If you’ve got a bunch of company data but no clear idea which accounts are actually worth your team’s time, you’re not alone. This guide is for folks who need to find high-value accounts in their database—you might be in sales, marketing, or revops, but you want answers, not dashboards for the sake of dashboards. If you’re using Koala or thinking about it, here’s what actually works, what to skip, and how to get to real results without getting lost in the weeds.
Why bother identifying high-value accounts?
Let’s not overthink this: most B2B teams waste time chasing the wrong leads. If you can spot the right ones—the accounts most likely to buy, expand, or stick around—you make everyone’s life easier. More deals, less spinning your wheels. Koala can help cut through the noise, but only if you use it right.
Step 1: Get your data into shape
Before you touch Koala, make sure your account data doesn’t look like a junk drawer. Koala’s analytics are only as good as what you feed it. Here’s what to check:
- Deduplicate accounts: If Acme Corp is in your CRM three times, good luck getting clean insights.
- Fill key fields: Revenue, employee count, industry, location—whatever matters to your team. The more blanks, the less useful your analysis.
- Link contacts to accounts: If you don’t know which people go with which company, you’ll hit dead ends later.
- Standardize naming: “International Business Machines” versus “IBM” is a classic headache. Pick one.
Pro tip: If you can, run a quick export and check for obvious garbage (like phone numbers in the revenue field). Don’t trust that “the system is clean”—it never is.
Step 2: Connect your CRM and data sources to Koala
Koala can pull from most major CRMs (Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.), but don’t take integration for granted. Here’s what’s actually worth your time:
- Sync your CRM: Follow Koala’s setup to connect your main CRM. If you get errors, fix them now—half-baked syncs lead to missing accounts later.
- Add enrichment if you have it: If you use tools like Clearbit or ZoomInfo, connect those too. More context = better signals.
- Limit what you sync: Don’t bring over every list and field “just because.” Only sync what you’ll use. Too much data makes things slower and messier.
What to skip: Don’t bother connecting every SaaS tool under the sun. If it doesn’t directly help you spot high-value accounts, leave it out for now.
Step 3: Define what “high value” actually means (for you)
This is where most teams go sideways. “High value” isn’t one-size-fits-all. Koala isn’t magic—it needs you to tell it what matters. Ask yourself:
- Deal size: Are you after the biggest accounts, or the most likely to close?
- Industry or vertical: Are certain industries more valuable?
- Engagement: Do you care if they’ve attended webinars, opened emails, or used your product?
- Firmographics: Headcount, revenue, geography—what fits your ICP (ideal customer profile)?
How to do this in Koala: - Use filters to segment accounts based on your criteria. - Build a “high value” view that actually matches your priorities. - Don’t be afraid to start with a simple definition. You can always refine later.
Honest take: Teams often get stuck here, trying to build the “perfect” scoring model. Don’t. Start with what you know, and iterate after you see results.
Step 4: Use Koala’s analytics to surface the right accounts
Now you’re into the good stuff. Koala offers a bunch of analytics features, but here’s what’s actually useful for finding high-value accounts:
A. Account Scoring
- Koala can score accounts based on the criteria you set up—deal size, engagement, fit, etc.
- Check the default scoring model, but don’t trust it blindly. Tweak it to match your real priorities.
- Look for outliers: accounts with high scores but no activity, or vice versa. Sometimes the math doesn’t match reality.
B. Segmentation
- Build segments for “Top 10% by revenue potential,” “Most engaged accounts,” or whatever makes sense for your team.
- Use these segments for focused outreach—don’t just stare at them.
C. Trend and activity analysis
- Koala can show you which accounts have spiked in activity recently (site visits, product usage, email opens).
- This is gold—sometimes your best accounts are the ones heating up, not just the biggest logos.
D. Churn and expansion signals
- Use Koala’s analytics to spot upsell opportunities or churn risks based on account health signals.
- Don’t get lost in the “health score” rabbit hole. Use simple signals you trust: usage dropping, support tickets rising, etc.
What to ignore: Fancy visualizations that don’t tie back to action. If you can’t explain what you’ll do differently after seeing a chart, skip it.
Step 5: Build actionable lists for sales and customer success
Analytics are worthless if nobody acts on them. Here’s what actually moves the needle:
- Export or sync lists: Push your high-value account lists back to your CRM or sales tools. Koala supports this, but double-check the sync works.
- Give context with each list: Don’t just dump “top accounts” on your team. Add why they’re high value and what the next step is.
- Set up alerts: Koala can notify you when an account moves into your high-value segment or reaches a score threshold. Use this—don’t make your team check dashboards all day.
Pro tip: Less is more. A list of 20 truly high-value accounts beats a dump of 200 “pretty good” ones.
Step 6: Track what actually works and adjust
You’ll probably get some things wrong the first time—everyone does. Here’s how to avoid wasting months:
- Watch conversion rates: Did the accounts you flagged actually close or expand?
- Get feedback from the field: Ask sales and CS if the lists are useful. If they aren’t, fix your filters or criteria.
- Iterate, don’t overhaul: Small tweaks (like weighting engagement higher) are better than burning it all down and starting over.
What to ignore: Don’t obsess over “perfect” scores. Good enough beats perfect here. If your lists are directionally right, you’re already ahead of most teams.
Real-world caveats and gotchas
- Data quality is always the bottleneck. If your CRM is junk, no analytics tool will save you.
- Don’t trust black-box scores. If you can’t explain why an account is “high value,” neither can your team.
- Avoid dashboard paralysis. Koala has a lot of features—stick to the ones that drive action for your team.
Wrapping up
Finding high-value accounts shouldn’t be a science project. Clean your data, define what matters, use Koala’s analytics to surface the right accounts, and—most important—make sure your team actually acts on the insights. Don’t get distracted by new features or “AI-powered” everything. Start simple, see what works, and iterate from there. That’s how you get real value, not just charts.