Apollo.io

Overview

• Category: B2B Database & Sales Engagement Platform
• Pricing: Free (1 mobile credit/month) • Starts at $49/user/month
• Best For: Sales teams wanting database + outreach in one platform

What Makes It Stand Out: Apollo is the rare tool that successfully combines a massive B2B database (275M+ contacts, 73M+ companies) with a complete sales engagement platform—email sequences, phone dialer, task automation, and CRM functionality—all in one interface. While competitors force you to stitch together data providers and engagement tools, Apollo eliminates integration headaches by offering both natively.

Bottom Line: If you need a "Swiss Army knife" for outbound sales that provides both contacts AND the tools to reach them, Apollo delivers exceptional value—especially at the free and Basic tiers. It's not the best database (ZoomInfo has better data quality) or the best engagement platform (dedicated tools like Instantly/Lemlist offer more features), but the combination of "good enough" data + "good enough" automation in one platform makes it a go-to for 10,000+ sales teams.

Apollo.io is a dual-purpose sales platform that serves as both:

1. B2B Contact Database: Access 275M+ professional contacts and 73M+ companies with 220+ search filters including job title, industry, company size, technologies used, funding stage, hiring signals, and more. Find prospect email addresses (90M+ verified), phone numbers (35M+ direct dials + 200M+ mobile numbers), and detailed firmographic data.

2. Sales Engagement Platform: Execute outreach campaigns with multi-step email sequences (9 emails max per sequence on paid plans), built-in phone dialer with local presence and call recording, automated task creation, LinkedIn touchpoints, and one-click CRM integration—all from the same interface where you found the contact.

The Core Workflow:

Search Database (275M contacts)
   ↓
Verify Contact Info (email + phone)
   ↓
Add to Sequence (automated email cadence)
   ↓
Dial from Built-in Dialer (tracked calls)
   ↓
Auto-Log to CRM (HubSpot/Salesforce sync)
   ↓
Track Engagement (opens, clicks, replies)

Unlike point solutions that specialize in one function, Apollo aims to be the single platform where you prospect, enrich, engage, and track—reducing tool sprawl and eliminating data exports between systems.

1. 275M+ Contact Database with Advanced Filtering

What It Is: Apollo's B2B database contains 275 million professional contacts across 73 million companies, searchable via 220+ filters including job titles, seniority levels, company revenue, employee count, technologies used (40,000+ tracked tech signals), funding rounds, hiring patterns, and intent signals.

Why It Matters: Unlike niche data providers, Apollo's breadth allows you to build highly specific prospect lists without switching tools. For example: "VP of Engineering at Series B SaaS companies with 50-200 employees using React and AWS, showing hiring growth in the last 90 days."

How It Works:

• People Search: Filter by job function, seniority, location, department, company size, industry
• Company Search: Filter by revenue, employee count, technologies, funding stage, location, keywords
• Technology Tracking: See 40,000+ technologies used (CRM, marketing automation, hosting, etc.)
• Buying Signals: Identify companies hiring (job postings), funding events, executive changes
• Export Capabilities: Export filtered lists to CSV or directly to sequences (credits consumed per contact)

Real-World Use: An enterprise SaaS company targeting mid-market HR leaders built a list of "Head of People at 500-2000 employee tech companies using Workday in the US" and exported 1,200 verified contacts in 15 minutes—a manual research task that would have taken 40+ hours.

Pricing Impact: Data access is credit-based. Free plan = 1 mobile credit/month (essentially a trial). Basic ($49/user/mo) = 1,200 export credits annually. Professional ($79/user/mo) = 12,000 credits annually. Organization ($149/user/mo) = 24,000 credits annually.

2. Email Sequences with A/B Testing & Auto-Follow-Ups

What It Is: Build multi-step email cadences with up to 9 steps per sequence (paid plans), automated follow-ups based on engagement (opens, clicks, no-response), A/B testing for subject lines and email copy, and dynamic variables for personalization ({First Name}, {Company}, {Job Title}, etc.).

Why It Matters: Once you've identified prospects in Apollo's database, you can immediately launch campaigns without exporting to a separate email tool. The native integration means contact data stays fresh, and engagement tracking flows back into the same interface where you manage your lists.

How It Works:

• Sequence Builder: Drag-and-drop interface for building email cadences (e.g., Day 1: Email 1, Day 3: Follow-up, Day 7: Breakup email)
• A/B Testing: Test up to 3 variants per email step to optimize subject lines and messaging
• Auto-Scheduling: Apollo automatically distributes sends across your available sending window to mimic human behavior
• Task Automation: Insert manual tasks (LinkedIn connection request, phone call) between automated email steps
• Reply Detection: Automatically removes prospects from sequence when they reply
• Unsubscribe Handling: Built-in unsubscribe management (required for compliance)

Real-World Use: A B2B marketing agency ran a 7-step sequence to 500 prospects, testing 2 subject line variants in Step 1. The winning variant ("Quick question about [Company]") had a 42% open rate vs. 31% for the alternative. Apollo automatically sent the winning variant to the remaining 80% of prospects in subsequent sends.

Pricing Impact: Free plan = 5 email sequences (paused when limit reached). Basic = Unlimited sequences but only 3 steps per sequence. Professional = 9 steps per sequence + A/B testing. Organization = 9 steps + advanced analytics.

3. Built-in Phone Dialer with Local Presence & Call Recording

What It Is: Cloud-based phone dialer that lets you call prospects directly from Apollo's interface using your computer (VOIP) or mobile phone. Features include local presence (displays local area code to prospect), automatic call logging to CRM, call recording (with consent laws respected), voicemail drop, and call outcome tracking.

Why It Matters: Email-only outreach has diminishing returns (sub-2% reply rates are common). Adding phone calls increases connect rates 3-5x, but manually dialing from your phone means lost tracking, no automation, and incomplete CRM data. Apollo's dialer solves this by integrating calling into the same workflow as email and data.

How It Works:

• One-Click Dialing: Click phone number in any contact record to initiate call
• Local Presence: Dynamically displays a local area code matching the prospect's location
• Call Recording: Records calls automatically (with compliance disclosures)
• Voicemail Drop: Pre-record voicemails and drop them with 1 click when you hit voicemail
• Call Outcomes: Tag calls (Connected, Left VM, Gatekeeper, Wrong Number) for tracking
• Auto-Log to CRM: Call details, duration, recording, and outcome sync to Salesforce/HubSpot

Real-World Use: An SDR team at a cybersecurity startup used Apollo's dialer to call 60 prospects/day (down from 80 manual dials) but increased connect rates from 8% to 22% using local presence. Call recordings were reviewed weekly for coaching, improving qualification rate by 35%.

Pricing Impact: Free plan = 0 dialer minutes. Basic = 300 minutes/year. Professional = 1,200 minutes/year. Organization = 2,400 minutes/year. Overage costs: $0.15/minute.

4. Intent Signals & Buying Signals Intelligence

What It Is: Apollo tracks behavioral and firmographic signals indicating prospects are in-market for your solution: job postings (hiring for relevant roles), funding announcements (Series A-F), technology changes (adopted or removed tools), leadership changes (new executives), and growth signals (expansion to new locations, headcount increases).

Why It Matters: Timing is everything in sales. Reaching out when a company just raised $20M, hired a VP of Sales, or posted jobs for your ICP persona dramatically improves reply and meeting rates. Apollo surfaces these signals so you can prioritize hot accounts and craft contextual messaging.

How It Works:

• Hiring Signals: See job postings for specific roles (e.g., "Companies hiring Sales Engineers")
• Funding Signals: Filter by recent funding rounds (e.g., "Series B in last 90 days")
• Technology Signals: Identify companies using specific tech stacks (e.g., "Using Salesforce but not Outreach")
• Growth Signals: Companies expanding headcount, opening new offices, or entering new markets
• News Alerts: Press releases, acquisitions, leadership changes

Real-World Use: A sales intelligence platform targeted companies that recently hired a Chief Revenue Officer (signal: they're investing in sales infrastructure). By filtering Apollo for "CRO hired in last 60 days at Series B+ companies," they identified 140 accounts and achieved a 27% meeting booking rate (3x their baseline).

Pricing Impact: Intent signals are included in Professional ($79/mo) and Organization ($149/mo) plans only. Not available on Free or Basic tiers.

5. Chrome Extension for Real-Time Enrichment

What It Is: Browser extension that overlays Apollo data on LinkedIn profiles, company websites, and Gmail. Instantly see verified email addresses, phone numbers, job titles, and company info without leaving your browser, plus add prospects to sequences or export to CRM with one click.

Why It Matters: Sales reps spend hours per week context-switching between LinkedIn, data tools, email, and CRM. Apollo's Chrome extension eliminates this friction by bringing enrichment data to wherever you're already working—boosting productivity by 30-50%.

How It Works:

• LinkedIn Integration: View Apollo data overlaid on any LinkedIn profile (email, phone, company details)
• Gmail Integration: See prospect context when reading emails (job title, company size, technologies)
• Website Enrichment: Visit any company website and see firmographics, employee count, key contacts
• One-Click Actions: Add to sequence, save to list, export to CRM, or mark as prospect
• Real-Time Verification: Extension shows data freshness (e.g., "Email verified 14 days ago")

Real-World Use: An account executive browsing LinkedIn found a relevant prospect (VP of Marketing at target account). Apollo's extension revealed verified email, mobile number, and showed the company recently adopted HubSpot (technology signal). The AE added her to a HubSpot-specific sequence without leaving LinkedIn—entire workflow took 15 seconds.

Pricing Impact: Chrome extension is available on all plans (including Free) but data credits are consumed per lookup. Free users get 1 mobile credit/month, severely limiting extension usefulness.

Apollo.io maps to 4 of 5 GTM stages, making it one of the broadest single-tool solutions:

Primary: Enrichment + Orchestration (Core Strengths)

Enrichment (90% Focus): Apollo's 275M+ database and 220+ search filters make it exceptional for enriching prospect lists with verified emails, phone numbers, job titles, company firmographics, and technology data. The Chrome extension enables real-time enrichment across LinkedIn and web.

Orchestration (85% Focus): Email sequences, phone dialer, task automation, and multi-channel cadences make Apollo a strong orchestration platform for executing outbound campaigns at scale—though dedicated tools like Instantly or Lemlist offer more advanced features.

Secondary: Signal Detection + Personalization

Signal Detection (60% Focus): Intent signals (hiring, funding, tech changes) help identify in-market accounts, but Apollo's signal intelligence is less advanced than specialized platforms like Common Room or 6sense. Good enough for most SMB/mid-market use cases.

Personalization (40% Focus): Dynamic variables, A/B testing, and signal-based targeting enable basic personalization, but Apollo lacks AI-generated content, video personalization (Lemlist), or deep personality insights (Humantic). Personalization capabilities are functional but not differentiated.

Not Covered: Optimization

Apollo provides basic reporting (email opens, clicks, replies) but lacks advanced deliverability monitoring (inbox placement rates, spam scores), sender reputation tracking, or optimization recommendations. Pair with ColdIQ or Instantly for deliverability intelligence.

Sends Data To (Downstream)

CRMs:

• Salesforce (bi-directional sync: contacts, accounts, opportunities, activities)
• HubSpot (bi-directional sync: contacts, companies, deals, emails, calls)
• Pipedrive (contacts, deals, activities)
• Zoho CRM (contacts, accounts, activities)

Email Tools:

• Gmail (send emails via Gmail account, track opens/clicks)
• Outlook (send emails via Outlook, track engagement)
• Lemlist (export prospects from Apollo → Lemlist sequences)
• Instantly (export lists → Instantly campaigns)

Workflow Automation:

• Zapier (1,500+ app integrations via triggers and actions)
• Make (workflow builder integrations)

Receives Data From (Upstream)

Enrichment Providers:

• Clay (can pull Apollo data as enrichment provider via API)
• PhantomBuster (scrape LinkedIn → enrich via Apollo)

Lead Sources:

• LinkedIn Sales Navigator (export → Apollo for enrichment)
• G2, Capterra (website visitors → Apollo for contact data)

Works Alongside (Complementary)

Deliverability:

• ColdIQ (test Apollo email deliverability)
• Instantly (use Apollo data + Instantly infrastructure)

AI SDR Agents:

• Clay (use Apollo database → Clay waterfall enrichment → sequences)
• Artisan (Apollo lists → Ava for AI personalization)

Meeting Booking:

• Calendly, Chili Piper (book meetings from Apollo sequences)

Native Integrations (Built-In)

• Salesforce: bi-directional sync (contacts, leads, accounts, opps, tasks, calls, emails)
• HubSpot: bi-directional sync (contacts, companies, deals, activities)
• Gmail/G Suite: native email sending and tracking
• Outlook/Microsoft 365: native email sending and tracking
• LinkedIn: Chrome extension overlay on profiles
• Slack: notifications for replies, meetings booked
• Zapier: 1,500+ app connections

Integration Quality: Apollo's CRM integrations are exceptionally robust—field mapping is customizable, sync frequency is configurable (real-time to daily), and conflict resolution rules prevent duplicate records. The Salesforce integration is particularly mature, supporting custom objects and workflows.

Use Case 1: Build ICP-Specific Prospect Lists from 275M+ Database

Scenario: Your SaaS company targets mid-market HR teams at growing tech companies. You need 1,000 highly specific contacts: "Head of People Operations, VP HR, or Chief People Officer at 200-1000 employee technology companies in North America that use Workday or BambooHR, and have raised Series B or later funding."

Step-by-Step Workflow:

1. Advanced People Search:

   • Open Apollo → People Search
   • Add filters:
     • Job Titles: "Head of People Operations" OR "VP HR" OR "VP of Human Resources" OR "Chief People Officer"
     • Seniority: VP-level, C-level
     • Company Size: 200-1000 employees
     • Industry: Software, SaaS, Technology
     • Technologies Used: Workday OR BambooHR
     • Funding: Series B, Series C, Series D, Series E
     • Location: United States, Canada

2. Review & Refine Results:

   • Apollo returns 2,847 matching contacts
   • Sort by "Recently Changed Jobs" (shows people new to role = open to vendor changes)
   • Exclude companies already in your CRM using "Exclude from list" feature
   • Refine to 1,200 contacts

3. Verify Data Quality:

   • Use Apollo's "Confidence Score" filter (High confidence only = 90%+ accuracy)
   • Select contacts with "Verified Email" badge (email validated in last 90 days)
   • Look for "Direct Dial" badge indicating phone number availability

4. Export to Sequence:

   • Select all 1,200 contacts
   • Click "Add to Sequence"
   • Choose your 7-step email cadence (or create new sequence)
   • Apollo consumes 1,200 export credits (Professional plan includes 12,000 annually)
   • Contacts are immediately available in sequence, ready to email

5. Optional: Export to CRM:

   • Select contacts → "Export to Salesforce"
   • Map to Lead object with custom fields (Industry, Technologies Used, Employee Count)
   • Bulk create 1,200 Salesforce Leads automatically

Results: In 20 minutes, you've built a highly targeted list of 1,200 contacts that would have required 60+ hours of manual LinkedIn research, data enrichment tools, and CSV exports. Your sequences start the next business day.

Pro Tips:

• Use "Saved Searches" to re-run filters monthly and find new people matching your ICP
• Layer on "Hiring Signals" (e.g., "Hiring for HR roles") to identify accounts investing in HR infrastructure
• Combine "Recently Changed Jobs" (last 90 days) with "Promoted to VP" for high-conversion timing

Use Case 2: Multi-Channel Outreach with Email + Phone + LinkedIn

Scenario: You're an SDR tasked with booking 10 meetings this week with CFOs at mid-market financial services companies. Email-only outreach has yielded a 1.8% reply rate—you need to add phone calls and LinkedIn touchpoints to break through.

Step-by-Step Workflow:

1. Build Prospect List:

   • Apollo People Search: "CFO OR Chief Financial Officer"
   • Filters: Financial Services industry, 100-500 employees, US-based
   • Apply "Direct Dial Phone" filter (ensures prospects have mobile/office numbers)
   • Export 150 prospects to new sequence

2. Create Multi-Channel Sequence:

   • Day 1: Send personalized email (reference their company's recent growth or news)
   • Day 2: Manual task: "View LinkedIn profile + send connection request with note"
   • Day 3: Phone call using Apollo dialer (local presence enabled)
   • Day 5: Follow-up email (if no reply or connect)
   • Day 7: Second phone call attempt
   • Day 10: Final breakup email: "Should I close your file?"

3. Execute Phone Calls from Apollo Dialer:

   • Open sequence → view "Tasks Due Today"
   • Apollo shows 30 phone calls scheduled for today
   • Click "Start Calling" → Apollo auto-dials first prospect
   • Use local presence (shows CFO a local area code, improving answer rate)
   • Call connects → pitch your 30-second value prop
   • If voicemail → drop pre-recorded voicemail with 1 click
   • Tag outcome: "Connected - Interested" or "Left Voicemail"
   • Apollo auto-logs call to CRM (Salesforce) with recording, duration, outcome

4. Handle Replies in Unified Inbox:

   • Prospect replies to email: "Interested but wrong timing"
   • Apollo's unified inbox flags reply
   • You respond inline from Apollo (or sync to Gmail)
   • Apollo automatically removes prospect from active sequence (prevents further automation)
   • Create follow-up task: "Re-engage in Q2"

5. Track Multi-Channel Performance:

   • Apollo dashboard shows:
     • Emails sent: 150 (48% open rate, 9% reply rate)
     • Calls made: 90 (23% connect rate, 7% interested)
     • LinkedIn connections: 45 accepted (30% acceptance)
     • Total meetings booked: 12 (8% conversion from 150 prospects)

Results: By adding phone and LinkedIn to email, you 4x your reply rate (from 1.8% to 8%) and exceed your 10-meeting goal. The multi-channel approach took the same time as email-only (Apollo's unified workflow eliminates tool-switching overhead).

Pro Tips:

• Schedule calling blocks in mornings (8-10am) and late afternoons (4-6pm) when CFOs are more likely to answer
• Use Apollo's "Best Time to Call" recommendation (based on historical data for that prospect's industry/time zone)
• Record and review 5 calls per week to refine your pitch—Apollo's call library makes this easy

Use Case 3: Real-Time Enrichment with Chrome Extension

Scenario: You're an AE working deals with enterprise accounts. During a discovery call, the prospect mentions their VP of Engineering. You want to immediately find this person's contact info and add them to your outreach without losing context or switching tools.

Step-by-Step Workflow:

1. During Call - LinkedIn Lookup:

   • Open LinkedIn in Chrome
   • Search: "VP Engineering [Company Name]"
   • Find the relevant profile
   • Apollo Chrome extension automatically overlays enrichment data on the LinkedIn profile:
     • ✅ Verified email: john.smith@company.com (verified 18 days ago)
     • ✅ Direct dial: +1 (555) 123-4567
     • Company: Acme Corp (500 employees, $50M revenue, Series C)
     • Technologies used: AWS, Kubernetes, Python, React

2. One-Click Add to Sequence:

   • Click "Add to Sequence" button in Apollo extension overlay
   • Select sequence: "VP Engineering - Enterprise Follow-Up"
   • Click "Add Contact"
   • Apollo consumes 1 export credit and adds contact to sequence
   • Email will send tomorrow morning (sequence starts immediately)

3. Optional - Add to Salesforce:

   • Click "Add to Salesforce" in extension
   • Apollo creates Contact record in Salesforce
   • Associates Contact with existing Account (Acme Corp)
   • Associates Contact with your open Opportunity ($120K ARR)
   • All contact data (email, phone, title, company info) flows to Salesforce automatically

4. Post-Call - Gmail Context:

   • Later, you receive email from John (VP Engineering)
   • Apollo Gmail extension shows context panel:
     • Job title, seniority, department
     • Company size, industry, technologies
     • Recent activity: "Opened email 2 times, clicked pricing link"
   • You craft informed response referencing their tech stack (AWS, Kubernetes)

Results: In 10 seconds during a live call, you captured a new stakeholder's contact info, added them to automated outreach, and created a Salesforce Contact record—all without leaving LinkedIn or breaking conversation flow. The Gmail extension later provided context that helped you write a highly relevant reply.

Pro Tips:

• Install Apollo extension on all browsers (work laptop + mobile)
• Set up "Auto-Add to List" rules (e.g., any contact from target accounts automatically saves to "Hot Prospects" list)
• Use extension's "Show Similar Profiles" feature to find 10 more people with same title/company size in seconds

Use Case 4: Intent-Based Prospecting with Buying Signals

Scenario: Your company sells sales enablement software. You want to find companies that are actively investing in their sales teams—specifically companies that have recently raised funding and are hiring Sales Development Representatives (a signal they're scaling outbound).

Step-by-Step Workflow:

1. Layer Intent Signals:

   • Apollo → People Search
   • Add filters:
     • Job Titles: "Head of Sales Enablement" OR "VP Sales" OR "CRO"
     • Company Size: 50-500 employees (mid-market)
     • Funding: Series A, Series B (in last 180 days)
     • Job Postings: Select "Hiring for Sales Development Representative" (signal: scaling SDR team)
     • Location: United States
   • Apollo returns 487 contacts at companies matching all signals

2. Prioritize by Signal Strength:

   • Sort by "Recent Funding Date" (most recent first)
   • Review top 100 companies—check company profiles for multiple signals:
     • Just raised $15M Series B? ✅
     • 5+ open SDR job postings? ✅
     • New CRO hired in last 90 days? ✅ (triple signal = hot account)
   • Export top 100 contacts to "Hot - Intent Signals" sequence

3. Craft Signal-Aware Messaging:

   • Personalize email template to reference signals:
   • Subject: "Congrats on the Series B—supporting [Company]'s SDR team expansion"
   • Body: "I saw [Company] recently raised $15M and is hiring 5+ SDRs. We help teams like yours onboard and ramp new SDRs 40% faster with sales enablement playbooks..."
   • Use Apollo variables: {{Funding Round}}, {{Job Title}}, {{Company Name}}

4. Run 5-Step Sequence:

   • Day 1: Signal-aware intro email
   • Day 3: Follow-up highlighting case study (similar company, same funding stage)
   • Day 5: Phone call (Apollo dialer)
   • Day 8: Final email: "Happy to connect in 3 months when ramp is complete"
   • Track replies and meeting requests in Apollo inbox

5. Monitor Signal Changes:

   • Set up "Saved Search" alert in Apollo
   • Receive weekly email digest: "New companies matching your intent criteria"
   • As new companies raise funding or post SDR jobs, they automatically appear in your alert
   • Maintain evergreen pipeline of signal-qualified prospects

Results: Intent-based prospecting increased reply rate from 4% (cold outreach) to 11% (signal-aware outreach). Booked 8 meetings from 100 prospects in 2 weeks—compared to 2 meetings from previous 100-contact cold campaigns.

Pro Tips:

• Combine 2-3 signals for highest accuracy (e.g., Funding + Hiring + Executive change)
• Use signal data in subject lines to increase open rates: "Saw you're hiring SDRs..."
• Check signals weekly—timing is everything (reach out within 30 days of funding or hire)

Use Case 5: CRM Enrichment for Incomplete Salesforce Records

Scenario: Your Salesforce has 5,000 Lead and Contact records, but 60% are missing email addresses, 80% are missing phone numbers, and 90% lack job titles or company info. You need to enrich these records without manual research.

Step-by-Step Workflow:

1. Export Incomplete Records from Salesforce:

   • Salesforce → Create report: "Leads/Contacts with missing Email OR Phone"
   • Export 3,000 records to CSV
   • CSV contains: First Name, Last Name, Company Name, LinkedIn URL (if available)

2. Import to Apollo for Enrichment:

   • Apollo → "Import List"
   • Upload CSV (3,000 records)
   • Apollo attempts to match records to database contacts using name + company
   • Match rate: 72% (2,160 records matched)
   • Apollo appends: Verified email, phone number, job title, seniority, department, company size, industry, technologies

3. Review & Verify Matches:

   • Apollo shows confidence score for each match (High/Medium/Low)
   • Review "Medium" and "Low" confidence matches manually (about 15% of matches)
   • Confirm correct person before enriching (avoid appending wrong data)
   • Exclude 150 low-confidence matches (better to leave blank than add wrong data)

4. Push Enriched Data Back to Salesforce:

   • Apollo → "Export to Salesforce"
   • Select 2,010 high-confidence matched records
   • Map Apollo fields to Salesforce fields:
     • Apollo "Verified Email" → Salesforce "Email"
     • Apollo "Direct Dial" → Salesforce "Phone"
     • Apollo "Job Title" → Salesforce "Title"
     • Apollo "Seniority" → Salesforce custom field "Seniority Level"
     • Apollo "Employee Count" → Salesforce "Account.NumberOfEmployees"
   • Click "Update Records" (Apollo updates existing records, no duplicates created)

5. Enable Ongoing Auto-Enrichment:

   • Apollo → Salesforce integration settings
   • Enable "Auto-enrich new Leads/Contacts"
   • Going forward, any new Lead/Contact created in Salesforce is automatically enriched with Apollo data within 24 hours

Results: In 2 hours, you enriched 2,010 incomplete Salesforce records with verified emails, phone numbers, and firmographic data—a task that would have taken 200+ hours of manual research. Sales team now has actionable data on 67% more records.

Pro Tips:

• Run enrichment quarterly to catch job changes (contacts who switched companies)
• Use Apollo's "Data Health Score" to identify CRM records with stale data (not updated in 180+ days)
• Set up Zapier automation: New Salesforce Lead → Auto-enrich via Apollo API → Update Salesforce

Pricing Notes

Credit System:

• 1 Email Credit = Unlocking email address (verified or unverified)
• 1 Mobile Credit = Unlocking mobile/direct dial phone number
• 1 Export Credit = Exporting contact from search results to sequence or CSV
• Credits are consumed whether data is available or not (refund policy applies if data missing)

Billing:

• Annual billing only (no month-to-month option)
• Minimum 3 users on Professional and Organization plans
• Dialer overage: $0.15/minute beyond included minutes
• Additional credits can be purchased: ~$0.15-0.25 per credit depending on volume

Hidden Costs:

• Chrome extension uses same credit pool (can accidentally consume credits browsing LinkedIn)
• Data refresh costs: Re-verifying old contacts consumes additional credits
• Integrations: Zapier/Make may require separate subscriptions for automation

Volume Discounts:

• 10+ users: Negotiable discounts (typically 10-15% off list price)
• 50+ users: Custom enterprise pricing available
• Multi-year commitments: Additional 10-15% discount

ROI Calculation Examples

Scenario 1: Solo SDR Replacing Multiple Tools

• Before: ZoomInfo database ($10,000/year) + Outreach.io ($100/mo) + Hunter.io ($49/mo) = $11,788/year
• After: Apollo Professional ($79/mo × 12) = $948/year
• Savings: $10,840/year (92% cost reduction)
• Tradeoff: ZoomInfo has better data quality, Outreach has more advanced sequences—but Apollo's "good enough" data + engagement saves 92%

Scenario 2: 5-Person SDR Team

• Before: Apollo-less stack:

  • Salesforce ($125/user/mo × 5 = $7,500/year)
  • ZoomInfo ($15,000/year for 5 users)
  • Outreach.io ($100/user/mo × 5 = $6,000/year)
  • Hunter.io ($199/mo = $2,388/year)
  • Total: $30,888/year

• After: Apollo + lightweight CRM:

  • Apollo Professional ($79/mo × 5 = $4,740/year)
  • HubSpot Sales Starter ($45/mo × 5 = $2,700/year)
  • Total: $7,440/year

• Savings: $23,448/year (76% cost reduction)

Scenario 3: Mid-Market Team (20 SDRs)

• Apollo Organization ($149/mo × 20 = $35,760/year)
• Assumptions:
  • Each SDR exports 100 contacts/month (24,000 credits/year per user is sufficient)
  • Each SDR makes 20 calls/week (1,200 minutes/year sufficient)
  • Team books 400 meetings/year ($89/meeting cost)
• Comparison: ZoomInfo for 20 users = ~$80,000-120,000/year (Apollo saves $44,000-84,000 annually)

5-Step Implementation Guide

Step 1: Sign Up & Install Chrome Extension (Day 1, 15 minutes)

Action:

1. Visit apollo.io → "Start Free" (no credit card required)
2. Complete account setup (name, company, role)
3. Install Chrome extension from Chrome Web Store: "Apollo.io - Sales Intelligence"
4. Pin extension to Chrome toolbar for easy access

Initial Configuration:

• Connect Gmail or Outlook for email sending (Settings → Email Accounts → Connect)
• Set your timezone and working hours (for sequence send times)
• Configure email signature (used in all sent emails)

Quick Win: Search for 10 people at your dream accounts → Save to list → Review data quality to understand Apollo's coverage for your ICP.

Step 2: Connect CRM (Salesforce or HubSpot) (Day 1, 30 minutes)

Action:

1. Apollo → Settings → Integrations → Select Salesforce or HubSpot
2. Click "Connect" → Authenticate with CRM credentials
3. Configure sync settings:
   • Sync Direction: Bi-directional recommended (Apollo ↔ CRM)
   • Object Mapping: Map Apollo People → Salesforce Leads/Contacts
   • Field Mapping: Map job title, phone, company size to CRM custom fields
   • Sync Frequency: Real-time (or every 15 minutes)
   • Deduplication: Enable "Match by email" to prevent duplicate records

Pro Tip: Set up "Auto-log activities" so all emails, calls, and tasks from Apollo automatically create Activity records in Salesforce—eliminates manual CRM logging.

Common Mistake to Avoid: Don't sync ALL Apollo contacts to CRM—use filters (e.g., only sync contacts added to sequences or marked as "Prospect"). Otherwise, you'll clutter CRM with 10,000+ unqualified contacts.

Step 3: Build Your First Targeted List (Day 2, 45 minutes)

Action:

1. Apollo → People Search
2. Apply 5-10 filters matching your ICP:
   • Job titles (be specific: "VP Sales" not just "Sales")
   • Seniority (VP-level, C-level, Director-level)
   • Company size (e.g., 50-500 employees)
   • Industry (select 2-3 relevant industries)
   • Location (country/state/city)
   • Technologies used (if relevant to your ICP)
3. Review results—aim for 200-500 contacts
4. Apply "Data Quality" filters:
   • ✅ Select "High Confidence Only"
   • ✅ Check "Verified Email"
   • ✅ Optionally filter for "Direct Dial" if calling is part of your strategy
5. Select all → "Add to New List" → Name it "[ICP Name] - Q1 2025 Outbound"
6. Save the search for future re-runs (monthly to capture new people matching criteria)

Pro Tip: Start narrow (more filters = fewer results but higher quality). You can always broaden later if list is too small.

Step 4: Create Your First Email Sequence (Day 3, 60 minutes)

Action:

1. Apollo → Sequences → "Create New Sequence"

2. Name: "[Your ICP] - Cold Outreach v1"

3. Build 5-step sequence:

   • Step 1 (Day 1): Personalized intro email
     • Subject: "Quick question about [{{Company}}]"
     • Body: "Hi {{First Name}}, I noticed [specific observation about their company]. We help [companies like theirs] achieve [specific outcome]. Worth a 15-min chat?"
   • Step 2 (Day 3): Follow-up providing value
     • Subject: "Re: Quick question about [{{Company}}]"
     • Body: Share case study or resource relevant to their industry
   • Step 3 (Day 5): Manual task: "Call using Apollo dialer"
   • Step 4 (Day 8): Follow-up email
     • Subject: "Last try..."
     • Body: "Haven't heard back—probably bad timing. Should I close your file?"
   • Step 5 (Day 10): Breakup email
     • Subject: "Closing your file"
     • Body: "I'll assume this isn't a priority right now. Happy to reconnect in the future if things change."

4. Configure sequence settings:

   • Sending Schedule: Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm (prospect's timezone)
   • Daily Send Limit: 50 emails/day (to avoid triggering spam filters)
   • Reply Detection: ON (auto-pauses sequence if prospect replies)
   • Unsubscribe Link: Included (compliance requirement)

Pro Tip: Write all 5 steps before launching—sequences with 4-5 touchpoints get 3-4x more replies than 1-2 step sequences.

Step 5: Launch Campaign & Track Performance (Day 4, 30 minutes)

Action:

1. Return to your saved list from Step 3
2. Select 100 contacts (start small to test messaging)
3. Click "Add to Sequence" → Select sequence created in Step 4
4. Review prospects → Click "Add All"
5. Apollo begins sending emails next business day

Monitor Performance (Daily for First Week):

• Apollo → Dashboard → Sequence analytics
• Track:
  • Open rate: Target 40-50% (if <30%, revise subject lines)
  • Reply rate: Target 2-5% for cold outreach (if <1%, revise messaging or targeting)
  • Meeting booked rate: Target 0.5-2%
  • Unsubscribe rate: Should be <1% (if >2%, messaging is too aggressive or targeting is off)

Iterate Based on Data:

• Low open rate? → Test new subject lines (use A/B testing in Professional plan)
• Low reply rate? → Add more personalization or revise value proposition
• High unsubscribe rate? → Revisit list targeting (may be reaching wrong personas)

Pro Tip: After first 100 contacts, run a second batch of 200 with revised messaging. Continuously A/B test to optimize performance.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Burning Through Credits Too Fast: Don't export every contact you search for. Build lists in Apollo without exporting, then only export final 200-500 prospects you'll actually contact. Use "Saved Searches" instead of exporting.

2. Ignoring Data Quality Filters: Always filter for "Verified Email" and "High Confidence" matches. Skipping these filters to get larger lists results in 30-40% bounce rates, damaging sender reputation.

3. Over-Automating Sequences: Don't make sequences 100% automated with 9 email steps and 0 manual tasks. Best-performing sequences blend automation with manual touchpoints (calls, LinkedIn, personalized video).

4. Forgetting to Monitor Replies: Check Apollo inbox daily. Prospects who reply but don't hear back for 3+ days often lose interest. Treat Apollo inbox like your primary email.

5. Not Syncing to CRM: If you skip CRM integration, your sales team lacks visibility into Apollo activities. All outreach, replies, and calls should flow to Salesforce/HubSpot for full pipeline visibility.

Official Apollo Resources

Documentation & Learning:

• Apollo Help Center: https://help.apollo.io (searchable knowledge base)
• Video Tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/@apolloio (50+ how-to videos)
• Apollo Academy: https://www.apollo.io/academy (free email courses on prospecting, sequences, dialer)

Product Updates:

• Apollo Blog: https://www.apollo.io/blog (weekly updates, best practices)
• What's New: https://www.apollo.io/whats-new (product changelog)

Community & Support:

• Apollo Community (Slack-style forum): https://community.apollo.io
• Live Chat Support: Available on Professional and Organization plans (in-app)
• Email Support: support@apollo.io (24-48 hour response time on Basic plan, <12 hours on Professional+)

Works Best With

CRM Platforms:

• Salesforce (Enterprise CRM with deep Apollo integration)
• HubSpot (SMB CRM with native Apollo sync)
• Pipedrive (Simple CRM for small teams)

Email Infrastructure:

• Instantly (Use Apollo data → Instantly sending for unlimited volume + better deliverability)
• Lemlist (Use Apollo data → Lemlist for multi-channel + video personalization)
• ColdIQ (Test Apollo emails for deliverability before sending)

Enrichment & Data:

• Clay (Waterfall enrich Apollo data with 90+ providers for maximum coverage)
• FullEnrich (Waterfall email/phone enrichment to supplement Apollo's data)
• PhantomBuster (Scrape LinkedIn → enrich with Apollo)

Phone & Calling:

• Aircall (Export Apollo contacts → call via Aircall for better dialer reliability)
• OpenPhone (Alternative dialer with better call quality than Apollo's built-in)

Recommended Stacks

Stack 1: Budget Startup ($150/mo for 1-2 reps)

• Apollo Professional ($79/mo) — Database + sequences + dialer
• HubSpot Starter ($45/mo) — CRM
• ColdIQ Free ($0) — Email deliverability testing
• Total: $124/month

Stack 2: SMB Multi-Channel Outbound ($400/mo for 5 reps)

• Apollo Basic ($49/mo × 5 = $245/mo) — Database + phone data
• Instantly Growth ($37/mo) — Unlimited email sending
• Expandi ($79/mo) — LinkedIn automation
• HubSpot Sales Pro ($90/mo × 5 = $450/mo total, $90/rep) — CRM
• Total: $811/month for 5 reps = $162/rep/month

Stack 3: Mid-Market Performance (15 reps)

• Apollo Professional ($79/mo × 15 = $1,185/mo) — Database + enrichment
• Instantly Hyper Growth ($358/mo) — Unlimited email infrastructure
• Clay Explorer ($349/mo) — Waterfall enrichment to supplement Apollo
• Salesforce Professional ($75/mo × 15 = $1,125/mo) — CRM
• Total: $3,017/month for 15 reps = $201/rep/month

Stack 4: Enterprise Hybrid (50 reps)

• ZoomInfo Professional ($1,000/mo for 50 users) — Primary database (better data quality)
• Apollo Professional ($79/mo × 50 = $3,950/mo) — Secondary database + dialer
• Outreach.io ($100/mo × 50 = $5,000/mo) — Email sequences
• Salesforce Enterprise ($150/mo × 50 = $7,500/mo) — CRM
• Total: $17,450/month = $349/rep/month

Integration Partners

Native Integrations (No-Code Setup):

• Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Zoho CRM
• Gmail, Outlook, Microsoft 365
• Slack (notifications)
• LinkedIn (Chrome extension overlay)
• Zapier (1,500+ app connections)

API Integrations (Developer Required):

• Clay (pull Apollo data as enrichment provider)
• Make/Integromat (workflow automation)
• Custom internal tools (Apollo REST API available)

Workflow Partners:

• Zapier: Automate "New Apollo Reply → Create Slack notification" or "New Salesforce Lead → Enrich via Apollo"
• PhantomBuster: Scrape LinkedIn → Send to Apollo for enrichment → Export to CSV
• Calendly/Chili Piper: Book meetings from Apollo sequences