If you’re tired of wasting hours (or days) chasing the wrong leads, you’re not alone. Building a solid, targeted list is the backbone of any real sales effort—but it’s also where most people screw up and burn time. This guide is for sales folks, founders, recruiters, and anyone who wants to get straight to the good leads using Wiza. No hype, just a step-by-step way to get it done—with a few honest warnings about where people go off the rails.
Why Targeted Lead Lists Actually Matter
Before you jump in, it’s worth asking: is all this worth the effort? Yeah, it is. Here’s why:
- Generic lists waste your time. More leads isn’t better if most of them have zero chance of buying from you.
- Personalization is impossible without targeting. If you want to write emails that get replies, you need to actually know who you’re writing to.
- Quality beats quantity. A hundred solid leads will get you further than a thousand “meh” ones.
Wiza isn’t magic—it just helps you do the hard part faster. But you still need to know what you’re looking for.
Step 1: Define Exactly Who You Want
Don’t skip this. If you can’t describe your ideal lead in one sentence, stop and figure that out first. You’ll save a ton of time later.
Ask yourself: - What industry? (Be specific. Not “tech”—try “SaaS startups with 20-200 employees.”) - What job titles or roles? - What geography matters? (If any.) - Any must-have firmographics? (Funding, tech stack, company size, etc.)
Pro tip: Write down your “non-negotiables.” Maybe you only want companies on Shopify, or only directors and above. If you don’t set these, you’ll end up with fluff.
Step 2: Find or Build Your Source List
Wiza pulls leads from LinkedIn Sales Navigator (and sometimes regular LinkedIn or LinkedIn Recruiter). So, you’ll need to build a search there first.
Here’s how:
- Log into Sales Navigator.
- Build your search using the filters—industry, company headcount, title, geography, etc.
- Use Boolean searches in the keyword and title fields. Example: ("marketing manager" OR "head of marketing") AND "SaaS"
- Save your search—don’t rely on memory.
What to avoid:
Don’t get sucked into every filter. Stick to the 3-4 that really define your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile). Too many filters = tiny lists or weird results.
Note: You need a paid Sales Navigator account. If you’re balking at the price, just remember: bad data is way more expensive in the long run.
Step 3: Connect Wiza to Sales Navigator
Now for the tool part. Wiza is a Chrome extension and a web app. Here’s the simple sequence:
- Sign up for Wiza. Use your work email.
- Install the Chrome extension. It’s required—no way around it.
- Open Sales Navigator and fire up your saved search.
- Click the Wiza extension. You’ll see an option to “Scan” or “Export.”
Wiza will scan the search results and queue them up for export.
Honest take:
Some people get tripped up here because LinkedIn limits how many profiles you can view per day. Wiza can only scan what LinkedIn will actually show you. Don’t expect to grab 10,000 leads in one pass.
Step 4: Set Up Your Scan—Don’t Just Grab Everything
Here’s where most people get greedy and export way too many leads. Resist that urge.
- Choose how many leads you want to scan. Start small—maybe 100 to 200.
- Select the right export options. Wiza lets you choose what info to grab (emails, phone, LinkedIn URL, etc.). Emails are the gold here, but note: not every profile will have a verified email.
- Decide on the type of emails you want. Wiza offers verified, risky, and guessed emails. Stick to “verified” for outreach. “Risky” isn’t worth nuking your sender reputation.
Pro tip:
Do a test export first (like 20-30 leads) to check data quality. Don’t waste credits on a giant export if most of the emails bounce.
Step 5: Review and Clean Your Results
Wiza will email you or ping you in the app when your scan is ready.
Do not just download and start blasting. Take a few minutes to check your data.
- Spot check titles, companies, and emails. Are these the people you actually want?
- Remove obvious mismatches. Sometimes LinkedIn data is messy—expect a few weird ones.
- Check email status. Wiza marks emails as verified, risky, or unknown. Only keep verified for cold outreach.
- Export to CSV. This makes it easy to filter and sort.
Honest take:
No tool is perfect. If more than 20% of your leads are off-base, tweak your Sales Navigator search and try again.
Step 6: Enrich, Segment, and Prep for Outreach
Don’t get fancy. You just need enough context to write a real email.
- Segment by role, company size, or geography. (Whatever matters to your outreach.)
- Add fields for personalization. Example: “Company funding round,” “Tech stack,” or “Recent press.”
- Enrich only if you need to. Many tools offer enrichment, but honestly, you often don’t need more than name, email, title, and company. If you do, keep it focused (e.g., Crunchbase for funding, BuiltWith for tech stacks).
Pitfall:
Don’t let “enrichment” become an excuse for procrastination. You don’t need a 50-column spreadsheet to start emailing.
Step 7: Keep Your List Fresh (and Don’t Spam)
A targeted list goes stale fast—people change jobs, emails get deactivated.
- Re-run your searches monthly. Don’t rely on last quarter’s data.
- Remove hard bounces and opt-outs immediately. It’s just good manners, and it’ll keep your deliverability up.
- Don’t blast everyone with the same message. You’ve built a targeted list—treat it like one.
Pro tip:
If you’re doing high-volume outreach, consider a tool to auto-remove bounces and unsubscribes. Otherwise, a manual check every week or two is fine for most.
What Wiza Does Well (and Where It’s Overhyped)
What Works
- Fast, accurate export from Sales Navigator. Saves hours of copying/pasting.
- Verified email finding. Cuts down on bounces.
- Simple, no-nonsense interface. No steep learning curve.
What to Ignore
- “Unlimited” claims. You’re limited by LinkedIn’s search and view caps.
- Guessed/risky emails. Not worth the headache unless you’re desperate.
What Doesn’t Work
- No magic enrichment. Wiza isn’t going to give you full dossiers. It’s as good as LinkedIn’s data.
- Not a prospecting tool by itself. You still need to define your audience and find the right searches.
Quick Checklist to Get Started
- [ ] Know your ICP and non-negotiables
- [ ] Build a tight Sales Navigator search
- [ ] Connect Wiza and scan/export a small batch
- [ ] Review, clean, and segment your CSV
- [ ] Prep for outreach with just enough info
Keep It Simple—And Keep Moving
Forget about building the “perfect” lead list. Focus on getting a good, targeted batch out the door, see what works, and adjust. Wiza is a tool, not a shortcut—use it to save time, not to skip the basics. Start small, iterate, and don’t overthink it. That’s how you actually win at outbound.