sales-apollo

What this skill does

# Apollo.io Platform Help

Help the user with Apollo.io platform questions — from configuration and CRM sync through analytics, dialer, API, and credit management.

## Step 1 — Gather context


If `references/learnings.md` exists, read it first for accumulated knowledge.

Ask the user:

1. **What area of Apollo do you need help with?**
   - A) Prospecting & Search — finding and filtering leads (hand off: `/sales-prospect-list {your question}`)
   - B) Enrichment — getting emails, phones, firmographic data (hand off: `/sales-enrich {your question}`)
   - C) Sequences — outbound email/call sequences (for Apollo mechanics, `/sales-cadence` for strategy, hand off: `/sales-apollo-sequences {your question}`)
   - D) Intent & Signals — buying intent, job changes, lead scoring (hand off: `/sales-intent {your question}`)
   - E) Dialer — click-to-call, parallel dialing, call recording
   - F) Analytics — reports, dashboards, sequence performance
   - G) CRM Sync — Salesforce/HubSpot integration, field mapping, sync issues
   - H) Chrome Extension — LinkedIn prospecting, website visitor identification
   - I) Credits & Billing — credit management, usage, plan limits
   - J) API & Integrations — REST API, Zapier, webhooks
   - K) Admin — user management, teams, permissions, SSO
   - L) Something else — describe it

2. **What's your role?**
   - A) Sales rep / AE / BDR
   - B) Sales manager / team lead
   - C) RevOps / Sales Ops
   - D) Admin / IT
   - E) Founder / solo seller
   - F) Other

3. **What are you trying to accomplish?** (describe your specific goal or question)

**If the user's request already provides most of this context, skip directly to the relevant step.** Lead with your best-effort answer using reasonable assumptions (stated explicitly), then ask only the most critical 1-2 clarifying questions at the end — don't gate your response behind gathering complete context.

Note: If the user needs one of the specialized skills, route them there with a brief explanation of why that skill is a better fit.

## Step 2 — Route or answer directly

If the request maps to a specialized skill, route:
- List building / prospecting → `/sales-prospect-list`
- Contact enrichment / data hygiene → `/sales-enrich`
- Intent signals / lead scoring → `/sales-intent`
- Sequence strategy / cadence design → `/sales-cadence`
- Apollo sequence mechanics → `/sales-apollo-sequences`

Otherwise, answer directly from platform knowledge using the reference below.

## Step 3 — Apollo platform reference

Provide module-by-module guidance based on the user's area:

### Dialer
- **What it is**: Built-in click-to-call and parallel dialer with call recording and disposition tracking
- **Key concepts**: Click-to-call, parallel dialer (call multiple numbers simultaneously), call recording, voicemail drop, call dispositions, local presence
- **Plan requirements**: Dialer available on Professional+; international dialing on Organization plan
- **Common configs**: Caller ID setup, recording consent settings, voicemail drop recordings, disposition lists, parallel dialer settings
- **Best practices**: Use local presence for higher connect rates, always set call dispositions for analytics, enable recording for coaching

### Analytics & Reporting
- **What it is**: Built-in dashboards for team and individual performance across sequences, calls, and pipeline
- **Key concepts**: Pre-built dashboards, custom dashboards, sequence analytics, email analytics, call analytics, team goal tracking
- **Common reports**: Sequence performance (open/reply rates), team activity (emails sent, calls made, meetings booked), pipeline creation, deliverability monitoring
- **Best practices**: Monitor deliverability weekly, track leading indicators (activities) not just lagging (revenue), use sequence analytics to identify top-performing messaging

### CRM Sync
- **Native CRM integrations**: Salesforce (bi-directional), HubSpot (bi-directional), Pipedrive, Zoho, Dynamics 365
- **Key concepts**: Field mapping, sync direction (Apollo→CRM, CRM→Apollo, bi-directional), sync frequency, conflict resolution
- **Common issues**: Duplicate records, field mapping mismatches, sync lag, permission errors
- **Troubleshooting**: Check Settings > Integrations > CRM for sync status and error logs. Verify field mappings match data types. Review conflict resolution rules.

### Chrome Extension
- **What it is**: Browser extension for prospecting directly from LinkedIn and company websites
- **Key features**: LinkedIn profile enrichment, company page prospecting, website visitor identification, one-click add to lists/sequences
- **Common issues**: Extension not loading, LinkedIn rate limiting, data not matching
- **Best practices**: Don't bulk-prospect too quickly on LinkedIn (risk of account restrictions), verify enriched data before adding to sequences

### Credits & Billing
- **Credit types**: Mobile credits (phone numbers), export credits (CSV downloads), data credits (enrichment), email credits (sending)
- **Key rules**: Credits do NOT roll over month-to-month. Phone reveals cost ~8x email reveals in credit terms.
- **Common confusion**: Search doesn't consume credits — only enrichment (revealing emails/phones) and export consume credits
- **Optimization**: Enrich only qualified prospects, use bulk enrichment for efficiency, monitor usage in Settings > Usage

### Apollo data model

Core entities in Apollo — understand these to navigate the UI, build reports, and work with the API:

| Entity | What it represents | Key relationships |
|---|---|---|
| **Person** | An individual in Apollo's database (265M+) | Can be saved as a Contact |
| **Contact** | A person saved to your Apollo CRM | Belongs to an Account, can be added to Sequences |
| **Account** | A company/organization | Has many Contacts |
| **Sequence** | A multi-step outbound campaign | Has Steps (emails, calls, tasks), has enrolled Contacts |
| **Deal** | A sales opportunity | Linked to Contacts and Account |
| **Task** | An action item (call, email, LinkedIn, custom) | Linked to Contact |
| **List** | A saved collection of Contacts | Static or dynamic (saved search) |

### API & Integrations

> **Full API reference**: See `references/apollo-api-reference.md` for complete endpoint documentation, authentication details, and request/response examples.

For detailed API documentation including all endpoints, authentication, rate limits, credit consumption, and bulk operations, consult `references/apollo-api-reference.md`.

**Quick reference**: Base URL `https://api.apollo.io/api/v1/`, API key auth (`x-api-key` header), rate limits vary by plan. Key capabilities: people search, enrichment, contact/account CRUD, sequence management, deal management.

**Always reference `references/apollo-api-reference.md`** when answering API questions — point the user to it for the full endpoint catalog, request/response schemas, and rate limit details beyond what's covered inline here.

### Using MCP tools for direct Apollo access

If you want Claude to interact with Apollo.io directly (search contacts, enrich records, manage sequences, update pipeline stages), you can install an MCP-based tool that gives Claude live API access.

**Option 1: Composio** — MCP server with natural language → Apollo API translation

```bash
npx skills add composiohq/apollo-automation
```

Best for: Ad-hoc lookups, natural language queries ("find all VPs at Acme"), quick enrichment tasks. Composio handles auth and translates plain English into API calls.

**Option 2: Membrane** — Pre-built Apollo actions with direct API proxy

```bash
npx skills add membranedev/apolloio
```

Best for: Structured workflows, bulk operations, pipeline management. Membrane provides typed actions for contacts, accounts, deals, sequences, tasks, and calls with authentication and rate limiting built in.

Both tools handle auth, pagination, and rate limits automatically — prefer them over raw API calls when possible. Use this skill (`/sal