If you're in B2B sales or marketing, you know the pain: chasing leads that look perfect on paper but never actually buy. It's a huge waste of time. The trick isn't just getting more leads—it's finding the ones who actually want to buy what you sell. That’s where technographic data comes in. If you use Hginsights, you’ve already got a leg up. This guide will walk you through how to cut through the noise, use technographics the smart way, and focus on prospects who are actually worth your energy.
What Is Technographic Data (And Does It Actually Matter)?
Before we get into the weeds, let’s clear up what technographics actually are. Simply put, technographic data tells you what technologies a company is using—think CRMs, cloud providers, cybersecurity tools, you name it. It’s like a tech stack census.
Why does this matter for finding high intent prospects? Because knowing what tools a company uses, or what they’re about to buy or replace, can tell you a lot about their priorities, budgets, and pain points—way more than just industry or company size ever could.
But—let’s not kid ourselves: Technographics aren’t a silver bullet. They’re one piece of the puzzle. Used right, they help you target smarter. Used wrong, it’s just another data dump.
Step 1: Get Crystal Clear on What “High Intent” Means for You
Not every prospect using the “right” tech is ready to buy. High intent means they’re actually in-market—they’re considering a solution like yours, not just a good fit on paper.
Ask yourself: - Are you looking for companies who just bought a competing tool (maybe for “rip and replace” plays)? - Or companies who are still using outdated tech and are likely to upgrade? - Or maybe those who use a key integration partner, making your product a natural fit?
Don’t skip this step. If you can’t define high intent for your business, no tool will save you.
Step 2: Know What Technographic Signals Actually Matter
Hginsights tracks a ton of tech signals. But more isn’t always better—most are noise for your use case. Here’s what’s usually most useful:
- Recent technology purchases: If you sell integrations or add-ons, look for companies who just bought the core platform.
- Old or sunset tech: If a prospect’s running on five-year-old software, they might be planning a change.
- Competing solutions: Target folks using a competitor—especially if that competitor’s in the news for price hikes or bad reviews.
- Usage intensity: Some tools (like cloud spend or number of deployed licenses) hint at a company’s tech maturity—and budget.
What to ignore:
- Obscure niche tools unless your product directly relates.
- Data that’s more than a year old—tech stacks change fast.
Pro Tip:
Ask your best customers what tools they used before buying you. That’s your goldmine.
Step 3: Build Smart Filters in Hginsights
Once you know what you care about, it’s time to set up filters in Hginsights. Don’t just start with a blank slate—use saved templates or start with your ICP (ideal customer profile) as a base.
How to do it: 1. Start with your core filters: Industry, company size, geography—basic stuff to narrow the list. 2. Add technographic filters: Look for specific products, vendors, or categories (CRM, ERP, cloud provider, etc.). 3. Refine by recency: Many forget this—make sure you’re filtering for recent changes or purchases, not just static installs. 4. Layer on intent-type signals: If Hginsights offers “intent” data (like web research or content consumption), add those too—but don’t treat them as gospel.
What works:
- Stacking filters. For example: “Companies with Salesforce, but not using our main competitor, and added a new marketing automation tool in the last 6 months.”
- Testing and tweaking—don’t expect to nail it on the first try.
What doesn’t:
- Getting too granular too fast. You’ll end up with a tiny list and miss good prospects.
- Over-relying on “intent” signals that aren’t specific enough to your product.
Step 4: Score and Prioritize—Don’t Just Dump Lists
A big list of “matched” companies isn’t helpful if you treat them all the same. Create a simple scoring system so your team spends time where it counts.
How to score prospects: - +2 if they use a key integration partner - +2 if they’re on an outdated solution - +1 if they just made a relevant tech purchase - -1 if they’re already heavily invested in a hard-to-replace competitor - +1 if they have a high web intent score and the right tech stack
Don’t over-engineer this. The goal is to stack rank, not build a PhD-level model.
What works:
- Simple, transparent scoring your team understands.
- Combining technographics and a couple of firmographics (like growth rate or region).
What doesn’t:
- Blindly trusting auto-generated “intent” scores without gut-checking.
- Ignoring feedback from sales—if your reps say a segment is dead, listen.
Step 5: Validate Before You Reach Out
This is where most teams drop the ball. Don’t just pull a list and start blasting emails. Take 10 minutes to spot-check your top targets.
How to validate: - Look up their website. Does it look like a company that fits your ICP? - Check LinkedIn—are they hiring in relevant roles? That’s often a sign of imminent changes. - Use news alerts or press releases for any major tech migrations or partnerships.
You’ll never get to 100% accuracy, but a quick sanity check saves everyone time and embarrassment.
Pro Tip:
Build feedback loops. After a few weeks, revisit your list: Which companies responded? Which never engaged? Tweak your filters accordingly.
Step 6: Craft Messaging That Actually Reflects Technographic Insight
Here’s where most “personalization” falls flat. If you mention a specific tool in your email, make sure it actually ties to your value.
Examples: - “I saw you’re using Salesforce and Marketo—our product helps teams sync those platforms without manual exports.” - “Noticed you’re still on XYZ legacy ERP. We’ve helped companies migrate painlessly—happy to share what we’ve learned.”
What works:
- Referencing why their tech stack makes them a good fit (not just name-dropping for the sake of it).
- Keeping it short—show you did your homework, then get to the point.
What doesn’t:
- Long-winded explanations of their own stack (they know it better than you do).
- Relying on outdated or inaccurate data—nothing kills trust faster.
Step 7: Measure, Learn, and Adjust
No data set is perfect. Even with great technographics, you’ll still strike out sometimes. The trick is to keep adjusting.
- Track which segments respond best.
- Ask your sales team what they’re hearing on calls.
- Update your filters and scoring every quarter.
If something feels off—like a sudden drop in responses or a bunch of “not a fit” replies—dig in and figure out where your assumptions went wrong.
Final Thoughts: Keep It Simple, Keep Iterating
Technographic insights in Hginsights can save you a ton of wasted effort, if you avoid shiny-object syndrome. Don’t expect magic from a data vendor—expect a better starting point. Define what high intent really means for your business, stay skeptical of generic “intent” signals, and always sanity-check your lists. The companies you want to talk to are out there—you just need a clear process to find them.
Keep it simple, keep tweaking, and you’ll spend way less time chasing ghosts.