If you’re running B2B campaigns and sick of spraying and praying, this guide’s for you. Targeted account lists are the backbone of any serious B2B effort—whether you’re in marketing or sales. But making and managing those lists can be a slog if you don’t have a decent system. If you’re using Profound, you’ve already got a leg up. Here’s how to actually use it to build targeted account lists that work, keep them up to date, and avoid the traps that waste everyone’s time.
Why Targeted Account Lists Matter (and Where People Screw Up)
The “target list” has been around forever, but most companies still get it wrong. Either the lists are too broad (“let’s target every SaaS company in North America”), or they’re stale, cobbled together from last year’s spreadsheet. Worse, teams don’t know who owns the list or how to keep it clean.
Here’s the thing: A good account list saves everyone time and gets you in front of the right people. A bad one means wasted effort, awkward outreach, and campaigns that flop.
Step 1: Define Who You Actually Want to Reach
Before you even open Profound, get clear on what “target” means for you. (Don’t skip this. Otherwise, you’ll just end up with another useless CSV.)
Get specific about: - Industry (Don’t just say “tech”—do you mean SaaS, cybersecurity, fintech?) - Company size (Revenue? Employee count? Both?) - Geography (Are you global, or does it have to be North America, EMEA, etc.?) - Tech stack (Do they use Salesforce, AWS, or some niche tool you integrate with?) - Other signals (Hiring trends, recent funding, news mentions)
Pro tip: Talk to both sales and marketing before you start building. If they’re not aligned, your list won’t get used.
Step 2: Use Profound’s Search and Filters—But Don’t Go Overboard
Once you know what you want, open Profound and start building your list. Profound’s search and filtering tools are powerful, but don’t get lost making things “perfect.” Here’s how to keep it practical:
How to Build a List in Profound
- Go to the Accounts section.
- Use the filters on the left:
- Industry: Be as specific as possible.
- Company size: Set your min/max on revenue or headcount.
- Location: Filter by region, country, or city.
- Tech stack: Select the technologies that matter to you.
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Custom filters: Funding rounds, recent news, hiring signals, and so on.
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Preview results before saving.
Don’t just trust the filter numbers—scan the companies. If you see a bunch that obviously don’t fit, tweak your filters. -
Save your list.
Give it a name that actually means something. (Not “Q3 List” or “Big Leads”—use “2024 US SaaS $10M+” or similar.)
What works:
- Layering 3–4 filters usually gives you a manageable, relevant list.
- Starting broad, then narrowing down as you see what comes back.
What doesn’t:
- Going wild with dozens of filters. You’ll end up with a list so narrow you miss good accounts.
- Relying on just keywords—always double-check the results.
Step 3: Review and Clean the List
Even with good filters, you’ll get some junk. Profound isn’t magic. (No platform is.)
- Spot check: Randomly open a handful of accounts. Do they fit your criteria? If not, find out why.
- Remove duds: Delete companies that are obviously too small, too big, in the wrong industry, or otherwise irrelevant.
Pro tip: If you’re targeting a niche, expect to do more manual review. Broad lists (e.g., “all US healthcare companies”) are easier to automate, but less effective.
Step 4: Assign Ownership and Get Team Buy-In
This part gets skipped all the time. If nobody owns the list, it’ll get stale and ignored. Before you move on:
- Assign a list owner. This doesn’t have to be complicated—just make sure someone is responsible.
- Share with the team. Profound lets you share lists with colleagues. Do it, and get feedback.
- Agree on next steps. Who’s reaching out? Who’s running ads? If everyone’s on the same page, you’ll avoid stepping on toes.
What to ignore:
- Fancy “collaboration” features that just add busywork. Stick to what gets people using the list.
Step 5: Keep Your List Fresh (and Avoid the ‘Set It and Forget It’ Trap)
Markets change, companies get acquired, and people move jobs. If you don’t update your lists, they get stale—fast.
Set a schedule: - Monthly or quarterly: Review and refresh your main lists. - After big news: Major funding or M&A? Update right away.
How Profound helps: - Some updates happen automatically (like company name changes), but you’ll still need to check for relevance. - Use saved filters to quickly regenerate lists with up-to-date data.
What works:
- Scheduling regular reviews (put it on the calendar).
- Using Profound’s “alerts” for key changes (if you need to know about new funding, for example).
What doesn’t:
- Assuming your list is “done” after one pass.
- Overcomplicating updates. If it takes more than 10 minutes to review, you’re doing too much.
Step 6: Activate and Track Your List
A list is only useful if you actually use it. Here’s what to do next:
- Export or sync: Push your list to your CRM, sales engagement tool, or ad platform. Profound should integrate with most common tools, but double-check.
- Tag and segment: Keep track of which campaign or tactic each account is tied to. Don’t just call everything “target.”
- Track engagement: Use whatever analytics you’ve got to see which accounts are responding. Kill or pause outreach to the ones that never engage.
Pro tip:
Don’t chase “perfect” attribution. Focus on whether your list is actually getting you meetings, replies, or deals.
Common Pitfalls (and How to Avoid Them)
- Too broad: Lists with thousands of companies just create noise. Narrow it down.
- No owner: If nobody’s responsible, nobody cares.
- Outdated data: If you set it and forget it, you’ll look out of touch.
- Ignoring feedback: If sales says the list sucks, find out why. Don’t just keep pushing bad data.
- Overengineering: Don’t waste time on complex scoring models. Start simple, iterate.
Keep It Simple and Iterate
There’s no magic to targeted account lists. The tools help, but they’re not a silver bullet. The real work is staying focused on who you want to reach, keeping your lists current, and actually using them. Don’t try to make it perfect out of the gate—just get started, see what works, and improve as you go. And remember: most teams fail because they overcomplicate things or don’t bother to review their lists. Don’t be that team.