If you’re stuck with a messy pile of leads and no easy way to sort them by industry or company size, you’re not alone. Sales and marketing folks spend way too much time wrangling spreadsheets and guessing which leads are worth a follow-up. If you want a no-nonsense way to slice and dice your prospects, this guide’s for you.
We’ll dig into how to use Apolloleadscraper to segment your leads by industry and company size—so you can stop wasting time and start working smarter. No big promises, just clear steps and honest advice.
Why bother segmenting leads?
Let’s get one thing straight: not all leads are created equal. Blasting the same pitch to a 10-person startup and a Fortune 500 company is lazy and usually backfires. Segmenting your leads lets you:
- Personalize your outreach (so you don’t sound like a robot)
- Prioritize high-value targets
- Skip the companies that just aren’t a fit
Yes, it takes a little setup. But once you’ve got a system, you’ll spend less time guessing and more time closing.
What is Apolloleadscraper, really?
Apolloleadscraper is a tool that pulls contact and company data from sources like Apollo.io, so you can build lead lists without manual copy-pasting. It’s not a silver bullet, but it does a decent job of exporting data—including things like company size and industry—into a spreadsheet you can actually work with.
A few things you should know: - It’s usually a browser extension or Python script, not a fancy cloud platform. - You’ll need access to Apollo.io to use it—scraping data you don’t have permission for is a bad idea (and could get your account in trouble). - The data is only as good as what’s in Apollo. Some companies have missing or messy info.
If you’re expecting a magic button that spits out perfect lead lists, lower your expectations. But if you’re willing to do a bit of cleanup, it’s a solid starting point.
Step 1: Get your data out of Apollo.io
Before you segment anything, you need a fresh export of your leads. Here’s how to get it (assuming you’re using Apolloleadscraper as a browser extension):
- Log into Apollo.io.
- Navigate to the leads or companies page. Use Apollo’s filters to zero in on the group you want.
- Run Apolloleadscraper. Follow the extension’s instructions—usually, you’ll click a button to start scraping. It’ll grab the visible data from the page.
- Export your data. Most scrapers spit out a CSV or Excel file. Double-check that your export includes these fields:
- Company name
- Industry
- Company size (sometimes listed as “employee count”)
- Contact info (email, name, title, etc.)
Pro tip: If you have a lot of leads, you might need to scroll or paginate through multiple pages and run the scraper each time. Don’t just grab the first page and call it a day.
Step 2: Clean up your spreadsheet (don’t skip this)
This is the step everyone wants to skip, but it’s where you actually get usable data.
- Check for missing fields. If “industry” or “company size” is blank for a bunch of rows, decide if you want to fill it in manually or just toss those entries.
- Standardize industry names. You’ll see “Information Technology,” “IT,” and “Tech” all meaning the same thing. Pick one name per industry and use Find & Replace.
- Normalize company size. Sometimes this is a number (“200”), sometimes a range (“51-200”). Decide on ranges that make sense for you (e.g., 1-10, 11-50, 51-200, 201-500, etc.) and reformat as needed.
- Remove duplicates. You don’t need three entries for the same company.
- Save a backup. Trust me, you’ll mess up the spreadsheet at least once.
Don’t overthink it: You don’t need perfect data. Your goal is “good enough” to segment and act on.
Step 3: Segment by industry
Here’s where you start slicing. Open your spreadsheet and:
- Create a filter on the “Industry” column. In Excel or Google Sheets, this is a click or two.
- Group leads by industry. Sort or use the filter dropdown to see just the industries you care about.
- Tag or color-code if helpful. Sometimes it’s easier to add a new column for “Target Industry” and fill it in as you go.
What works: - Focusing on your best-fit industries, not every possible category - Combining small, similar industries if your list is too fragmented
What doesn’t: - Chasing “miscellaneous” or “unknown” industries—skip them unless you have time to investigate
Pro tip: If you plan to upload these leads into a CRM or outreach tool, keep your industry names consistent with what’s already in your system. Otherwise, things get messy fast.
Step 4: Segment by company size
Same drill, but now use the company size (or employee count) column:
- Filter or sort by company size range. Decide what matters to you—a 10-person business is a whole different beast from a 2,000-person one.
- Create buckets. Typical ranges people use:
- 1–10
- 11–50
- 51–200
- 201–500
- 501–1000
- 1001+
- Mark your priorities. Maybe you only want to focus on mid-market (201–1000 employees). Tag or pull those rows into a new sheet.
What works: - Picking 2–3 size ranges to target, instead of trying to be everything to everyone - Using company size to split your outreach approach (e.g., startups vs. enterprise messaging)
What doesn’t: - Trusting company size data blindly. Scraped data is often outdated—especially for fast-growing or shrinking companies.
Step 5: Combine segments for smarter targeting
Now, you get to the good part. Use both industry and company size together:
- Filter to see, for example, “SaaS companies with 51–200 employees.”
- Build targeted lists for each segment. This lets you send more relevant emails, assign to the right team, or just skip the noise.
- Export or upload your segmented lists into your CRM, email tool, or whatever system you’re using.
Pro tip: Don’t go crazy making dozens of micro-segments. Start with 2–4 combinations that actually matter for your business.
Step 6: Don’t forget the manual review
No matter how slick your process, scraped data is never perfect. Before you hit send or assign leads, spot-check each segment:
- Are there obviously wrong industries? Fix or remove them.
- Is company size obviously wrong (e.g., “1-10” for Google)? Fix manually if it’s a top prospect, otherwise move on.
- If a segment looks too small, consider relaxing your criteria or combining categories.
Honest take: You’ll never fully automate this. Accept that some manual cleanup is part of the job.
Step 7: Use your segments—don’t just stare at them
You didn’t do all this work to make a pretty spreadsheet. Use these segments to:
- Write outreach emails that actually make sense for the company’s industry and size.
- Assign leads to reps who specialize in certain segments.
- Measure what works—track response rates by segment and double down on what gets replies.
And don’t be afraid to adjust your buckets as you learn what actually moves the needle.
What to ignore (for now)
There’s a lot of advice out there about “hyper-personalization” and “AI-powered segmentation.” Honestly, for most teams, that’s overkill. Focus on getting your basic segments right first.
- Don’t worry about nailing every single industry label.
- Skip the fancy tools promising instant enrichment—they’re often expensive and inaccurate.
- Don’t automate outreach to the point where you have no idea who you’re emailing.
Wrapping up: Keep it simple, keep iterating
Segmenting leads with Apolloleadscraper isn’t glamorous, but it works—if you focus on what matters. Clean data, clear segments, and a little manual sanity-checking go a long way. Don’t chase perfection. Get a system that’s “good enough” and improve it as you go. The goal is to spend less time sorting and more time actually talking to leads who might buy.
Now, take your segments and start reaching out. If you mess something up, fix it next time. That’s how you get better.