Apollo.io
Freshsales Contacts10 fieldsHow to import Apollo.io data into Freshsales
Apollo.io exports people lists as CSV files. This template maps the export to Freshsales' standard contact fields: names, email, job title, company, and the person's location. Apollo ships four phone columns; Freshsales contacts have two phone fields, so Mobile goes to the dedicated Mobile Number field and the Work Number field takes the first available work number from Work Direct, Corporate, or Other. Phones are standardized, emails are lowercased, and country names are normalized. On Apollo's free tier the Email column shows the placeholder email_not_unlocked@domain.com for locked records. Company-level data like Industry and Annual Revenue belongs on the Freshsales Sales Account record and is listed in the Columns we don't use section.
Field-by-field mapping
This is the complete column mapping from Apollo.io to Freshsales. The left column is the header in your CSV export. The right column is the Freshsales field it should map to.
| Apollo.io column | Freshsales field | |
|---|---|---|
| First Name | First Namefirst_name | |
| Last Name | Last Name*last_name | |
| Title | Job Titlejob_title | |
| Email*email On Apollo's free plan, unrevealed rows arrive as email_not_unlocked@domain.com. Filter those rows out or reveal them in Apollo before mapping. TransformLowercased and trimmed | ||
| Mobile Phone | Mobile Numbermobile_number Freshsales contacts have two phone fields. Apollo's Mobile Phone lands on the dedicated Mobile Number field. TransformStandardized to international format (+1, +44, etc.) | |
| Work Direct Phone → Corporate Phone → Other Phone | Work Numberwork_number Freshsales' Work Number field takes the first available work number: Work Direct Phone first, then Corporate Phone, then Other Phone. TransformStandardized to international format (+1, +44, etc.) | |
| Company | Company Namecompany_name | |
| Person City | Citycity Apollo ships both a person location and a company location. This template maps the person-location columns to the contact's address fields. | |
| Person State | Statestate | |
| Person Country | Countrycountry |
Required by Freshsales.
Columns we don't use
Your Apollo.io export includes 21 columns this template doesn't map. Each one below explains why, plus the workaround if you want the data in Freshsales.
- Email Status
Freshsales contacts have no native field for an email confidence flag. Apollo's Verified, Unverified, Guessed, and Unavailable values are useful for filtering, Freshsales just has no standard place for them.
If you need it. Create a custom contact field in Freshsales called Apollo Email Status, then map it by hand.
- Seniority
Freshsales contacts have no native seniority field. The data is real and useful, Freshsales just has no standard place for it.
If you need it. Create a custom contact field in Freshsales called Seniority, then map it by hand.
- Departments
Freshsales contacts have no native department field. Apollo ships several departments per row, comma-separated.
If you need it. Create a custom contact field in Freshsales called Departments, then map it by hand.
- Corporate Phone, Other Phone, Company Phone
Freshsales contacts have two phone fields. Mobile fills the Mobile Number field and the Work Number field is filled from the first available work number. Company Phone is the same switchboard number as Corporate Phone in most exports.
If you need it. Store the extra numbers on the matched Freshsales Sales Account, or map them by hand to custom contact fields.
- Person Linkedin Url, Company Linkedin Url
Freshsales contacts have no native LinkedIn field.
If you need it. Create a custom URL field on the Freshsales contact called LinkedIn, then map Person Linkedin Url to it by hand.
- Website, Industry, # Employees, Annual Revenue, Company Description, Founded Year
These are company-level data points. Freshsales stores firmographics on the Sales Account record, not the Contact.
If you need it. Enrich the matched Freshsales Sales Account record after import using Apollo's company data, or add custom contact fields if you need the values on the contact itself.
- Company Address, Company City, Company State, Company Country
Freshsales contacts have one address block, which this template fills from Apollo's person-location columns. The company-location block is a second address and there is no native place for it on the contact.
If you need it. Land the company address on the matched Freshsales Sales Account record in a separate pass if you need it.
- Lists
Freshsales contacts have no native field for the Apollo list a row came from. The list name is useful for segmenting prospects by campaign or saved-search source.
If you need it. Add a custom contact field in Freshsales called Apollo List, then open the column mapper and route Lists to it.
- Created Date
Freshsales contacts have no native field for the date Apollo added the row to your account. The value is useful for filtering older prospects or sorting by recency.
If you need it. Add a custom contact field in Freshsales (date type) called Apollo Created Date, then route Created Date to it in the column mapper.
- Account Owner
Freshsales contacts have no native field for the Apollo user assigned to a row. Account Owner is an Apollo user, not a Freshsales user. The two are different identities and mapping them across needs a manual translation table.
If you need it. Add a custom contact field in Freshsales called Apollo Owner if you want to preserve the source of the record. Or use it as a filter in Apollo before exporting, so each exported file is single-owner.
Formatting and cleanup
Apollo.io exports rarely match the format Freshsales expects. Fix these before you import.
- 1.Lowercases and trims email addresses
- 2.Standardizes phone numbers to international format (+1, +44, etc.)
- 3.Sends Mobile Phone to Freshsales' Mobile Number field and fills the Work Number field with the first available work number (Work Direct, then Corporate, then Other)
- 4.Maps Apollo's person-location columns to Freshsales' city, state, and country fields
- 5.Title-cases name fields
- 6.Normalizes country names to a standard form
- 7.Trims whitespace and removes blank rows
Or skip the manual work
Operelio runs this cleanup and mapping for you. Upload your Apollo.io export and download a clean, import-ready file for Freshsales.
Apollo.io to Freshsales FAQ
Why is the Email column filled with email_not_unlocked@domain.com?
That's Apollo's placeholder for records whose email you haven't paid to reveal. It shows up on the free tier and on paid tiers once you've used your email credits. Bulk-delete those rows before upload, or upgrade your Apollo plan and re-export to reveal the real addresses.
How do I export from Apollo?
In Apollo, go to Search, then People, apply your filters, select records or save to a list, then click Export and choose CSV. Apollo emails you a CSV when it's ready. Upload that file to Operelio.
How does the template handle Apollo's four phone columns?
Freshsales contacts have two phone fields. Apollo's Mobile Phone lands on the dedicated Mobile Number field. The Work Number field takes the first available work number, checking Work Direct first, then Corporate, then Other. All numbers are standardized to international format before import.
Will this create duplicates?
Freshsales deduplicates contacts on email by default. Rows with matching emails update the existing contact, and new emails create new contacts.
Where do company-level fields like Industry and Annual Revenue go?
They live on the Freshsales Sales Account record in Freshsales' data model, not on the Contact. After import, enrich the matched Account using Apollo's company data, either manually or with a separate Operelio job that targets the Account record.
Why isn't Person Linkedin Url mapped?
Freshsales Contacts have no native LinkedIn field. The Columns we don't use section has the custom-field workaround.
