In this video, I explain how to exclude current clients from Apollo.io sequences to avoid reaching out to them through cold outreach. I demonstrate how to set up the default rule set in the sequence rule sets, which ensures that Apollo does not send emails to current clients. I also mention that in another video, I will show how to set up a separate rule set for targeting current clients for upsell or cross-sell opportunities. Important data includes the field that needs to be updated in the account record (account stage) and the unique identifier (domain). No action is requested from the viewers in this video.

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How to Exclude Current Clients from Apollo.io Sequences

Introduction

In most cases, you don’t want to send cold outreach emails to your current clients.

Apollo.io makes it simple to exclude existing customers, active opportunities, and “do not prospect” accounts from sequences. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to:

• Use Apollo’s built-in sequence rule sets
• Update account stages
• Bulk import current client lists
• Keep customer records clean and properly excluded from cold outreach

Step 1: Default Rule Sets in Apollo

Apollo has default protections already in place:

• If an account is marked as a Current Client, Active Opportunity, or Do Not Prospect, Apollo will automatically prevent that account from receiving sequence emails.
• This setting is controlled under Sequence Rule Sets.
• As long as your sequences are using the default rule set, current clients will not get cold outreach.

Note: You can create a separate rule set for upsell or cross-sell campaigns, which I’ll cover in another tutorial.

Step 2: Update Account Stages

To ensure Apollo knows which accounts are current customers, you need to update the Account Stage field.

Options include:

1. Manual Updates
   • Open the account record.
   • Set the stage to “Current Client.”
   • Save changes.
2. CRM Integration
   • Sync with your CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce, etc.) so account stages update automatically.
3. Bulk Upload via CSV
   • Go to the Company section in Apollo.
   • Click Import → Bulk Import from CSV.
   • Upload a CSV file with at least the domain name field (best unique identifier).

Step 3: Example Bulk Import

Here’s how the process works in practice:

• Upload a CSV with your customer list.
• Match the domain field in your CSV to the Account Website field in Apollo.
• Set the account stage to Current Client for all records.
• Optionally, add the accounts to a list called Current Customers.

Example:

• File contains sendpayments.com.
• Apollo updates the account stage to “Current Client.”
• The account is also added to the “Current Customer” list for easy reference.

Step 4: Verify the Updates

After importing, open one of the accounts you updated:

• The Account Stage should show Current Client.
• The account should also appear in your Current Customer list.

This confirms your accounts are now excluded from cold outreach.

Why This Matters

Keeping current customers excluded from cold campaigns helps you:

• Avoid awkward outreach to paying clients
• Keep trust and relationships intact
• Maintain cleaner data for outbound sequences
• Easily run separate upsell or expansion campaigns later

Conclusion

Apollo.io makes it easy to exclude current clients from sequences using default rule sets and account stage updates.

Whether you do it manually, via CRM sync, or with bulk CSV imports, keeping this field updated ensures your customers never receive cold outreach by mistake.

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