Create a Workflow

Overview

Workflows help you automate actions in Apollo that would otherwise require manual input. The automated steps include the option to add or remove contacts from sequences and lists and the ability to schedule tasks for your reps.

What's the Plan, Stan?

Access to workflows depends on your Apollo plan. Refer to Apollo's pricing page for more information.

The following sections explain how to create workflows from existing templates or from scratch in Apollo. If you need more inspiration before creating a workflow, check out Workflow Overview for details about some of the most popular use cases.

Before You Start: Non-admin Access

Access to workflows functionality is potentially limited based on whether your Apollo permission profile includes workflows admin rights.

If you've been assigned workflow admin rights, all options are available to you. If you do not have the necessary permissions, your options are limited to items that you own within your Apollo account.

If you're not a workflow admin, the following restrictions apply as you're building workflows:

Contact-created triggers only execute when the contact is created or saved by the current non-admin user.
Contact-updated triggers only execute when the contact is owned by the current non-admin user.
All sequence-related triggers can only be used with sequences owned by the current non-admin user.
Phone call-related triggers can only access phone calls made by the current non-admin user.
Schedule-based workflows can only enroll saved contacts, companies, or deals that are owned by the current non-admin user. Net new enrollment of contacts, companies, and deals is unaffected.
Actions for sequences and lists can only be taken for sequences and lists owned by the current non-admin user.
Notifications, whether emails or Slack messages, can only be sent to the email address of the current non-admin user or a Slack channel that user can access.
Tasks can only be created when they will be owned by the current non-admin user. Non-admins can't assigns tasks to team mates via workflows.
Non-admin users can only edit workflows that they own. Admins can edit all workflows regardless of the owner.
Non-admin users can only clone workflows that they own. Admins can clone workflows that are owned by other admins.

If you are a non-admin user that would like expanded access to workflows, please contact an Apollo admin on your team for help.

If you're an Apollo admin for your team that would like to grant workflows rights to more team mates:

Launch Apollo and click Settings > Users and teams > Permission profiles.
Click the permission profile you want to edit.
Click the checkbox for the Workflows super admin access to enable it for all users assigned the permission profile. Then, click Save Changes.

Use Templates to Create Workflows (Option 1)

Apollo's workflow templates enable you to quickly create and activate a workflow. There are several templates available for you to use.

To create a workflow from a template:

Launch Apollo and click Workflows.
Click Create workflow > Start with a template.

Workflows Within Your Flows

You can create workflows that quickly help you accomplish basic tasks such as adding targets to a sequence or auto-updating records directly within your Apollo flow. When you are prospecting in Companies or People, click the Create Workflow drop-down, then choose an a pre-built workflow or create one from scratch.

Browse through the workflow templates. If a template features an AI tag, Apollo's AI will automatically generate elements such as email subject lines and bodies. When you find a template to use, click it.
Click View to preview different elements of the workflow. You can edit these during the next steps in the creation process. If you want to proceed with the template, click Use template.
Provide information about your customers' pain point and your product's value proposition. Tailor these details to the specific persona that you are targeting with the workflow. If your workflow targets companies, you also need to provide relevant buying intent topics for your product.

Add a link to a scheduler or video conferencing platform to use in any emails or LinkedIn messages that Apollo creates for your workflow. You can create meeting links directly in Apollo.

Then, click Save & continue.
(Optional) To edit the workflow, click the enrollment triggers or actions you want to edit. For more information about the edits you can make, refer to the Create Workflows from Scratch section of this article.
(Optional) If a sequence is being created as part of the workflow, it will automatically activate when the workflow runs for the first time. To preview the email content in the sequence, click Edit for the sequence. Then, select a contact to generate a content preview. Apollo personalizes the preview based on the contact you choose.
(Optional) Click the Settings tab. Here, you can rename the workflow, add a description to help explain what your workflow automates, and save the workflow to a specific folder in Apollo.

Use the Customization options to limit how many people are processed each time the workflow runs, and how often the same targets should be added to the workflow.

The Every run setting allows a target to run through the workflow every time it meets the criteria for the filters. The Only once setting limits a target to run through a workflow 1 time. The Once every setting allows a target to run through the workflow when it meets the criteria for the filters at a time interval you specify.
Review the workflow to ensure that you agree with all configurations.

When you are ready to activate the workflow, toggle the activation slider on, then click Publish.

You've successfully created a new workflow from a template.

Create Workflows from Scratch (Option 2)

Apollo Certified

Want to learn everything there is to know about workflows in Apollo? Check out the free Apollo Academy course How to Use Workflows to Automate Your Sales Process and get certified on your workflows knowledge.

Apollo's templates enable you to quickly create and activate a workflow, but to create a more complex workflow or a workflow that is specific to your needs, you likely want to create the workflow from scratch.

To create a workflow without using a template:

Launch Apollo and click Workflows.
Click Create workflow > Create from scratch.

With a workflow draft started, there are 4 steps you need to take to create a new workflow from scratch:

Set the enrollment trigger and criteria for the workflow.
Choose the rules and actions for the workflow. This is the conditional logic and automation you want to implement.
Finalize the workflow settings, including the workflow name and re-enrollment settings.
Activate the workflow.

The following sections detail the options Apollo makes available to you when creating a workflow.

Choose Workflow Enrollment Triggers (When This Happens)

Enrollment triggers define when you want a workflow to run. Triggers can be either date/schedule-based or event-based.

To select enrollment triggers for your workflow, click Add trigger.

Then, choose 1 of the following paths based on the trigger type you want to use:

Date or schedule triggers
Event triggers

To trigger the workflow based on a date or schedule:

Click Based on a date or schedule. Then, choose to target either People, Companies, or Deals with the workflow.
Choose the start date and how frequently the workflow should run. The start time for the workflow is based on your own timezone settings in Apollo, and not the timezones of the contacts or companies you add to the workflow.

Click the Set end date checkbox to choose a date when you want the workflow to stop running. If you do not set an end date, the workflow will continue to run indefinitely.
Click Add filters to define the enrollment criteria for the workflow. The filters you choose determine which people, companies, or deals are processed by your workflow. If you don't apply any filters, your workflow targets all contacts, companies, or deals.

Select the filters you want to apply to your workflow. As you add filters, Apollo shows you a preview of the targets that would meet your criteria. Then, click Save filters.
Click Save trigger.

Next, define the workflow's rules and actions.

To trigger the workflow based on an event:

Click Based on a trigger event. Then, choose to target either People, Companies, or Deals with the workflow.
Select the event you want to use as a trigger for the workflow. Certain events enable you to make the trigger more specific. For example, the Contact updated event can be limited to updates made to specific contact fields.

To add more events as triggers, click Add event and select another event. If you add multiple events, the workflow will trigger whenever 1 of the events occurs.
Click Edit filters to define the enrollment criteria for the workflow. The filters you choose determine which people, companies, or deals are processed by your workflow. If you don't apply any filters, your workflow targets all contacts, companies, or deals.

Select the filters you want to apply to your workflow. As you add filters, Apollo shows you a preview of the targets that would meet your criteria. Then, click Save filters.
Click Save trigger.

Next, define the workflow's rules and actions.

Define Workflow Rules and Actions (Then Do This)

With your enrollment triggers set, you are ready to add rules and actions to your workflow.

To choose the rules and actions for the workflow, click the + icon in the workflow or drag items from the sidebar into the workflow.

Rules (Optional)

Rules enable you to create workflow branches based on conditional logic.

You are not required to add rules to your workflow. Rules help you build more complex, precise workflows.

The following workflow rules are available to use:

True / false branch
Multi-split branch
Delay

The True / false branch option enables you to branch the workflow based on whether a target matches the filters you choose. To add a true / false branch:

(Optional) Enter a name for the main branch.
Click Add filters. Targets that match the filters you choose will be processed through the true branch.
Select the filters you want to apply to the true branch. As you add filters, Apollo shows you a preview of the targets that would meet your criteria. Then, click Save filters.
Click Save branch.

The true / false branch is added to the workflow. Continue to add rules or actions to each of the branches.

The Multi-split branch option enables you to branch the workflow based on whether a target matches the filters you choose. Unlike a true / false branch, a multi-split branch can be used to apply specific filters to each branch and can support more than 2 branches. To add a multi-split branch:

(Optional) Enter names for the main branch and the specific branches.
(Optional) Click Add Branch to add more branches.
Click Add filters for each of the branches. Targets that match the filters you choose for each branch will be processed through that branch.

Targets that do not match the filter criteria you set for any of the branches will be processed through a default Else branch. You do not need to add or edit the Else branch.
Select the filters you want to apply to each branch. As you add filters, Apollo shows you a preview of the targets that would meet your criteria. Then, click Save filters.
Click Save branch.

The multi-split branch is added to the workflow. Continue to add rules or actions to each of the branches.

The Delay action enables you to pause time before the next action is taken in the workflow. You can delay workflow actions by minutes, hours, days, weeks, and months. To add a delay to the workflow, choose the wait time and click Save action. The delay is added to the workflow.

Actions

Actions are the specific automations that you want to run when the workflow is triggered.

The following workflow actions are available to use:

Manage sequences
Manage list
Manage deals
Run AI prompt
Enrich data
Assign manual tasks
Update contact/account
Send notifications

The Manage sequences action enables you to manage contacts on sequences. To manage sequences via workflows, choose 1 of the 4 options:

Add contacts to sequence
Remove contacts from sequence
Mark contacts as finished within sequences

Then, fill in the details for the action want to implement. For example, to add contacts to a sequence, you need to choose the sequence and the linked mailbox you want to use. Click the Rotate mailboxes checkbox to rotates between multiple mailboxes. When you're finished editing the action, click Save action.

The Manage lists action enables you to automatically add and remove contacts and accounts from lists based on the workflow. The types of lists that can be updated via this action depends on the target type you set in the enrollment trigger. Only workflows with the target type People can manage contacts via this action, and only the target type Companies can manage accounts. To manage lists via workflows, choose 1 of the 4 options:

Add to contact lists
Remove from contact lists
Add to account lists
Remove from account lists

Then, choose the lists that you want the workflow to update. When you're finished editing the action, click Save action.

The Manage deals action automatically creates and updates deals based on the workflow. To manage deals via workflows, choose 1 of the 4 options:

Update deal
Create deal

Then, fill in the details for the action want to implement. For example, to automate the creation of deals, you need to choose the pipeline and deal stage. You can also assign a deal owner. Click the Allow duplicates checkbox to allow duplicate deals for the same account to be created. When you're finished editing the action, click Save action.

The Run AI prompt action enables you to run an AI power-up directly in your workflow. You can use power-ups to automate prospect research and generate personalized email messaging.

The Enrich data action automatically adds or updates email addresses for contacts when that data point is missing or inaccurate. This action is only available in workflows that target people. Enriching email data via workflows does potentially consume credits on your Apollo plan. Refer to Apollo's pricing page for more details.

The Assign manual tasks action automatically assigns tasks, such as sending an email or making a phone call, to yourself or your teammates in Apollo. The specific action that can be selected depends on the target type you set in the enrollment trigger. For example, workflows with the target type People can create contact tasks and account tasks, but not deal tasks. To create tasks via workflows, choose 1 of the 3 options:

Create contact task
Create account task
Create deal task

Then, fill in the details for the action want to implement. For example, to automate the creation of contact tasks, you need to choose the task type, the task assignee, and the due date. You can also assign a priority and add a note for the assignee. When you're finished editing the action, click Save action.

The Update contact/account action updates a contact or account field based on the workflow. To update fields via workflows, choose 1 of the 3 options:

Update contact job change
Set or update contact field
Set or update account field

Then, select the field you want to update and enter the new field value. When you're finished editing the action, click Save action.

The Send notifications action automatically sends workflow updates via email and Slack to your team. This enables you to inform teammates when they need to take manual action as the result of a workflow. This action is not available when you add a rule to creates branches in your workflow. To send notifications via workflows:

Click Configure channels.
Toggle on the Slack and/or Email options to enable that communication channel. Then, choose the teammates in your Apollo account that you want to receive updates from the workflow. Click Save.
Click Save action.

The notification will be sent each time the workflow is triggered.

Define Workflow Settings

You should ensure that you have named your workflow and adjusted the available settings prior to activation.

Name the Workflow

In the Settings tab, enter a name for your workflow. You can also add a description to help explain what your workflow automates, and save the workflow to a specific folder in Apollo.

Manually Approve People

By default, the workflow processes the people that meet your enrollment criteria. The Enrollment approval setting enables you to assign manual tasks to yourself to approve every person that will be processed each time a workflow runs.

Click Manual approval to review each person before they are processed by your workflow.

Re-enroll Targets

Use the Re-enrollment setting to limit how often the same contacts, companies, or deals should be added to the workflow. The Every run setting allows a target to run through the workflow every time it meets the criteria for the filters. The Only once setting limits a target to run through a workflow 1 time. The Once every setting allows a target to run through the workflow when it meets the criteria for the filters at a time interval you specify.

Preview Workflow Enrollment

Before you activate a workflow, you can preview the first batch of targets that are going to be processed by the workflow. This enables you to review the types of people, companies, or deals that are going to be targeted by your workflow and, if needed, make adjustments before you've started consuming credits from your pricing plan.

To preview workflow enrollment, save your workflow, then click the Enrollment tab. The Pre-qualified section shows the first batch of targets that will be processed by the workflow.

If the pre-qualified targets don't match your expectations, edit your workflow's enrollment filters.

Activate Workflow

A workflow stays in draft mode until you activate it. When you're ready to activate the workflow:

(Optional) To run a live trial of your workflow, click the Launch drop-down and choose the number of records that you want to process during the trial. You will have the opportunity to manually approve or reject the targets that are enrolled during the trial. You can remove pending approvals in the Enrollment tab of the workflow.

Click the Keep workflow active checkbox if you want the workflow to continue to run after the trial ends.

Toggle the activation slider on, then click Confirm activation in the pop-up.

Click Publish changes to active the workflow.

If you set your workflow to run on a recurring basis, you can review the targets that are enrolled each time the workflow processes. To do so, click the Enrollment tab when viewing the workflow, then click the run that you want to review.

Edit Workflows

To edit a workflow, launch Apollo and click Workflows.

To deactivate a workflow, toggle the workflow's activation slider to off.

To change a workflow, click ... > Edit workflow. You can also use this drop-down to clone, move, or archive the workflow.