what actually works, what’s a waste of time, and how to automate the boring stuff so you can actually close deals.
Step 1: Figure Out If Similartech Is Right For You
Before you automate anything, make sure you’re using the right tool for the job. Similartech is a web tech profiler—it scans millions of websites and tells you what technologies they use (think Shopify, Magento, Hotjar, etc).
Similartech is great if:
- You sell B2B SaaS, marketing tools, dev services, or anything where knowing a site’s stack gives you an edge.
- You want to find companies using specific platforms or tools.
- You’re tired of guessing who your ideal customer is.
It’s not so great if:
- You need super-fresh, verified contact info for individual people (think Hunter.io or Apollo).
- You sell to consumers, not businesses.
- You want deep intent data or buying signals.
Pro tip: Don’t believe the “100M+ websites” marketing. The real value is in the filters and sorting—most lists need a lot of cleanup before they’re useful.
Step 2: Define What a “Lead” Means for You
Automating junk is still automating junk. Before setting up any workflow, get clear on what counts as a lead.
- Industry: Are you after e-commerce shops, SaaS startups, agencies?
- Company size: Do you care about small businesses, or only teams with 50+ employees?
- Tech stack: Are there must-have or must-not-have technologies?
- Location: Does geography matter? If so, filter by country or region.
Write this down. If you skip this, you’ll end up with massive lists of websites that waste your time and cloud your CRM with bad data.
Honest take: Most people cast the net too wide. Be ruthless—quality leads beat quantity every single time.
Step 3: Use Similartech to Build Your List
Now, get into Similartech and start filtering. The UI isn’t fancy, but it gets the job done.
How to pull a targeted list:
- Pick your target technology. Search for something relevant (e.g., “Shopify” if you sell to e-commerce).
- Apply filters. Use location, traffic range, or category—don’t skip these.
- Preview the results. Spot check a few domains. Are they real companies? Can you actually sell to them?
- Export the data. Similartech typically lets you export in CSV format, with columns like domain, company name, tech stack, maybe some emails (don’t expect much here).
What to ignore: Don’t waste energy on the built-in “lead scoring” or “AI recommendations.” They’re often fluff. Focus on filters and manual review.
Step 4: Clean Up and Enrich Your Data
Here’s where most automations fail: garbage in, garbage out. The CSV you get from Similartech will have a lot of noise—dead domains, no contact info, weird company names.
What to do next:
- Remove obvious junk: Delete rows with broken websites or missing company names.
- Deduplicate: One company, one row. Don’t clog your CRM with repeats.
- Enrich if needed: If you need better contact data (emails, LinkedIn URLs), use a tool like Hunter.io, Apollo, or Snov.io. Upload your CSV, and let them fill in the gaps.
Reality check: No tool gets you 100% clean, verified data. Spend an hour cleaning, but don’t obsess—some manual review is always needed.
Step 5: Set Up the Automation—Connecting Similartech to Your CRM
Here’s where the magic happens. Your goal: every time you build or update a lead list in Similartech, you want those leads to show up in your CRM with minimal effort.
Your options:
1. Manual Import (Fastest to Start, Not Scalable)
- Download the CSV from Similartech.
- Clean it up as above.
- Import into your CRM using its “import contacts” or “import leads” feature.
Who this is for: Small teams, occasional lead lists, or anyone not ready to spend time wiring up automations.
2. Zapier or Make.com (Best for Most People)
- Use a CSV parser step (or Google Sheets as a middleman).
- Set up a workflow: when a new row is added, create a lead in your CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, etc).
- Optionally, add enrichment steps if you want extra data.
Pros: - No coding required. - Works with most CRMs and enrichment tools.
Cons: - Occasional hiccups—parsing CSVs and mapping fields can get messy. - Still need to manually upload latest CSVs unless you automate the export (not always possible).
3. Custom Scripts (For Power Users)
- Write a Python script that parses the Similartech CSV and pushes leads to your CRM via API.
- Schedule to run daily or weekly.
Pros: - Total control. - Can handle weird edge cases.
Cons: - You (or someone) need to know how to code. - Maintenance is on you.
Pro tip: Start simple. If you’re just getting started, do a manual import or a basic Google Sheets → Zapier workflow. Don’t build a Rube Goldberg machine you’ll regret later.
Step 6: Test Your Workflow—Don’t Trust It Blindly
Automation breaks. Always test with a small batch of leads before you go big.
- Check for duplicates in your CRM.
- Verify fields map correctly. Is the company name in the right place? Did the email end up as a note instead of a contact field?
- Confirm data quality. Are you getting junk records or missing info?
- Set alerts. If your CRM allows, set up notifications for new leads so you can verify things are working.
Honest take: The first time you run this, something will go wrong. That’s normal. Fix it now—don’t discover it after 500 bad leads have flooded your pipeline.
Step 7: Review, Tweak, and Actually Use Your Leads
Just because leads are flowing into your CRM doesn’t mean they’re useful. Every few weeks:
- Review your recent leads. Are they the right fit? Are you actually connecting with them?
- Refine your Similartech filters and enrichment steps if needed.
- Kill the workflow if it’s just filling your CRM with junk—automating bad leads just makes your problem bigger.
Focus on:
- Small, high-quality batches over giant lists.
- Tight feedback loops—talk to your sales team (or yourself, if you’re solo) to see what’s actually working.
What to Ignore (Unless You Love Wasting Time)
- Overcomplicated scoring models: Fancy AI lead scoring rarely beats a human gut check.
- Integrations you don’t need: If you don’t use Slack or Asana for lead handoff, skip those steps.
- Buying more tools “just in case”: Get this basic workflow working before you add more software.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Automating lead gen with Similartech and your CRM isn’t rocket science, but it does require some trial and error. Start with the basics, don’t let “perfect” get in the way of “done,” and avoid shiny new features until you’re confident your workflow is actually helping you.
The best automations are the ones you barely think about. Keep it simple, revisit your filters and tools every month or so, and always—always—focus on quality over quantity. That’s how you actually win more business without burning yourself out.