If you’re tired of sending out dozens of “personalized” campaigns and getting crickets, you’re not alone. Account Based Marketing (ABM) is supposed to be targeted and efficient, but in reality, it easily turns into a pile of busywork. This guide is for marketers who want less scattershot outreach and more real conversations—and aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty with filters.
We’ll walk through how to use Cheapinboxes advanced filters to actually find and reach the people who matter. We’ll cover what works, what’s mostly hype, and how to avoid the usual ABM time-wasters.
Why Filtering Matters in ABM
Let’s get real: most ABM tools brag about “hyper-targeting,” but end up dumping you into a spreadsheet with hundreds of unqualified leads. Filters are what separate the “just in case” contacts from the “just right” ones. The more you can slice and dice, the less time you’ll waste.
What advanced filters can actually do for you:
- Cut out the noise: Skip the people who’ll never buy, no matter how many emails you send.
- Spot buying signals: Zero in on job changes, tech stacks, or behaviors that matter.
- Stay focused: Spend time on the accounts that look and act like your best customers.
But don’t expect filters to do your thinking for you. They’re only as smart as the criteria you set up.
Step 1: Get Clear About Who You Want (and Don’t Want)
Before you touch a single filter, figure out who you’re really after. Not just “mid-market SaaS companies”—get specific.
Questions to ask yourself:
- What makes a company actually a good fit? (Not just revenue, but pain points or urgency.)
- Who’s the real buyer? (Titles, departments, even personality type if you’re ambitious.)
- Who always says no or ghosts you? (Filter them out now.)
Pro Tip: Look at your last five closed-won deals and lost deals. What patterns pop up? Use those as your baseline.
Step 2: Set Up Your Cheapinboxes Filters
Now for the hands-on part. Advanced filters in Cheapinboxes aren’t just for show—they go way past the basics if you know what to look for.
The Filters That Actually Matter
Here’s where to start:
- Industry or Vertical: Obvious, but don’t just use “Tech.” Get granular—think “cloud infrastructure” or “property management software.”
- Company Size: Employee count is more reliable than revenue data. Set a range based on your best customers.
- Job Title & Function: Don’t chase “CEO” at a 1,000-person company when the real buyer is “Director of Ops.”
- Tech Stack: If you sell integrations, filter by what tools they already use. Cheapinboxes pulls in tech signals—use them.
- Recent Activity: Look for recent funding, hiring, or product launches. These are signs of change (and buying).
Filters to Ignore (Most of the Time)
- Generic location: Unless you’re truly geo-bound, don’t waste time excluding entire regions.
- Social media activity: “Active on Twitter” rarely means “likely to buy.”
- Buzzword skills: Filtering for “innovative” or “thought leader” is just asking for trouble.
Set Up Example:
Say you sell a workflow app for HR teams at companies with 200–2,000 employees, who use Workday, and just opened a new office. In Cheapinboxes:
- Industry: Human Resources Software
- Company Size: 200–2,000 employees
- Tech Stack: Workday
- Trigger Event: Office expansion (or recent hiring spike)
You just went from 5,000+ companies to a couple dozen high-potential targets.
Step 3: Layer and Combine to Find Gold
Here’s where most people stop—they pick a few filters and call it good. But the real magic is in combining filters.
How to Layer Filters
- Start broad, then narrow: Begin with industry and size, then add tech stack or recent events.
- Exclude time-wasters: Use “NOT” filters to cut out companies you already pitched, or that use a competitor’s product exclusively.
- Experiment: Don’t set it and forget it. Tweak combinations until the list feels right.
What Most People Miss:
Too many marketers hunt for “the perfect filter set.” That’s a unicorn. Good ABM is about iterating fast—test, see who replies, adjust.
Step 4: Sanity-Check Your List
Even with solid filters, junk slips through. Before you start outreach, gut-check your filtered list.
Sanity-Check Checklist
- Is every lead a real fit, or are there obvious duds?
- Any weird outliers? (A bakery with 1,000 employees is probably a data error.)
- How many accounts are you left with? If it’s over 100, you might be too broad. Under 10, maybe too narrow.
Pro Tip:
Manually review a sample of 10–20 accounts before scaling. Automation is great, but your eyes are better.
Step 5: Personalize Your Outreach—But Don’t Overdo It
The point of filters is focus, not to write creepy, hyper-personalized emails. Use what you know:
- Mention something relevant (recent funding, tech stack, etc.) in your opener.
- Keep it short and honest—no fake flattery.
- Don’t assume every filtered account is ready to buy. Ask questions, don’t pitch hard.
What to skip:
Ditch the mail-merge “Hi [FirstName], I see you’re crushing it at [Company]!” lines. Nobody believes them.
Step 6: Track and Adjust—Ruthlessly
Filters aren’t fire-and-forget. The best ABM marketers treat them like living experiments.
- Watch who replies and who ignores you.
- Update your filters every month based on wins and losses.
- Drop what’s not working. If your “recent funding” filter isn’t converting, try “recently hired new execs” instead.
- Don’t chase vanity metrics like open rates—focus on real conversations and meetings booked.
The Hype vs. Reality of “Advanced” Filters
A quick reality check: advanced filters won’t magically make your ABM program work. They’re just tools—useful, but only if you’re clear about your goals and ruthless about your criteria.
- What works: Tight, specific filters based on real customer data.
- What doesn’t: Overcomplicating with too many filters, or relying on shaky intent data.
- What to ignore: Any tool that promises “AI-powered ideal customers.” That’s just marketing fluff.
ABM is about disciplined focus, not fancy features.
Keep It Simple—And Keep Tweaking
Don’t get sucked into endless filter-tweaking, or let your list grow stale. The best results come from staying simple, reviewing often, and being honest about what’s working.
Set up your filters in Cheapinboxes, sanity-check your accounts, and start real conversations. If you keep things straightforward and adapt as you go, you’ll spend less time on busywork—and more time actually closing deals.