name: tam-builder description: > Build and maintain a scored Total Addressable Market (TAM) using Apollo Company Search. Discovers companies matching ICP, scores fit (0-100), assigns tiers (1/2/3), and auto-builds a persona watchlist for Tier 1-2 companies using Apollo People Search (free). Outputs to CSV. tags: [lead-generation]
TAM Builder
Build and maintain a scored Total Addressable Market. Uses Apollo Company Search to discover companies, scores ICP fit (0-100), assigns tiers (1/2/3), and auto-builds a persona watchlist for Tier 1-2 companies using Apollo People Search (free).
Three modes:
- build — First-time TAM construction from Apollo search
- refresh — Update existing TAM: re-score, detect tier changes, deprecate stale companies
- status — Read-only report of current TAM state
Prerequisites
Apollo API Key
Add to .env:
APOLLO_API_KEY=your-api-key-here
That's it — one env var.
Config Format
Create a JSON config per client/segment:
{
"client_name": "happy-robot",
"tam_config_name": "voice-ai-midmarket",
"company_filters": {
"organization_num_employees_ranges": ["51,200", "201,500", "501,1000"],
"q_organization_keyword_tags": ["call center", "contact center"],
"organization_locations": ["United States"]
},
"scoring": {
"weights": {
"employee_count_fit": 30,
"industry_fit": 25,
"funding_stage_fit": 20,
"geo_fit": 15,
"keyword_match": 10
},
"tier_thresholds": { "tier_1_min_score": 75, "tier_2_min_score": 50 },
"target_industries": ["Telecommunications", "Customer Service"],
"target_employee_ranges": [[51, 200], [201, 500], [501, 1000]],
"target_funding_stages": ["Series A", "Series B", "Series C"],
"target_geos": ["United States"]
},
"watchlist": {
"enabled": true,
"personas_per_company": 3,
"person_filters": {
"person_titles": ["VP of Operations", "Head of Customer Service"],
"person_seniority": ["vp", "director", "c_suite"]
},
"tiers_to_watch": [1, 2]
},
"mode": "standard",
"max_pages": 50
}
Approval Gate
CRITICAL: Never export results without explicit user approval.
Required flow:
- Search Apollo for a small sample first (~100 companies)
- Score them and present: tier distribution, example Tier 1/2 companies, scoring sanity check
- Get explicit user approval before running the full build
- Only then run the full search + score + export
Pipeline: Build Mode
Step 0: --preview → total count + cost estimate (no DB writes)
Step 1: --sample --test → search 1 page, score in-memory, show results (no DB writes)
Step 2: User reviews sample → approves, adjusts filters, or caps scope
Step 3: Full build → Apollo Company Search → Export to CSV → Score → Tier → Watchlist
Phase details (Step 3 only — after user approval):
Phase 1: Apollo Company Search → Upsert raw companies → Score ICP fit → Assign tiers
Phase 2: (skipped in build mode — no prior data to deprecate)
Phase 3: Persona Watchlist — pull 2-3 personas per Tier 1-2 company (free)
Pipeline: Refresh Mode
Phase 1: Apollo Company Search → Upsert/update companies → Re-score → Detect tier changes
Phase 2: Deprecation — companies missing 2+ consecutive refreshes get deprecated
Phase 3: Persona Watchlist — pull personas for new/promoted Tier 1-2 companies,
disqualify personas at deprecated companies
ICP Scoring (0-100)
Pure function, no API calls. Weighted scoring across 5 dimensions from config:
employee_count_fit— headcount in target ranges?industry_fit— industry matches targets?funding_stage_fit— funding stage in targets?geo_fit— HQ location in target geos?keyword_match— org keywords overlap config keywords?
Score thresholds (configurable): >=75 = Tier 1, >=50 = Tier 2, else Tier 3.
Deprecation Rules (refresh only)
- First miss (not returned by search):
metadata.refresh_miss_count = 1, keep active - Second consecutive miss:
tam_status = 'deprecated' - Employee count drops to 0: immediate deprecation
- Companies with
tam_status = 'converted'are always exempt
Watchlist — Persona Sync
| Scenario | Behavior |
|---|---|
| New Tier 1-2 company | Pull 2-3 personas immediately |
| Company promoted Tier 3→2 | Pull personas during refresh |
| Company deprecated | Disqualify monitoring personas |
| Company demoted Tier 1→3 | Keep existing personas, stop refreshing |
Mode Caps
| Parameter | Test | Standard | Full |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max pages | 1 | 50 | 200 |
| Max companies | 100 | 5,000 | 20,000 |
Apollo API Reference
- Company Search:
POST https://api.apollo.io/api/v1/mixed_companies/search— Returns matching companies in theaccountsarray (notorganizations). Fields:name,primary_domain,estimated_num_employees,industry,keywords,city,state,country. - People Search:
POST https://api.apollo.io/api/v1/mixed_people/search— $0.01 flat per call (cheapest people search). Returns matching people in thepeoplearray. Fields:first_name,title,organization.name. Email/LinkedIn obfuscated on free tier. - People Match (enrich):
POST https://api.apollo.io/api/v1/people/match— ~$0.03 per match. Reveals email, phone, LinkedIn URL, full name. - Auth:
x-api-key: {APOLLO_API_KEY}header on all requests - Pagination:
per_page(max 100),page(1-indexed).pagination.total_entriesgives total count.
Output
Save results as CSV to the current working directory:
tam-companies-{date}.csv— All discovered companies with ICP score and tiertam-personas-{date}.csv— Persona watchlist for Tier 1-2 companies (from People Search)