Everything you need to know about using Outreach
This guide explains the full process from creating a run to downloading results. It is written for normal users, not technical users, and aims to make every option feel clear before you commit to a search.
What Outreach actually does
Outreach helps you build targeted prospect lists from real company data. Instead of manually collecting companies, checking whether they look relevant, hunting for websites, guessing at email addresses and cleaning spreadsheets afterwards, the app handles that process in stages.
In simple terms, a run is a search project. You define the sort of companies you want, the app searches for matching businesses, applies screening rules, tries to identify useful domains and then collects contact information that can later be exported.
The purpose is not just to find as many companies as possible. The real aim is to help you find companies that are more likely to be relevant for your outreach and then turn those into usable contact lists.
The basic flow
Choose the type of companies you want by using search terms, SIC codes, locations and other filters.
The run filters out weak or poor-fit companies based on the settings you chose.
For shortlisted companies, the app looks for likely websites, email addresses and personal contacts.
Download only personal emails, all emails, or the wider shortlist depending on your next step.
Important mindset
A smaller, better filtered run is usually more useful than a very large messy one.
Many users get the best results by starting with a narrower search, seeing what kind of companies come back, and only then increasing the run size.
Creating a run
How to set up a run step by step
A run is a search project. You set the search rules once, review them, then launch the run. The run can later be extended safely without changing the original brief.
Give the run a clear name
Name the run so you can recognise it later. Good run names usually describe the market you are targeting.
A good name matters because you may later resume the run, download several files from it, or compare it with similar runs.
Choose your search mode
Search mode controls how broad or specific the run is. In most cases, you will either start from a keyword-style search, a SIC-code-led search, or a combination of both.
Think of it like this:
- Use keyword-led search when you know the language your target market uses.
- Use SIC codes when you want a more official industry classification.
- Use both when you want tighter targeting.
Set your initial size carefully
You do not need to go big immediately. In fact, the safest approach is often to start smaller, inspect the results, and then extend the run once you are confident the market is right.
For example, instead of chasing 1,000 emails at the start, you might begin with a target of 50 or 100. That gives you a useful sample of results without committing too much scanning or enrichment too early.
Review the summary before launch
Before you start the run, review the summary page carefully. This is your chance to check that the query, SIC codes, locations and screening rules match what you actually want.
If the summary does not look right, it is better to go back and fix it than to launch and hope the output is good.
Filters explained
What each filter does in plain English
This section breaks down the most important filters and settings you are likely to see when creating a run.
Run name
This is only for your own organisation. It does not change the search itself.
Good names make it easier to compare runs later and remember why a run was created.
Query
The query is the plain-language search phrase or phrase set used to describe the kind of company you want.
A broad query brings in more variety. A specific query narrows the market.
Primary keywords
These are words that strongly suggest a company belongs in your target market.
Think of primary keywords as positive signals. They help push likely matches higher up.
For example, if you want equipment rental businesses, keywords like tool hire, plant hire and access hire help focus the search.
SIC codes
SIC codes are official industry classifications used by companies when filing information.
They are useful when you want a more structured way to define a market. They can be more reliable than keywords alone, but they are not perfect because companies do not always choose the most helpful code.
The best use of SIC codes is often to create a strong starting pool and then let keyword or screening rules tighten the results further.
Postcode areas / location filters
These filters narrow the run to companies in selected postcode areas or regions.
This is especially useful when you only sell into local markets, run territory-based sales, or want to test one area before rolling out nationally.
If your offer only works for businesses in Hampshire and West Sussex, adding postcode areas like SO, PO and BN may be far more useful than searching the whole UK.
Target emails
This is how many emails you want the run to aim for.
It does not guarantee that number will be found. It simply tells the run how much useful output you are hoping to collect before it has effectively done enough.
A smaller target is helpful when testing a new market. A larger target is better once you know the market is strong.
Max companies to scan
This controls how far the run is allowed to go when searching through companies.
Think of it as a ceiling. If the run has scanned up to this limit, it will not keep going even if the email target has not yet been reached.
This is useful for controlling scope and avoiding over-scanning in a weak market.
You might ask for 100 emails but cap the scan at 1,000 companies. If the market is weak and only 25 emails are found after 1,000 scans, the run stops there instead of continuing endlessly.
Perplexity confidence minimum
This is a quality threshold. It controls how strict the run should be when deciding whether a domain or result looks trustworthy enough.
A lower number is more permissive. A higher number is stricter.
If you want more volume and are happy to review borderline cases later, choose a lower threshold. If you prefer cleaner, safer output, use a higher threshold.
Enrich social profiles
When enabled, the run tries to gather additional social profile information for personal contacts.
This can make your list more useful for research and personalised outreach, but it may also mean more processing per contact.
Turn this on when personalisation matters. Leave it off when you simply need basic contact output quickly.
A practical way to choose filters
If you are unsure where to start, begin with:
- a clear run name
- one market definition
- a small number of strong keywords
- a useful postcode area or territory
- a modest target email number
Once you see what comes back, you can decide whether to broaden, narrow or extend the run.
Statuses
What the run statuses mean
The run is waiting to start.
The app is finding companies that match the original search brief.
Company records have been found and the next stage is preparing to inspect them in more detail.
The run is applying qualification rules to decide which companies are worth keeping.
The screening stage is complete and the shortlist is now clearer.
The search process has reached the end of its current allowed work. The run may be effectively complete or ready to extend.
The run has finished and does not need further work unless you want more output.
Something interrupted the run. Check the run details and decide whether it should be resumed.
Downloads
Understanding the different download options
One of the most important parts of the app is knowing which export to use for your next step. Different downloads are useful for different types of follow-up work.
Personal emails only
This export is for users who only want person-level contacts. These are usually the most useful for direct cold outreach because they point to an individual rather than a general inbox.
Use this when you are ready to load a list into your outreach tool and want to focus on named people or likely personal contact addresses.
Direct outbound, personalised email sequences, manual prospecting, founder-led outreach.
All emails
This export includes all found email addresses, not just person-level ones. That may include general inboxes such as info@, sales@ or hello@ addresses.
It is useful when you want the widest possible contact coverage or when a company-level email is still good enough for your process.
Broader outbound, fallback contact strategies, account lists where a general inbox is acceptable.
All shortlisted rows
This export gives you the wider shortlisted company output whether an email was found or not.
That makes it useful for research, lead review, territory planning, list building for manual follow-up, or handing off to another stage of your workflow.
It is also the best export when you want to keep the companies but run another process on them later.
Research lists, CRM seeding, account selection, manual review, future enrichment work.
How to decide which export to use
Ask yourself one question: what am I doing next?
- If you are emailing people directly, start with personal emails only.
- If you want maximum reachable addresses, use all emails.
- If you want company-level records whether or not contact details were found, use all shortlisted rows.
Resuming and extending
Why you might start small and add to a run later
One of the most useful parts of Outreach is that a run does not need to be all-or-nothing. You can begin with a smaller goal, inspect the results, and then safely continue the same run later.
Why this is useful
Markets are not all equal. Some produce plenty of good companies and strong contact data. Others look promising at first but become weaker as the run goes deeper.
Starting small lets you test the market before increasing the commitment.
This is especially useful when:
- you are trying a market for the first time
- you are not yet sure the search definition is tight enough
- you want to see early quality before increasing scan caps
- you only need a small batch now but may need more later
What can be changed later
When editing an existing run, the original search definition stays locked so the history remains consistent.
The safe fields you can usually change are things like:
- target emails
- max companies to scan
- confidence threshold
- whether social profile enrichment is enabled
That means you can ask the same run to go further without rewriting what the run originally was.
A very common good workflow
A sensible workflow is:
- Create a tightly defined run.
- Set a modest email target, such as 50 or 100.
- Inspect the quality of the shortlist and the contact output.
- If the market looks right, increase the target and the scan cap.
- Resume the run instead of creating a duplicate run from scratch.
What happens when you resume a run
When you resume a run, the app first saves your updated safe settings. It then checks whether the run still has room to continue.
If the run has already found enough emails for the current target, there is nothing more to do. If the run has already reached the scan cap, it also cannot continue until that cap is increased.
If there is still headroom, the run is re-queued and continues from the same market definition.
Examples
Real-world ways someone might use the app
Example 1: Local service outreach
A local agency wants to target tool hire companies on the South Coast.
They use postcode areas like SO and PO, add relevant hire-related keywords, set a modest target, and review the shortlist before expanding the run.
Example 2: National niche market
A software company wants a national list of specialist manufacturers in one narrow category.
They start with SIC codes plus strong industry keywords, export shortlisted rows, manually review the market, then resume the best run with a higher target.
Example 3: Personalised founder outreach
A founder wants direct named contacts rather than general inboxes.
They keep the target small, enable social enrichment, and download personal emails only to support personalised outreach.
Good habits
How to get better results from the app
It is usually easier to broaden a market later than to clean up a vague search after the fact.
This makes it much easier to compare runs and revisit the right one later.
Think about whether you need people, all emails or company-level records before downloading.
If a run is producing good output, it is usually smarter to extend it than to rebuild it from scratch.
FAQ
Common questions
Usually no. Starting smaller is often the better move because it lets you test the market before committing more scanning and enrichment effort.
Edit the existing run, increase the safe fields such as target emails or max companies to scan, and resume the run instead of rebuilding it.
That may mean the market is weaker, the search is too narrow, or the scan cap was reached. Review the shortlist quality before deciding whether to broaden the market or increase the cap.
Because sometimes the value is in the company list itself. You may want to review those companies, research them manually, load them into a CRM or use them in another stage of your process later.
Turn it on when you care about research depth and personalised outreach. Leave it off when you mainly want simple contact output and speed.
The simplest summary
Define the market carefully.
Start with a realistic first run.
Review quality before expanding.
Download the export that matches your next step.
When a run is working, extend it instead of starting over.