If there's one thing most sales teams have in common, it's a graveyard of half-baked prospecting lists. You know the drill: names get dumped in a spreadsheet, a few emails get sent, and then... crickets. If you actually want to manage and nurture outbound prospects, you need more than a list—you need a system that’s easy enough to stick with and flexible enough to not slow you down.
This guide is for anyone tired of losing track of outreach or letting good leads fall through the cracks. I'll walk you through using Attio, a CRM that’s actually tolerable, to wrangle your outbound lists and actually build relationships. I'll be straight about what works, what's just noise, and how to keep it all simple.
Step 1: Get Your Data in Order (Don’t Skip This)
First, you need to get your list into Attio. If your data’s a mess, nothing else will work right. Here’s the most reliable way to do it:
- Export your list: Pull your prospects from wherever they live now—Google Sheets, LinkedIn exports, whatever. Make sure you have at least these columns: Name, Company, Email, LinkedIn URL (if you have it), and Status (e.g., “Not Contacted”).
- Clean up duplicates: It’s boring, but do it now. Attio can merge contacts later, but garbage in, garbage out.
- Import to Attio: In Attio, go to the Collections section, create a new Collection called “Outbound Prospects,” and import your CSV.
- Map your columns to the right fields. Don’t skip custom fields if you want to track stuff like “Source” or “First Contact Date.”
- If you already have some of these people in Attio, it’ll prompt you to merge. Let it.
Pro tip: Don’t overthink fields at this stage. You can add more later. Just get the basics in.
Step 2: Set Up Your Prospecting Pipeline
Attio uses “Views” and “Statuses” instead of old-school pipeline stages, but the idea is the same. You want a simple workflow to see where every prospect is.
- Create Statuses: For outbound, you probably only need:
- Not Contacted
- Contacted
- Replied
- Qualified
- Not Interested
- Nurture
- Set up a Kanban View: Switch your Outbound Prospects Collection to Kanban mode and set Status as your columns. Now you can drag prospects from one stage to another as you work.
- Filters: Set up a saved filter for “Not Contacted” so you always know who’s next on your list.
- Tags: Use tags for quick flags—not as a replacement for statuses. For example, tag “High Priority” or “Conference Leads.”
What to ignore: Don’t waste time trying to make 10-stage pipelines or color-coding every little thing. The more complicated your pipeline, the less likely you are to use it.
Step 3: Track Outreach Without Losing Your Mind
The point of Attio isn’t to create work for yourself. It’s to make sure you actually follow up. Here’s how to keep it manageable:
- Log Emails Automatically: If you connect your email to Attio, it’ll automatically log emails to each contact. This is worth doing. That way, you don’t have to update things manually every time you send an email.
- Add Notes: When you call someone or get off a LinkedIn chat, jot a quick note on their record. Keep it short and useful: “Chatted on LinkedIn, seems open to a call in May.”
- Set Follow-Ups: Use Attio’s tasks/reminders to set a follow-up date. This is the part most people skip—don’t be that person. If you don’t have a next step, you’re not really prospecting.
Pro tip: Don’t treat Attio as a diary. Notes should be short and focused on what you need to do next, not war stories.
Step 4: Segment for Smarter Outreach
Not every prospect should get the same message. Attio can help you segment your list, but only if you set it up right.
- Custom Fields: Add fields like “Industry,” “Seniority,” or “Lead Source” to your Collection. You can bulk edit these after import, or update as you go.
- Saved Views: Create views for key segments: “CFOs in SaaS,” “Past Event Attendees,” etc. This makes it easier to personalize your outreach and not blast everyone with the same tired email.
- Bulk Actions: You can select a group of contacts and update their status, assign a tag, or start an email sequence (if you’re using a connected tool).
What works: Simple segments. Don’t try to build every possible filter from day one. Start with what matters most to your outreach.
What doesn’t: Trying to automate personalization entirely. Attio isn’t magic. If you want results, you still need to write good emails.
Step 5: Nurture, Don’t Nag
Following up doesn’t mean spamming people. Once someone’s replied (even with a “not now”), move them to “Nurture” and set reminders to check in every few months.
- Nurture View: Set up a saved view for everyone in “Nurture” status. Review this once a month. Set calendar reminders if Attio tasks aren’t enough.
- Personal Touches: When you reach out again, reference your last interaction or something relevant to them. This is way easier when your notes are up to date.
- Don’t Over-Automate: Resist the urge to build long, automated drip sequences unless you’re doing high-volume, low-value outreach. For most B2B, a few well-timed check-ins beat any sequence.
Step 6: Keep Your List Fresh (and Pruned)
The longer your list sits, the less useful it gets. Make a habit of reviewing and updating it.
- Archive Dead Leads: Move anyone who’s clearly not interested or bounced to “Not Interested” or just archive them. Don’t cling to every maybe.
- Update Info: If you see a contact’s changed jobs or companies, update their record. Attio sometimes picks this up, but don’t count on it catching everything.
- Add New Prospects Regularly: Don’t wait for a “list-building day.” Add new prospects as you find them. The smaller the batch, the less likely you’ll let it pile up.
Pro tip: Set a recurring calendar event—15 minutes a week—to clean up and add notes. It’s boring but necessary.
Step 7: Use (But Don’t Worship) Reporting
Attio offers basic reporting—number of new contacts, reply rates, etc. This is handy, but don’t get lost in dashboards.
- Track What Matters: Focus on things you can control: number of first contacts sent, follow-ups, and actual replies.
- Ignore Vanity Metrics: Time spent in pipeline stages, “engagement scores,” or other fuzzy stats won’t get you more meetings.
- Export When Needed: If your boss wants a spreadsheet, just export your view. Don’t try to build fancy reports if no one’s reading them.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
What works: - Keeping your pipeline dead simple. - Actually logging calls and emails. - Setting and doing follow-ups.
What doesn’t: - Building a monster of custom fields you’ll never use. - Automating everything—especially messaging. - Worrying about perfection before you start.
Ignore: - Overly clever integrations unless they solve a real pain. - Trying to make Attio do everything your old CRM did. If it was so great, you wouldn’t be here.
Keep It Simple, Keep Moving
Most prospecting systems fail because they get too complicated or no one updates them. With Attio, stick to the basics: clean data, a simple pipeline, and regular follow-ups. Don’t obsess over features—focus on what moves deals forward. Iterate as you go. If you keep it simple and actually use it, you’ll close more, waste less time, and feel a lot less scattered. That’s about as much as you can ask from any CRM.