Exclusion lists automatically exclude contacts or companies from all outbound sequences. Two methods: direct exclusion in Topo, or via HubSpot integration.

When Exclusions Are Applied: Exclusion lists are applied during lead import and enrichment, not when browsing the lead database search interface. Companies on your exclusion list will still appear in the lead database search results because that interface shows unfiltered data from providers. The exclusion filtering only happens when you actually import leads into your workspace and enrich them.

Access

Settings → Exclusions.

Two exclusion lists available: Excluded Contacts and Excluded Accounts.

You can also exclude a contact without opening Settings at all: open their conversation in the Master Inbox and click Add to exclusion list. This is the quickest route when a lead replies and asks not to be contacted again.

Option 1 — Exclusion via HubSpot

Create an account list in HubSpot (static or dynamic) matching your exclusion criteria — e.g., "All companies with an open opportunity" or "Companies assigned to a rep with activity in the last 30 days." In Topo's HubSpot integration settings, select that list as an exclusion source. As soon as a company enters the list, it's automatically excluded from all Topo sequences.

Benefits: automated, dynamic, no manual imports.

Greyed-out entries: Companies excluded via HubSpot integration will appear greyed out in Topo's blocklist interface and cannot be removed directly from Topo.

To modify HubSpot-synced exclusions: You must either change the HubSpot integration settings to select different exclusion lists, or update the source HubSpot list itself.

This UI distinction helps you identify which exclusions are managed through HubSpot versus those managed directly in Topo, preventing confusion when attempting to modify exclusion lists.

Option 2 — Direct Exclusion in Topo

Contact Blocklist

Required field: email address. Add manually or import a CSV with one column of email addresses. All contacts with those emails are excluded from lists and sequences.

Company Blocklist

Required field: company domain (e.g., "example.com"). Add manually or import a CSV with a "domain" column. All contacts from that company domain are excluded.

Verification

Search within Topo by email address (contacts) or company domain (companies) to confirm exclusion status.

Option 3 — Organization Context Exclusions

Exclude entire categories of companies by defining criteria in your organization settings.

Navigate to Organization Context → Target Audience → Add another option and specify company types to exclude (e.g., "exclude managed service providers" or "exclude consultancies").

Benefits: Systematic exclusion of company categories without maintaining domain lists; applies organization‑wide to all lists.

Best Practices

• Always exclude current customers, partners, and competitors.

• Proactively block company categories outside your ICP (e.g., service providers, consultancies, wrong size range) using Organization Context exclusions or direct exclusion lists to prevent incorrect targeting.

• Watch for multi-domain companies and subdomains — blocking "carrefour.fr" won't block "carrefour.com", and blocking "saas.praxedo.fr" won't block "praxedo.fr" or other subdomains. Domain exclusions require exact matches, so you must add all relevant domains and subdomain variations explicitly. Implement a multi-layered exclusion strategy for comprehensive coverage:

  1. Domain exclusions: Add all known domain variations in Settings → Exclusions

  2. Contact-level exclusions: Add contacts directly from your CRM to cover individuals regardless of their email domain

  3. AI-assisted subdomain discovery: Use AI tools like Topo's AI Agent, to identify all subdomains of client companies, export them to CSV, and upload as exclusions

  This layered approach prevents contacts from being reached when they use unexpected email domains or subdomains.

• Watch for multi-domain companies — blocking "carrefour.fr" won't block "carrefour.com". Add all relevant domains.

• Use separate lists for contacts vs companies for clarity.

Strategic Implications for Exclusion Planning

• Prioritize Company Exclusions (domain‑based) over Contact Exclusions when possible.

• Company exclusions prevent both current AND future contacts from those domains.

• Use Contact Exclusions only for specific individuals at companies you still want to prospect.

• Consider the ongoing maintenance required if relying heavily on contact‑level exclusions.

Handling Existing Tasks: If you add a company to your exclusion list after leads from that company have already been imported and have active tasks or outgoing messages, those existing tasks will not be automatically removed. To prevent these messages from being sent, navigate to your Tasks view and use the Refuse action on those specific leads. Note that Refuse is sequence‑specific and only stops the lead in that particular sequence — adding the company to the global blocklist is what prevents future enrollments across all campaigns.