If you’re in B2B sales, you know that half the battle is finding the right people to talk to. Spray-and-pray email blasts don’t cut it anymore. You need tight, targeted prospect lists—otherwise, you’re just annoying strangers and burning your own time. This guide is for anyone who wants to actually get value from Harmonic, not just stare at dashboards and pretend they’re working.
Let’s skip the fluff and get right into building lists that make sense for real outreach, not just for showing off in Salesforce.
Step 1: Get Clear on Who You Actually Want
Before you touch a single filter, get brutally honest about who you’re targeting. You’d be amazed how many smart teams skip this and end up with bloated, worthless lists.
- Define your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile):
- What industry are they in?
- Company size (employees, funding, revenue)?
- Geography—does it really matter, or is “global” just wishful thinking?
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Tech stack, if you sell software that only works with X or Y.
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Get specific on contacts:
- Job titles—be real about who actually buys or champions your product.
- Seniority level—are you wasting time with folks who can’t say yes?
Pro tip: If you can’t describe your ideal customer in one sentence, you’re not ready to build a list.
Step 2: Set Up the Right Filters in Harmonic
Once you’ve nailed your target, it’s time to put Harmonic to work. But don’t get lost in shiny features—most of what you need is in the filters.
Company Filters
- Industry: Use Harmonic’s industry categories, but double-check them. Automated tags aren’t always perfect.
- Headcount: Set realistic ranges. If you only want 50-200 person companies, don’t go wider “just in case.”
- Funding: If you sell to startups, filter by recent funding rounds (but don’t assume funding = willingness to buy).
- Location: Unless you truly sell worldwide, pick your key regions.
Contact Filters
- Department: Sales, marketing, engineering, etc.
- Title: “VP of Marketing” is very different from “Marketing Specialist.”
- Seniority: Harmonic lets you filter by seniority, but don’t trust it blindly—always spot-check the results.
What to ignore: Harmonic sometimes offers “interest” or “activity” filters (like recent LinkedIn posts). Don’t put too much stock in these; people post about all sorts of things that don’t connect to buying intent.
Step 3: Build and Preview Your List
Hit “Search” and don’t just export whatever pops up. Stop and preview your list.
- Look for weird results: Are there obvious mismatches? Wrong industries, companies way too big or small, interns showing up as “decision makers”? Tweak your filters.
- Check company fit: Click into a few company profiles. Do they actually look like your best customers, or just randoms with the right number of employees?
- Review contact accuracy: Are the titles real, or do you see a bunch of “Owner” or “Consultant” types who don’t fit? Go back and refine.
Pro tip: A smaller, accurate list beats a massive, noisy one every time.
Step 4: Save Segments and Stay Organized
Once you have a clean list, save it as a segment in Harmonic. Name it clearly (think “US SaaS, 50-200 emp, VP Marketing” not “Q2 List”). You’ll thank yourself later.
- Create segments by persona, not just company: For example, separate lists for sales leaders vs. marketing leaders, even if it’s the same companies.
- Document your filter logic: In a shared doc or even in the segment description, jot down what filters you used and why. Your future self (or teammates) will avoid accidental changes.
What doesn’t work: Relying on memory or hoping others will “just know” what a segment is for. They won’t.
Step 5: Export and Format—Don’t Skip This
Exporting is where a lot of people get lazy. Don’t just pull the data and dump it into your CRM.
- Clean up columns: Remove anything you don’t need—extra phone numbers, blank fields, or weird “notes” columns.
- Standardize names and emails: Watch for all-caps, weird characters, or duplicate entries.
- Spot-check for accuracy: Pick 10 random rows. Are the emails valid? Are the titles what you expect?
Pro tip: Never trust any tool (Harmonic included) to have perfect, up-to-date email addresses. Always run a quick verification before sending.
Step 6: Prioritize and Tag for Outreach
Even the best list is useless if you treat every contact the same. Break your list into tiers based on fit and likelihood to engage.
- A-tier: Perfect fit, high-priority companies and contacts. Personalize outreach.
- B-tier: Good but not perfect—maybe a fit, maybe not.
- C-tier: Long shots or “nice to have” prospects. Minimal effort.
Tag these in your CRM or outreach tool, or even just a spreadsheet. It’ll make your first few campaigns way more efficient.
Step 7: Keep Your Lists Fresh
Here’s the dirty secret: every B2B prospect list goes stale faster than you think. People change jobs, companies pivot, funding dries up.
- Schedule regular refreshes: Once a month is realistic for most teams.
- Re-run your saved Harmonic segments: Pull new contacts and drop anyone who’s left.
- Update your CRM: Don’t keep emailing ex-employees or dead domains.
What doesn’t work: Building a list once and assuming it’ll work forever. You’ll waste time and annoy people.
Pro Tips for Getting the Most Out of Harmonic
- Don’t chase “activity signals” too hard: Just because a company raised money or someone posted on LinkedIn doesn’t mean they want to talk to you.
- Avoid over-filtering: If you layer on too many filters, you’ll miss good prospects. Start broad, then narrow as you spot patterns.
- Ask your sales team for feedback: They’ll quickly tell you if the list matches reality or if you’re chasing ghosts.
What Harmonic Does Well (and Where It Falls Short)
The good: - Fast filtering and easy segmentation. - Decent company and contact coverage, especially in tech/startups. - Saved segments make repeat list-building easier.
The not-so-good: - Data can be spotty outside of tech/startup land. - Email accuracy isn’t perfect—double-check before campaigns. - “Intent” signals are hit-or-miss; don’t make them your main filter.
If you expect Harmonic to do all your prospecting thinking for you, you’ll be disappointed. But as a focused research and list-building tool, it’s solid—if you put in the work up front.
Keep It Simple and Iterate
Don’t overcomplicate things. Start with a clear ICP, build a focused list, and actually test your outreach before scaling up. Most teams waste time tweaking filters instead of talking to prospects. Get in the habit of building, testing, and refining. The more you do it, the sharper your lists (and your results) will get.
Now, get back to selling—your next best customer isn’t going to find themselves.