Use exclusion lists in Sonik.ai to prevent SDRs from calling existing customers, companies with active sales opportunities, or any other companies your team should not prospect.
This article explains how to configure company exclusions as an administrator and how to apply them to lists in the Dialer.
Before you start
There are two steps to setting up exclusions:
An administrator defines the companies to exclude in the Admin settings.
SDRs enable the exclusion option on their Dialer lists so Sonik.ai can filter those companies before calling.
⚠️ Important: Configuring an exclusion list in the Admin section is not enough on its own. The Exclude CRM customers option must also be enabled on each relevant Dialer list.
You can configure excluded companies in two ways:
With HubSpot: select existing HubSpot segments containing the companies you want to exclude.
Without HubSpot: upload a CSV file containing the companies you want to exclude.
Step 1: Decide which companies you want to exclude
Before configuring Sonik.ai, identify all companies that your SDRs should not call.
Typically, this includes:
Existing customers
Companies with an active sales opportunity
Existing prospects already being managed by your sales team
Partners or other companies that should not receive cold calls
Any other accounts your organization does not want SDRs to prospect
The objective is to maintain a reliable source of companies that Sonik.ai can use when filtering Dialer lists.
Option 1: For HubSpot Admins, Configure exclusions with HubSpot
If your Sonik.ai workspace is integrated with HubSpot, you can use HubSpot segments to manage your excluded companies.
Create your segments in HubSpot
First, make sure the companies you want to exclude are correctly grouped in HubSpot.
Create one or more segments containing, for example:
Your existing customers
Companies with active opportunities
Other companies that should not be contacted
You can use multiple segments if different categories of excluded companies are managed separately in HubSpot.
The important point is that all companies you want to protect from outbound calling are included in one of the HubSpot segments you will select in Sonik.ai.
Open Clients & Exclusions in Sonik.ai
You must have administrator access to configure the exclusion settings.
In Sonik.ai:
Open Admin.
Go to Clients & Exclusions.
Locate the section for excluded companies.
From this page, you can define which HubSpot segments Sonik.ai should use as your source of excluded companies.
Select your HubSpot segments
Select the HubSpot segment or segments containing the companies your SDRs should not call.
For example, you could select:
Customers
Open Opportunities
Strategic Accounts
Once selected, the companies contained in these segments can be identified by Sonik.ai when the exclusion option is used in the Dialer.
💡 Tip: Keep your HubSpot segments up to date by creating dynamic active segments. Your exclusion process depends on the companies being correctly categorized in the segments you have selected.
Option 2: For non HubSpot Users, Configure exclusions with a CSV file
If you do not use the HubSpot integration, you can manually provide Sonik.ai with the companies you want to exclude.
Download the CSV template
Open Admin.
Go to Clients & Exclusions.
Click "+ Add CRM Customers" (orange button on the right hand side)
Download the provided CSV template.
Using the template helps ensure that your file follows the format expected by Sonik.ai.
The file uses the following company information:
Field | Description |
Company Name | The name of the company you want to exclude |
Company Domain | The company's domain name |
Add each company that your SDRs should not prospect.
⚠️ Important: Use accurate company domains whenever possible. The company information is used to identify excluded companies when Sonik.ai compares them with companies in your Dialer lists.
Step 2: Enable exclusions in the Dialer
After an administrator has configured the excluded companies, SDRs must apply the exclusion setting to their Dialer lists.
When working with a list in the Dialer:
Open the list you want to call.
Locate the Exclude CRM Clients checkbox.
Make sure the option is enabled before using the list for calling.
When this option is enabled, Sonik.ai compares the companies in the Dialer list with the companies previously identified in your exclusion configuration.
Companies that match your exclusion list are excluded from the calling workflow.
⚠️ Important: Enable the setting on each Dialer list
The Exclude CRM customers setting applies at the list level.
This means SDRs should verify that the option is enabled for each individual list they use for calling.
For example, if an SDR works with several prospecting lists, enabling the option on one list does not mean it should be assumed to be enabled for every other list.
As a best practice, SDRs should check Exclude CRM customers whenever they prepare a new list for cold calling.
Summary
To prevent SDRs from calling customers or other excluded companies:
Identify the companies that should not be called.
Go to Admin → Clients & Exclusions.
If you use HubSpot, select the segments containing those companies.
If you do not use HubSpot, download the CSV template from Add CRM Customer, add the company names and domains, and upload it.
In the Dialer, enable Exclude CRM customers on each relevant calling list.
Once configured, Sonik.ai can match Dialer companies against your exclusions and help keep customers, active opportunities, and other protected accounts out of your cold-calling workflow.