If you’re tired of sending the same generic messages to prospects—and getting ignored—this guide’s for you. I’ll show you how to use Powerin to segment your target accounts so you can actually personalize your outreach (without spending hours in spreadsheets). Whether you’re in sales, partnerships, or recruiting, this is about getting better results without busywork.
Let’s get real: The tool is helpful, but it won’t magically turn cold lists into hot leads. Segmentation and personalization still need some human thinking. But if you want to make your outreach less “spray and pray” and more targeted, here’s how to do it.
Step 1: Get Your Accounts List in Order
Before you even open Powerin, make sure you’ve got a list of accounts you care about. That could be:
- Companies you want to sell to
- Organizations you want to partner with
- Candidates’ employers, if you’re recruiting
Pro tip: Don’t overthink this. A simple spreadsheet with company names and websites is fine. The tool can’t help if you feed it garbage or random lists.
What to ignore: Don’t waste your time on accounts that aren’t a good fit. If you’re targeting SaaS companies, skip the law firms. Better to have 50 solid prospects than 500 random ones.
Step 2: Import Your List into Powerin
Once your list is ready, it’s time to get it into Powerin. You can usually upload a CSV or connect your CRM, depending on your setup.
- CSV Upload: Download your spreadsheet as a CSV. In Powerin, look for the “Import” or “Upload” button and follow the prompts.
- CRM Integration: If Powerin connects to your CRM (like Salesforce or HubSpot), you can usually sync lists directly. Frankly, these integrations sometimes break or miss fields, so double-check what comes through.
What works: CSV uploads are simplest and most reliable. Integrations are handy if you’re tech-savvy, but don’t expect perfection.
What to ignore: Don’t bother cleaning every last field (like city or fax number). Focus on company name, website, and any tags or notes you want to use later.
Step 3: Define Segmentation Criteria That Actually Matter
Here’s where most people mess up. Don’t segment just because you can. Only use criteria that will change how you reach out.
Ask yourself:
- What makes an account a good fit?
- What would change my message or offer?
- What information can I actually get (reliably)?
Common segmentation criteria:
- Industry or vertical (e.g., fintech, retail)
- Company size (by headcount or revenue)
- Tech stack (what tools they use)
- Geography (country, region)
- Recent funding or growth signals
Honest take: Don’t get hung up on obscure data like “number of patents filed” or “frequency of blog posts.” If it’s not actionable, skip it.
Step 4: Use Powerin’s Filters & Tags to Slice Your List
Now, in Powerin, use the segmentation features to break your list into meaningful groups.
How to do it:
- Go to your imported list.
- Use filters to narrow down by industry, size, location, etc.—whatever you decided in Step 3.
- Apply or create tags for each segment (e.g., “Enterprise Healthcare,” “Growing SaaS,” “Europe SMB”).
- Save each segment as a separate list or view.
What works:
- Start with broad filters. You can always get more granular later. If you try to create 12 micro-segments, you’ll drown.
- Use tags over custom fields. Tags are faster to apply and edit. Custom fields are for info you’ll actually use in mail merges.
What to ignore:
- Don’t bother segmenting by data you can’t verify. If Powerin’s data is spotty for, say, “uses AWS,” don’t build a whole campaign around it.
- Skip “nice to know” tags. If you won’t personalize based on it, don’t tag it.
Step 5: Enrich Accounts for Relevant Details (But Don’t Overdo It)
Powerin can enrich your list with more data—think tech stack, headcount, recent news, or funding rounds. This is helpful, but it’s easy to overdo.
- Enrich only what you’ll use. If you’re not going to mention their new funding round, don’t pay for that data.
- Spot check for accuracy. Automated enrichment is never perfect. Double-check a few accounts before trusting the whole batch.
Pro tip: Recent company news or product launches are gold for personalization. Use enrichment to surface these triggers.
What works: Enriching for tech stack and recent growth signals tends to be both accurate and actionable.
What to ignore: Social media follower counts, random press mentions, or anything that feels like trivia.
Step 6: Build Segmented Lists for Outreach
Now you’ve got your segments—time to actually build the lists you’ll use to send messages.
- In Powerin, create dynamic lists based on your tags and filters.
- Export each segment to your outreach tool (like Outreach, Salesloft, or even a simple mail merge).
- Name your lists clearly, e.g., “US Retailers, 100-500 Employees, Shopify.”
What works: Keeping segments broad enough that you can write semi-personalized templates, but narrow enough that your message feels tailored. (E.g., “mid-size B2B SaaS in Europe” is a good segment.)
What to ignore: Creating a list for each micro-niche (“Fintech, Series B, London, uses Slack, founded 2017”). You’ll spend more time organizing than actually reaching out.
Step 7: Personalize Your Outreach (the Smart Way)
This is where all that segmentation pays off. For each segment, write outreach that speaks to what makes them unique.
- Reference something relevant to the segment (“I work with a lot of mid-size SaaS teams in Europe facing XYZ challenge…”)
- Use merge fields for company name, role, or tech stack—but don’t force it if it sounds awkward.
- Add 1-2 custom lines for high-value accounts if you have the time.
Honest take: You don’t have to write a snowflake email for every company. Good segmentation lets you use templates without sounding like a robot.
What works: Personalizing by pain points, recent news, or shared tech platforms. It shows you did your homework—without actually writing 100 custom emails.
What to ignore: Overly clever personalization (“I see you like golf!”) unless it’s genuinely relevant. Most people see right through fake rapport.
Step 8: Review, Test, and Iterate
You won’t get perfect segments on your first try. That’s normal.
- After your first batch of outreach, look for patterns in replies (or lack thereof).
- Are some segments getting way better response rates? Figure out why.
- Refine your filters, tags, and messaging. Don’t be afraid to merge or split segments as you learn.
Pro tip: Simple beats clever. If most replies come from one big segment, double down on that and simplify the rest.
Wrapping Up
Powerin can save you hours on segmentation, but it’s not magic. The real power comes from knowing what matters to your prospects and making that the backbone of your outreach. Start simple, focus on segments that change your message, and don’t stress about having the perfect system.
You’ll get better—and faster—with every round. Keep it practical, keep it honest, and don’t let the tool distract you from actually hitting “send.”