Apollo Core Workflow A: Lead Search & Enrichment

Overview

Build the core Apollo.io prospecting pipeline: search for people and organizations, then enrich the best leads. Key distinction — search is free (no credits), enrichment costs credits. This skill uses the correct endpoints and x-api-key header authentication.

Prerequisites

• Completed apollo-install-auth setup
• Valid Apollo API key with search + enrichment permissions
• Understanding of your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

Instructions

Step 1: Search for People (Free — No Credits)

The People API Search endpoint (POST /mixed_people/api_search) searches Apollo's 275M+ database. It does not return emails or phone numbers — use enrichment for that.

// src/workflows/lead-search.ts
import axios from 'axios';

const client = axios.create({
  baseURL: 'https://api.apollo.io/api/v1',
  headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json', 'x-api-key': process.env.APOLLO_API_KEY! },
});

interface PersonSearchParams {
  domains: string[];
  titles?: string[];
  seniorities?: string[];    // "c_suite", "vp", "director", "manager", "senior"
  locations?: string[];       // "United States", "San Francisco, California"
  page?: number;
  perPage?: number;
}

export async function searchPeople(params: PersonSearchParams) {
  const { data } = await client.post('/mixed_people/api_search', {
    q_organization_domains_list: params.domains,
    person_titles: params.titles,
    person_seniorities: params.seniorities,
    person_locations: params.locations,
    include_similar_titles: true,
    page: params.page ?? 1,
    per_page: params.perPage ?? 25,
  });

  return {
    people: data.people,
    total: data.pagination.total_entries,
    totalPages: data.pagination.total_pages,
    page: data.pagination.page,
  };
}

Step 2: Search for Organizations (Free)

// src/workflows/org-search.ts
interface OrgSearchParams {
  keywords?: string;
  locations?: string[];
  employeeRanges?: string[];  // ["1,10", "11,50", "51,200", "201,500"]
  industries?: string[];
  revenueRanges?: string[];   // ["0,1000000", "1000000,10000000"]
}

export async function searchOrganizations(params: OrgSearchParams) {
  const { data } = await client.post('/mixed_companies/search', {
    q_organization_keyword_tags: params.keywords ? [params.keywords] : undefined,
    organization_locations: params.locations,
    organization_num_employees_ranges: params.employeeRanges,
    organization_industry_tag_ids: params.industries,
    organization_revenue_ranges: params.revenueRanges,
    page: 1,
    per_page: 25,
  });

  return data.organizations.map((org: any) => ({
    id: org.id,
    name: org.name,
    domain: org.primary_domain,
    industry: org.industry,
    employees: org.estimated_num_employees,
    revenue: org.annual_revenue_printed,
    city: org.city,
    state: org.state,
  }));
}

Step 3: Enrich a Single Person (1 Credit)

// src/workflows/enrich.ts
export async function enrichPerson(params: {
  email?: string;
  linkedinUrl?: string;
  firstName?: string;
  lastName?: string;
  domain?: string;
}) {
  const { data } = await client.post('/people/match', {
    email: params.email,
    linkedin_url: params.linkedinUrl,
    first_name: params.firstName,
    last_name: params.lastName,
    organization_domain: params.domain,
    reveal_personal_emails: false,
    reveal_phone_number: true,
  });

  if (!data.person) return null;
  const p = data.person;

  return {
    id: p.id,
    name: p.name,
    title: p.title,
    email: p.email,
    phone: p.phone_numbers?.[0]?.sanitized_number,
    company: p.organization?.name,
    companyDomain: p.organization?.primary_domain,
    linkedinUrl: p.linkedin_url,
    seniority: p.seniority,
    city: p.city,
    state: p.state,
  };
}

Step 4: Bulk Enrich People (Up to 10 per Call)

export async function bulkEnrichPeople(details: Array<{
  email?: string;
  linkedin_url?: string;
  first_name?: string;
  last_name?: string;
  organization_domain?: string;
}>) {
  const { data } = await client.post('/people/bulk_match', {
    details,
    reveal_personal_emails: false,
    reveal_phone_number: false,
  });

  return (data.matches ?? []).map((match: any) => ({
    id: match.id,
    name: match.name,
    email: match.email,
    title: match.title,
    company: match.organization?.name,
  }));
}

Step 5: Build a Combined Lead Pipeline

export async function buildLeadPipeline(targetDomains: string[]) {
  const leads: any[] = [];

  for (const domain of targetDomains) {
    // Step A: Search for decision-makers (free)
    const { people } = await searchPeople({
      domains: [domain],
      seniorities: ['vp', 'director', 'c_suite'],
    });

    // Step B: Score leads before enriching (save credits)
    const worthEnriching = people.filter((p: any) => scoreLead(p) >= 50);

    // Step C: Bulk enrich top leads (costs credits)
    if (worthEnriching.length > 0) {
      const enriched = await bulkEnrichPeople(
        worthEnriching.map((p: any) => ({
          first_name: p.first_name,
          last_name: p.last_name,
          organization_domain: domain,
        })),
      );
      leads.push(...enriched);
    }
  }

  return leads.sort((a, b) => scoreLead(b) - scoreLead(a));
}

function scoreLead(person: any): number {
  let score = 0;
  if (person.email) score += 30;
  if (person.phone_numbers?.length) score += 20;
  if (['c_suite', 'vp', 'founder', 'owner'].includes(person.seniority)) score += 30;
  else if (['director'].includes(person.seniority)) score += 20;
  if (person.linkedin_url) score += 10;
  if (person.city) score += 10;
  return score;
}

Output

• People search via POST /mixed_people/api_search (free, no credits)
• Organization search via POST /mixed_companies/search (free)
• Single person enrichment via POST /people/match (1 credit)
• Bulk enrichment via POST /people/bulk_match (up to 10 per call)
• Lead scoring to minimize credit spend before enriching

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Solution
Empty people array	Too narrow criteria	Broaden seniority levels, add include_similar_titles: true
null from enrichment	Person not in Apollo database	Try enriching via LinkedIn URL instead of name+domain
429 Rate Limited	Too many requests/minute	Batch requests with 500ms delays between calls
403 Forbidden	Standard key used for enrichment	Upgrade to master API key in Apollo dashboard

Examples

Quick ICP Search

// Find Series B SaaS companies with 50-500 employees
const companies = await searchOrganizations({
  keywords: 'SaaS',
  employeeRanges: ['51,200', '201,500'],
  locations: ['United States'],
});

// Find VPs of Sales at those companies
for (const company of companies.slice(0, 10)) {
  const { people, total } = await searchPeople({
    domains: [company.domain],
    titles: ['VP Sales', 'Head of Sales', 'VP Revenue'],
  });
  console.log(`${company.name} (${company.domain}): ${total} contacts`);
}

Resources

• People API Search
• Organization Search
• People Enrichment
• Bulk People Enrichment
• Find People Using Filters

Next Steps

Proceed to apollo-core-workflow-b for email sequences and outreach.