Portfolio Case Study · 2026
A multi-list lead enrichment workflow that pulls prospects from Apollo.io, normalizes them to Salesforce shape, and routes each lead to the correct Salesforce Web-to-Lead endpoint by segment.
The New Trade Program runs outbound prospecting into two distinct audiences: Schools, which represent educational partnership prospects, and Partnership, which represents B2B partnership prospects. Each segment has its own Apollo contact list, Salesforce assignment logic, and follow-up cadence.
The prior workflow depended on exporting CSVs from Apollo, cleaning field names, importing with Data Loader, and manually tagging each batch. That created opportunities for mis-tagging, duplicate work, and leads sitting cold before a rep could respond.
The List IDs node holds Apollo list IDs as a configurable array. The workflow splits that array and processes each list independently, which means one set of automation logic can support multiple lead segments without creating separate workflows for each audience.
Apollo returns contacts in batches, so the workflow initializes the page counter and advances pages until Apollo returns an empty result. Because n8n does not behave like a traditional programming loop, state is carried through Set nodes in a controlled way.
The Split Contacts code node validates the API response and context before trying to transform records. Descriptive errors make the workflow easier to debug when an upstream response changes.
const inputs = $input.all(); // Validate presence of both inputs if (!Array.isArray(inputs[0]) || inputs[0].length === 0) { throw new Error('Split Contacts: no Apollo response on input 0'); } if (!Array.isArray(inputs[1]) || inputs[1].length === 0) { throw new Error('Split Contacts: no Init Page context on input 1'); } const apolloJson = inputs[0][0].json || {}; const ctx = inputs[1][0].json || {};
Apollo and Salesforce use different data shapes. Apollo fields such as organization.name and present_raw_address are mapped into the format Salesforce Web-to-Lead expects, including company, street, lead source, and custom field identifiers.
The Switch node looks at the original Apollo list ID and routes each lead to the correct Salesforce Web-to-Lead endpoint. By tagging upstream, the lead lands in Salesforce with the source and campaign values needed for assignment rules to do their job immediately.
Replace the manual trigger with a daily 6 AM sync so refreshed Apollo lists are pushed into Salesforce automatically.
Query Salesforce for an existing email match before posting, so re-running the workflow does not create duplicate leads.
Trigger the workflow when a list changes so Salesforce receives new contacts within minutes rather than on a fixed schedule.
Send Slack alerts with failed records attached when any lead fails to post or validate correctly.
Web-to-Lead configuration, custom field IDs, lead source tagging, campaign tagging, assignment rule design, and the practical admin work that makes a CRM usable.
REST API structure, pagination, multi-list processing, field transformation, and defensive input validation beyond native Salesforce configuration.
Configuration-as-data, separation of concerns, upstream tagging, and choosing the simplest version that solves the actual business problem.
The integration design and Salesforce assignment rule design work as one system, connecting marketing operations, sales follow-up, and CRM governance.