Use the Technology change signal to get notified when companies in your target segment adopt or replace tools in their stack. This is a strong buying signal because stack changes often trigger vendor reviews, workflow updates, and new purchasing decisions.
Billing for this signal is 100 credits per identified signal.
Learning objective
By the end of this tutorial, you’ll know how to create a Technology change watchlist, define which technologies and companies to monitor, choose when alerts should trigger, use Exclude company lists when monitoring All segments, and prepare your team to act on those signals quickly.
Why this matters
When a company adds or swaps a tool, it usually means the team is actively rethinking processes, integrations, and budget. That makes it an ideal time to reach out with a relevant message that shows how your solution fits into their evolving setup.
If you monitor broadly with All segments, you may also capture signals from companies you already work with, such as current customers, partners, or accounts your team does not want to pursue. The new Exclude company lists option helps keep your signal feed focused on net-new opportunities by filtering out those companies before they appear in results.
Prerequisites
You should already know how to access the Signals area in lemlist.
You should already have a clear idea of the technologies and company segment you want to monitor.
If you plan to use exclusions, you should already have the relevant company lists prepared, such as Current Customers, Partners, or Do Not Contact.
You should already know who on your team should review or act on identified signals.
Core lesson — step-by-step workflow
Phase 1: Start a new watchlist
Go to Signals, then click New watchlist. This opens the watchlist builder where you can choose the type of buying signal you want to track.
Select Technology change as the signal to monitor. This option is designed for tracking when companies adopt or drop technologies, helping you engage while their stack is in motion.
Phase 2: Configure the technology change signal
Enter a clear watchlist name, then add the technologies to monitor in the technology field. The picker uses the same autocomplete logic as the People Database technology field, so you can search and select tools quickly.
Choose when the signal should trigger. You can either trigger the signal when a new technology is detected, or set it to trigger X months before the anniversary date if you want to time outreach around likely contract renewal windows.
This is an important decision:
When new technologies are detected is best if you want to react immediately to change.
X months before the anniversary date is best if you want to get ahead of renewal conversations and competitive evaluations.
Phase 3: Define the segment to monitor
Select the audience scope for the watchlist. You can monitor All segments, a Company list, or a Specific segment uploaded or defined for tighter targeting. This lets you align signals with your ICP instead of tracking the entire market.
If you choose All segments, you can now use Exclude company lists to remove one or more company lists from monitoring. This is ideal when you want broad coverage but do not want signals from existing customers, partners, or any other accounts your team should ignore.
For example, you might exclude a Current Customers list or a Do Not Contact list so reps only see relevant, actionable, net-new signals.
Keep in mind: exclusions work with company lists, not individual contacts.
Refine the segment with filters such as name exclusions, location, industry, and company size, then set your maximum number of signals identified per day. This limit helps you control volume and budget while keeping the signal flow actionable.
Billing for this signal is 100 credits per identified signal, so setting a daily cap is a good best practice when you are testing a new watchlist.
Phase 4: Decide how signals should be processed
Choose what should happen after a signal is identified. You can manually process signals or create a task for your team automatically. If your workflow depends on sales reps reviewing each opportunity, task creation is usually the best option because it keeps follow-up structured and visible.
Phase 5: Review and launch the watchlist
Review the summary to confirm the signal type, technologies selected, timing logic, billing, processing method, and segment settings. If you used Exclude company lists with All segments, double-check that the right lists are excluded before finalizing the watchlist.
lemlist processes these signals daily, so once the watchlist is live, identified companies will start appearing as new opportunities to review and contact.
What signal details you’ll see
Each identified Technology change signal includes the key company context your team needs to act fast:
Company
Location
Company size
Industry
Technology detection date
Practical application
Technology-change signals are most useful when you pair them with timely, relevant outreach. Instead of sending a generic prospecting message, reference the new tool and explain how your product complements the company’s new setup.
This is especially effective for teams using All segments because they can cast a wide net while still excluding known accounts that would clutter the signal feed. A common setup is to monitor the full market, then exclude lists like Current Customers or Do Not Contact so the sales team only works fresh opportunities.
Real-life examples
A SaaS company installs HubSpot after relying on spreadsheets.
A sales team replaces Outreach with another outbound tool.
A startup adds a new enrichment platform or CRM to its stack.
What this usually means: the company is changing priorities and improving workflows. That’s often the moment when teams are most open to discovering complementary tools, better integrations, or smarter processes.
Email example
Here’s a simple outreach template you can adapt:
Subject: Noticed {{companyName}} recently added {{newTool}}
Hey {{firstName}},
Noticed {{companyName}} recently started using {{newTool}}. Usually when teams adopt {{newTool}}, they’re reworking how they handle {{processArea}}.
{{referenceCompany}} went through the same transition and managed to {{impactMetric}} after improving their {{relatedProcess}}.
Want me to show you how they approached it?
Try it yourself
Reference the newly detected technology in the first line.
Tie that technology to a business process the buyer cares about.
Use a relevant customer example or proof point.
Keep the CTA light and consultative.
Troubleshooting & pitfalls
Issue: You’re getting too many signals
Root cause: Your segment is too broad or your daily identification limit is too high.
Narrow the segment with filters like industry, location, and company size.
Add name exclusions if there are companies you never want to monitor.
If you use All segments, exclude company lists such as Current Customers or Do Not Contact to keep the feed relevant.
Lower the daily signal cap to control both volume and credit usage.
Issue: The signals aren’t relevant to your ICP
Root cause: The selected segment or technologies are too generic.
Choose only technologies that strongly correlate with your best-fit customers.
Use a company list or specific segment instead of monitoring all companies.
If you still want broad coverage, use All segments with Exclude company lists to filter out known non-target accounts.
Review whether your filters reflect your actual target market.
Issue: Sales reps don’t act on the signals quickly
Root cause: Signals are identified, but no follow-up workflow is assigned.
Use Create a task for the identified signals instead of relying only on manual review.
Assign the right owner or fallback owner.
Add clear instructions so the next step is obvious for the team.
Issue: Credit usage is higher than expected
Root cause: Each identified signal costs 100 credits, and the watchlist may be finding more companies than planned.
Start with a lower daily cap while testing.
Tighten the segment before scaling up.
Use excluded company lists to avoid spending credits on companies your team already knows are out of scope.
Monitor how many signals are identified each day and adjust limits as needed.
Best practices
Start small with one or two high-intent technologies before expanding.
Use specific segments instead of broad monitoring when testing signal quality.
If you monitor All segments, exclude lists like Current Customers, Partners, or Do Not Contact to keep results clean.
Match your outreach message to the detected technology and likely workflow change.
Review signals daily so you can contact companies while the stack change is still fresh.