One way to personalize (at scale) is to focus on their technology tools.
Companies like Lavender (or BuiltWith, Clearbit, etc.) give you a sense of what tools a prospect is using. The industry term for this is "technographic." Don't worry about what to call it. The key is using that insight to your advantage.
To give a concrete example, assume you're selling a chatbot.
You can target accounts using a competitive chatbot (ex. Drift). You can also target accounts using complementary software (ex. SalesForce). The approach to messaging shouldn't change, even if you change up some of the phrasing.
Here are the five parts of a great cold email personalized for their current technologies.
Don't hide what you know. Bring up their software in the first paragraph.
Bonus points: Take personalization a step beyond their technology. Make it so that the email couldn't have been sent to anyone but them. Show 'em you know 'em!
Tie it to a positive task that they use the tech for.
Uncover a potential shortcoming.
Create credibility with case study-based outcomes.
Ask for interest.
What does that look like?
"Hey John,
Saw you're using Drift. Given the size of your sales team, this has been great at driving demand.
With that demand, are you finding people looking to use chat for customer support?
We met ACME at a similar point. They had generated a lot of demand but needed help to service frustrated customers over email.
Our chatbot helped them reduce churn by 25% in 2 months.
Think this could help your team?"
Why does this work?
It's personalized.
It asks a question that uncovers a potential flaw. It then explains how that flaw comes to life in daily tasks.
Instead of telling them the impact. It shows the impact through another's story. This keeps the conversation "safe".
Lastly, it provides a concrete understanding of what you provide.
The ask isn't pushy. It just asks if it sounds helpful.
If the story resonates (aka is relatable), the reply is yes.