If you’re tired of chasing “leads” that never respond, or building spreadsheets full of companies that’ll never buy, you’re not alone. Building a targeted account list is the difference between productive sales work and busywork. This guide is for B2B sales teams, SDRs, and founders who want to cut through the noise and focus on accounts that actually matter. We’ll walk through how to do it—step by step—using Aomni.
Let’s skip the generic advice and get right to what actually works.
Why Most Account Lists Suck (And How to Fix It)
A lot of people start by downloading a giant list from some data provider, filtering by industry, and calling it a day. That’s a great way to waste time. The truth is, most account lists fail because they’re:
- Too broad (everyone is a “potential fit”)
- Outdated (company data is stale)
- Lacking context (no sense of what’s going on inside the business)
- Built around wishful thinking, not real-world buying signals
The fix? Stop thinking in terms of “more leads.” Start thinking about better accounts—companies with a real reason to buy what you’re selling, now or soon.
That’s where Aomni comes in. It’s a tool built to help you identify, research, and prioritize accounts that are actually worth your time.
Step 1: Get Clear on Your Real ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)
Before you touch any software, you need to know exactly who you’re looking for.
Skip the generic “mid-market SaaS companies with 100-1000 employees.” Get specific:
- What pain do your best customers have?
- What triggers them to buy now?
- What do your worst customers have in common? (So you can avoid them.)
Pro tip: Pull your last 10 won deals and your last 10 churned customers. What patterns do you see? Write these down—this is your living, breathing ICP.
Ignore the urge to get too cute or clever. If you’re honest, your true ICP is usually smaller (and more niche) than you think.
Step 2: Define Your Selection Criteria
Now, translate your ICP into actual filters you can use. This will save you hours of “maybe this company” guessing later.
Think in terms of:
- Firmographics: Industry, company size, geography, funding stage
- Technographics: What software/tools do they use? (If relevant)
- Buying signals: Recent hires, product launches, news, layoffs, etc.
- Deal-breakers: Industries or company types you don’t want
Write these down before you start clicking around Aomni. It’ll keep you honest.
Step 3: Use Aomni to Build Your List
Now comes the fun part. Log into Aomni, and let’s get to work.
a. Input Your Filters
Aomni makes it easy to search by the basics—industry, employee count, revenue, geography. But don’t stop there. The real power is in combining these with signals and context.
- Example: Looking for B2B SaaS companies in North America, Series B or later, using Salesforce, with recent product launches in the last 6 months.
b. Layer on Buying Signals
This is where Aomni actually helps you work smarter, not just faster. Instead of just pulling static company lists, use Aomni’s ability to:
- Surface recent news (funding, expansions, layoffs, exec hires)
- Spot technology changes (e.g., they just switched CRMs)
- Highlight relevant intent data (are they researching solutions like yours?)
Don’t chase lookalikes—chase companies with a reason to talk to you.
c. Filter Ruthlessly
Here’s where most people get tripped up. If a company doesn’t fit, don’t add it. You want a list you’d be excited to call, not a 500-row Excel sheet that’ll never get worked.
- If you’re not sure about a company, leave it off for now.
- If a company looks great but is in the wrong vertical, skip it.
- Trust the filters you set—they’re your guardrails.
Pro tip: Quality over quantity. A list of 30 highly-qualified accounts beats 300 random ones every time.
Step 4: Enrich and Sanity-Check Your List
Once you’ve got your draft list, don’t just download it and start blasting emails.
a. Double-Check for Duplicates and Duds
- Remove subsidiaries, holding companies, or dead businesses.
- Watch for companies you’ve already targeted (or burned) in past campaigns.
b. Pull in Contact Info and Context
Aomni can help you find key contacts, but don’t trust any tool to be 100% accurate.
- Always spot-check a handful manually via LinkedIn or company websites.
- Flag contacts that are outdated—don’t waste time emailing someone who left last year.
c. Add Human Judgment
No tool replaces your gut. If something looks off—too small, too big, totally outside your sweet spot—delete it. This is your shortlist, not a numbers game.
Step 5: Prioritize Accounts for Outreach
Having a list is good. Prioritizing it is better.
How to Rank Your Accounts
- Fit first: Does this account closely match your ICP?
- Timing: Any signals they’re ready to buy (new funding, job posts, product launches)?
- Existing relationships: Any warm intros or connections?
- Strategic value: Will landing this logo open doors?
Sort your list into A, B, and C tiers. A’s get your best, most personalized outreach. C’s get whatever’s left (if anything).
Pro tip: Don’t get lost in “scoring” paralysis. If an account looks great, bump it up.
Step 6: Keep Your List Fresh (and Don’t Overthink It)
Markets move fast. People change jobs. What’s a great account today might be a dud next quarter.
- Schedule a monthly or quarterly review of your top accounts in Aomni.
- Archive companies that go cold or no longer fit.
- Add new accounts as you spot them, using the same criteria.
It’s better to iterate and update in small batches than to try to build the “perfect” list upfront.
What to Ignore (and What to Watch Out For)
Ignore:
- Vanity metrics (“Wow, our TAM is 10,000 companies!”)
- Spray-and-pray lists from data vendors
- Overly complex scoring models (they’re usually guesswork)
Watch out for:
- Overfitting your ICP to the point where your list is only 3 companies
- Relying 100% on software—always add a human sanity check
- Getting distracted by “cool” accounts that’ll never buy
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Keep It Useful
Most sales teams overcomplicate account selection. The basics—clear ICP, ruthlessly applied filters, up-to-date signals—work best. Tools like Aomni can cut your research time and surface better targets, but only if you stay disciplined about who you’re going after.
Start small. Build a tight list. Review it often. You’ll waste less time and actually enjoy prospecting again.