If you’ve ever spent hours digging through company profiles and spreadsheets, you know prospect research is a grind. Manual prospecting is nobody’s idea of a good time — and it’s a huge drain on sales teams, recruiters, and marketers alike.
This guide is for people ready to stop copy-pasting lists and start getting value from automation. Whether you’re running outbound sales, building a recruiting pipeline, or handling marketing lists, you’ll learn how to use Zoominfo to automate the boring parts of prospect research — and what’s honestly worth automating (versus what’s just hype).
Let’s get you out of spreadsheet hell.
Step 1: Get Your Criteria Straight — Before You Touch Zoominfo
This isn’t the fun part, but it’s the part that matters. Automation only works if you know exactly what you’re looking for. Otherwise, you’re just speeding up bad results.
Start with these basics:
- Who are your ideal prospects?
- Company size, industry, geography, tech stack, growth stage, etc.
- Job titles, seniority, departments — be as specific as possible.
- What’s your goal?
- New sales leads? Talent for recruiting? Marketing outreach?
- What’s non-negotiable, and what’s “nice to have”?
- Being honest here avoids a lot of wasted automation later.
Why bother?
Zoominfo’s automation tools are only as good as your inputs. Garbage in, garbage out.
Pro tip:
Write your criteria down in plain English before you try to make it fit Zoominfo’s filters. This saves a lot of back-and-forth.
Step 2: Build (and Save) Targeted Searches in Zoominfo
Now you know what you want. Time to make Zoominfo do the grunt work.
How to set up a search:
- Go to the “Search” tab.
- Select “Companies” or “Contacts” (depending on your workflow).
- Use filters to narrow your list:
- Firmographics: Industry, company size, revenue, location.
- Technographics: What software they use.
- Intent: Companies showing buying signals (but don’t trust this blindly — see below).
- Job titles/roles: Use wildcards (“VP* Marketing”) for variations.
- Preview your results.
Don’t trust the numbers — look at a few actual records to make sure the data matches your reality. - Save your search.
This lets you re-use the logic and connect it to automation later.
What works:
- Stacking filters to get specific.
- Saving searches to avoid redoing work.
What to ignore:
- Overly broad searches. “All companies in tech” will blow up your list and waste time.
- Blind faith in intent data — it’s better than nothing, but not magic.
Step 3: Set Up Alerts and Automated Lead Deliveries
Nobody wants to keep checking if new prospects have popped up. Zoominfo’s automation can keep you updated (when it works right).
Options to know:
- Saved Search Alerts: Get notified when new companies or contacts match your criteria.
- Automated Lead Exports: Send new matches to your CRM or email on a schedule.
How to do it:
- Open your saved search.
- Find the “Alerts” or “Automate” option (this moves around depending on your Zoominfo version).
- Choose how often you want updates (daily, weekly, etc.).
- Pick your delivery method:
- Email (simple, but you’ll end up with a lot of emails).
- Direct to CRM (better if you’re ready for it — see the next step).
- CSV export (old school, but at least you can control the file).
What works:
- Automated alerts save you from checking manually.
- Exporting only net-new leads (not the same list every time).
What to watch out for:
- Alerts can be noisy. Tweak your criteria if you’re getting junk.
- Sometimes “new” just means “updated.” Double-check before acting.
Step 4: Push Prospects Directly Into Your CRM or Outreach Tools
This is where automation gets real — when new prospects show up where you’ll actually use them.
Set up integrations:
- Zoominfo supports direct integrations with most major CRMs: Salesforce, HubSpot, Outreach, Salesloft, etc.
- You’ll need admin access (or a helpful admin) to connect things the first time.
How to automate the flow:
- Go to your integrations/settings area in Zoominfo.
- Connect your CRM or outreach platform.
- Map Zoominfo fields to your CRM fields.
- Don’t just accept defaults — double-check mapping for things like “company name” vs “account,” or you’ll get duplicates.
- Set rules for what data gets pushed.
- Only net-new records? Or updates to existing ones?
- Do you want all contacts, or only those with valid emails/phone numbers?
- Test it with a small batch first.
What works:
- Sending only qualified, cleaned leads into your CRM. (Otherwise, your sales team will hate you.)
- Automating the “net-new only” option to avoid duplicates.
What to ignore:
- Pushing every record automatically. Volume isn’t value.
- Integrations you don’t actually use — focus on the tools your team works in daily.
Step 5: Automate Enrichment (But Don’t Overdo It)
Prospect research isn’t just about finding new leads — it’s also about keeping your existing data fresh.
What Zoominfo can automate:
- Enriching existing records: Update missing emails, phone numbers, job titles, etc.
- Refreshing company data: Revenue, headcount, office locations, etc.
How to set it up:
- In your CRM, identify which records need enrichment.
- Use Zoominfo’s enrichment tool (or integration) to match and update fields.
- Schedule regular enrichment runs (monthly is usually plenty; daily is overkill).
Why not just enrich everything, all the time?
- It costs more (literally — Zoominfo charges for enrichment).
- Too-frequent updates can overwrite useful notes or sales activity.
Pro tip:
Enrich only the records you’re actively working, or those that are moving through your pipeline. Let old, dead leads stay dead.
Step 6: Use Workflows and Automation Recipes (If You Have Access)
If your Zoominfo plan includes “Workflows” or “Automation Recipes,” you can get fancier — but don’t get sucked into complexity for its own sake.
Examples of what you can automate:
- “When a new company matches my search, create an account and assign it to a rep.”
- “Enrich every contact that enters a certain CRM stage.”
How to use:
- Find the “Workflows” or “Automation” tab.
- Pick a template, or build your own if you’re feeling brave.
- Map your triggers (e.g., “new match in saved search”) and actions (e.g., “create lead in CRM”).
- Test with a small group before rolling out.
What works:
- Automating repetitive, rules-based actions.
- Simple, “if X, then Y” logic.
What to watch out for:
- Overly complex flows that are impossible to debug.
- Automations that nobody remembers to maintain.
Step 7: Monitor, Tweak, and Keep It Simple
Automation isn’t “set and forget.” The real world changes, and so do your needs.
Keep an eye on:
- Quality, not just quantity: Are the leads relevant? Are your reps happy?
- False positives: Tighten your criteria if you’re getting junk.
- Integration issues: Watch for duplicates, bad data, or sync errors.
- Usage: If nobody’s using the automated lists, ask why.
A few guardrails:
- Review your automated lists and flows monthly.
- Make changes in small steps — don’t overhaul everything at once.
- Document what you set up. You’ll thank yourself later.
What to Ignore (for Now)
There’s a lot of shiny stuff in Zoominfo’s automation suite, but most teams only need the basics. Here’s what’s safe to skip unless you really know why you need it:
- Predictive scoring: It can be helpful, but only if your data and sales process are rock solid.
- Automated email outreach: Use a dedicated outreach tool for sequences — Zoominfo’s built-in options are basic.
- Intent data overload: Treat it as a signal, not gospel. Real buying intent still takes human judgment.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate as You Go
Automating prospect research in Zoominfo isn’t magic — but it’s a real time-saver if you set it up smartly. Start with clear criteria, automate the repetitive stuff, and always sanity-check what’s actually coming out. Don’t fall for feature bloat; keep your workflows simple and add complexity only when you need it.
Remember: It’s better to have a small, accurate list delivered automatically than a big mess that nobody uses. Set up your first workflow, see what works, and adjust from there. That’s how you get out of grunt work and into actual results.