If you’re drowning in a sea of leads and not sure where to start, you’re not alone. Having a giant pile of contacts is nice in theory, but unless you know how to slice, dice, and focus on the right ones, you’re just spinning your wheels. This guide is for people who want to spend less time sorting and more time actually talking to leads that might convert. We're going to dig into how to use advanced filters in Colddm to make your lead lists a lot smarter (and your workflow a lot less painful).
Why Segmenting and Prioritizing Leads Actually Matters
Let’s be honest: not all leads are equal. Some are ready to buy, some are just kicking the tires, and some are, well, probably bots. If you treat them all the same, you’re wasting your own time and probably annoying people in the process. The right filters help you:
- Find the 10% of leads that are worth 90% of your effort.
- Avoid “spray and pray” outreach that kills your sender reputation.
- Build smarter campaigns instead of chasing your tail.
Step 1: Get Your Lead Data in Shape
Before you even touch filters, make sure your leads are actually worth filtering. Garbage in, garbage out.
What works: - Make sure your data fields are consistent (e.g., job title, company size, location). - Remove obvious junk leads or duplicates. - Tag or note leads with anything you already know (like “met at conference” or “requested demo”).
What doesn’t:
Trying to filter messy, incomplete data. You’ll spend more time fixing errors than talking to real prospects.
Pro tip:
If you’re importing leads, take the extra five minutes to review the columns and clean things up. Your future self will thank you.
Step 2: Understand Colddm’s Advanced Filters
Colddm’s filters are only useful if you know what they actually do. Here’s what you can really control:
- Demographic filters: Location, industry, company size, job title—use these to slice out the obvious mismatches.
- Behavioral filters: Last activity, opened emails, clicked links, replied, or ignored—this is where the magic happens.
- Custom fields/tags: If you’re adding your own labels (like “webinar attendee” or “VIP list”), you can filter by these too.
- Exclusion filters: Ignore everyone who unsubscribed, bounced, or is already in your pipeline.
What to ignore:
Shiny filter features that sound cool but don’t actually help you—like filtering by random social metrics unless those are proven to correlate with your sales.
Step 3: Build Segments That Actually Make Sense
It’s tempting to create a million micro-segments, but more isn’t always better. Focus on what’s actionable.
Here’s how you might segment:
- Hot leads: People who opened your last email, clicked a link, or replied in the last week.
- Warm leads: Opened an email, but haven’t replied yet.
- Cold leads: Haven’t engaged at all in the last 30 days.
- Industry verticals: If you know your product does well in, say, SaaS or healthcare, create a segment for those.
- Seniority: Decision-makers vs. lower-level roles.
How to set this up in Colddm:
- Open your leads dashboard.
- Click on the “Filters” or “Advanced Filters” button (depending on your version).
- Stack your conditions—e.g., “Last Opened: within 7 days” + “Job Title: contains ‘Director’”.
- Save the filter set as a “Segment” so you can re-use it.
What works:
Keep your main segments under five—any more and you’ll never keep up.
What doesn’t:
Don’t overthink it. If a segment never gets used, ditch it.
Step 4: Prioritize Leads with Real Signals
Segmentation is just sorting. Prioritizing is about knowing who to talk to first.
Signals that actually matter: - Recent engagement: Opened, clicked, or replied recently. - Multiple interactions: Engaged across emails, website, or live chat. - Firmographic fit: Matches your ideal customer profile (e.g., right industry, size, or geography). - Past conversations: Already had a call or demo? Bump them up.
How to use filters for prioritization: - Filter by “Last Activity” date and sort descending. - Layer in fit qualifiers: e.g., “Company Size: 100-500” and “Industry: SaaS”. - Exclude dead ends: anyone marked “Do Not Contact” or who unsubscribed.
Pro tip:
Create a saved view called “Today’s Top Leads” that combines engagement and fit. Check it first thing every day.
Step 5: Take Action—Don’t Just Stare at Lists
It’s easy to get stuck tweaking filters forever. The point is to actually reach out.
What works: - Block daily time to work just the “Hot” and “Warm” lead segments. - Personalize messages for your top 10 leads, use templates for the rest. - Track which filters actually lead to responses, and adjust your segments accordingly.
What doesn’t: - Sending the same message to everyone in a huge segment. - Ignoring your segments for weeks, then blasting everyone with a generic follow-up.
Step 6: Review and Iterate
Your best filters today might be useless in a month. Keep it simple and tweak as you learn.
- Once a week, check which segments are converting.
- Kill or merge segments that aren’t working.
- Adjust your prioritization signals as your sales process evolves.
Pro tip:
Sometimes less is more. The best teams spend more time talking to leads, not fiddling with endless filters.
Honest Takes and Common Pitfalls
Not everything about filtering and segmenting is magical. Here’s what to watch out for:
- Overcomplicating things: If you need a manual to understand your own segments, you’re doing it wrong.
- Chasing vanity metrics: Just because someone opened an email doesn’t mean they’re interested. Look for patterns, not one-off actions.
- Ignoring manual review: Sometimes, a quick scan of top leads will catch things your filters miss (like an old friend at a new company).
Quick Checklist for Smarter Lead Management
- [ ] Data is clean and up-to-date.
- [ ] Segments are based on real, actionable criteria.
- [ ] Prioritization uses both engagement and fit.
- [ ] Saved views make daily work faster.
- [ ] Regularly review and prune segments.
- [ ] Actually follow up—don’t just admire your filtered lists.
Keep It Simple, Rinse, Repeat
Advanced filters in Colddm can save you a ton of time, but only if you keep your system simple and focused on action. Don’t chase perfect segments. Start with a few, see what works, and adjust as you go. The goal isn’t pretty dashboards—it’s more conversations with leads who might actually close.