How to Import Contacts into Salesforce (Step by Step)

You just got back from a trade show with a CSV full of leads. Here’s how to get them into Salesforce.

to start with the right headers, or use the BoothIQ CSV Formatter to automatically remap your existing CSV for Salesforce. No account required for either.

Step by Step: Import Leads with Data Import Wizard

1. Open Data Import Wizard

Log into Salesforce. Click the gear icon in the upper right corner and select Setup. In the Setup search box, type “Data Import Wizard” and click the result. On the launch page, click Launch Wizard.

2. Choose Your Object

Select what type of data you’re importing. For trade show leads, choose Leads.

3. Select Your Operation

You’ll see three options:

• Add new records: Creates new records only. If a matching record already exists, it will be skipped.
• Update existing records: Updates records that already exist. New records are ignored.
• Add new and update existing records: Does both. This is the safest choice if you’re not sure whether some of your leads are already in Salesforce.

For a post-event import, Add new and update existing records is usually the right pick.

4. Set Your Matching Rule

Salesforce needs to know how to identify duplicates. For Leads, your options are:

• Salesforce ID: Matches on the unique record ID. Only useful if your CSV contains Salesforce IDs from a previous export.
• Email: Matches on the email address field. Best choice for most imports.
• Name: Matches on First Name + Last Name. Less reliable since multiple people can share a name.

Choose Email unless you have a specific reason not to.

5. Upload Your CSV

Click CSV under the file type options, then drag your file into the upload area or click Browse to select it. Data Import Wizard accepts .csv files only. If you have an Excel file, save it as CSV first.

6. Map Your Fields

This is where Data Import Wizard shows each column from your CSV and lets you match it to a Salesforce field. If your column headers match Salesforce field names, many will auto-map. Review every mapping.

For each column, click the dropdown and search for the correct Salesforce field. Pay attention to these:

• Last Name and First Name must map to their individual fields, not a combined “Name” field
• Company must map to the Company field (required for Leads)
• Email should map to Email
• Lead Source is where you tag these as trade show leads. Either include it as a column in your CSV with a value like “Trade Show” for every row, or set it during this step

If a column doesn’t have a relevant Salesforce field, leave it unmapped. You can always create a custom field in Salesforce first and re-import.

7. Review and Start Import

Click Next to see a summary of your import settings. Verify the record count, object type, and operation. Click Start Import.

Data Import Wizard processes the import in the background. For a few hundred records, this usually takes under five minutes. You’ll receive an email when it completes with a summary of records created, updated, and failed.

8. Check Your Results

After the import email arrives, go back to Data Import Wizard in Setup. Click Bulk Data Load Jobs to see the status. If any records failed, you can download an error file that shows which rows failed and why.

Also open the Leads tab and spot check a few records. Verify that fields populated correctly and the data looks right.

Formatting Your CSV for Salesforce Leads

Your CSV column headers need to match Salesforce field names, or you’ll spend extra time manually mapping every column. Data Import Wizard accepts both display names and API names, but using the display names is simpler.

Here are the standard Lead fields you’ll map most often:

Last Name and Company are the only required fields for Leads. You can import with just those two columns if that’s all you have.

Leads vs Contacts: Which Object to Use

Salesforce keeps Leads and Contacts as separate objects. This trips up anyone coming from a CRM that treats them as one thing.

Leads are people who haven’t been qualified yet. They exist on their own without an Account record. When you capture someone’s info at a trade show and you don’t know if they’re a fit, they’re a Lead.

Contacts are people associated with an Account (company) in your CRM. They’ve been qualified and converted from a Lead, or they’re an existing customer. Contacts always belong to an Account record.

For trade show and event leads, import as Leads. Your sales team can qualify and convert them later, which automatically creates the Contact and Account records. If you import directly as Contacts, you’ll need to create or link Account records at the same time, and that’s extra work you probably don’t need right now.

The exception: if the person is already a customer or belongs to an Account that already exists in your Salesforce org, import as a Contact and associate them with the existing Account.

Other Salesforce Import Tools

The step-by-step walkthrough above uses Data Import Wizard, which is built into Salesforce. It handles up to 50,000 records, runs in the browser, and doesn’t require any installation. This is the right tool for trade show lead imports and most day-to-day imports.

Data Loader is a desktop application from Salesforce. It handles up to 5 million records and supports more complex operations like upserts and deletes. You’d use this for large data migrations or recurring bulk updates, not for importing a few hundred trade show leads.

Dataloader.io is a third-party web app (now owned by Salesforce). It runs in the browser like Data Import Wizard but supports scheduling, more record types, and more complex field mappings. Useful if you need recurring automated imports.

How to Import LinkedIn Contacts to Salesforce

If you want to import LinkedIn contacts to Salesforce, start by exporting your connections from LinkedIn.

1. Go to LinkedIn. Click your profile picture, then Settings & Privacy.
2. Under Data privacy, select Get a copy of your data.
3. Choose Connections and request your archive.
4. LinkedIn emails you a CSV file, usually within 10 minutes.

The LinkedIn export includes First Name, Last Name, Email Address, Company, Position, and Connected On. The column headers won’t match Salesforce’s Lead fields exactly. “Email Address” needs to become “Email,” “Position” needs to become “Title,” and you may need to add a “Lead Source” column with “LinkedIn” as the value. You can rename them manually, or run the file through the BoothIQ CSV Formatter to remap the headers for Salesforce automatically.

One thing to know: LinkedIn only includes email addresses for connections who made their email visible. Many rows will have blank email fields. Salesforce will still import these records, but without an email address, duplicate matching won’t work reliably and your sales team will have a harder time reaching out.

Importing Contacts (Not Leads)

If you need to import Contacts instead of Leads, the process is similar with one addition: every Contact in Salesforce must be associated with an Account.

In Step 2 of the wizard, choose Accounts and Contacts instead of Leads. Your CSV needs to include an Account Name column so Salesforce can link each Contact to the right Account. If the Account already exists, Salesforce matches by name and attaches the Contact. If it doesn’t exist, Salesforce creates a new Account record.

The required fields for Contacts are Last Name and Account Name. Include both in your CSV.

Common Salesforce Import Errors

Even with a clean file, you’ll run into errors. Here are the ones that come up most often when importing data into Salesforce.

“Required Field Missing”

Salesforce Leads require Last Name and Company. If either column is blank for any row, that row fails. Check your CSV for empty cells in these columns before importing. Fill in “Unknown” for Company if you genuinely don’t have the information rather than leaving it blank.

“Invalid Email Address”

Salesforce validates email format. Extra spaces, missing @ symbols, or special characters will cause rows to fail. Trim whitespace in your email column using =TRIM(A2) in your spreadsheet before exporting to CSV.

“Duplicate Value on Record”

This means a record with the same matching criteria (usually email) already exists and your operation is set to “Add new records” only. Switch to “Add new and update existing records” if you want to update duplicates instead of skipping them.

“Invalid Picklist Value”

Fields like Lead Source, Industry, and Status use picklists with predefined values. If your CSV contains a value that isn’t in the picklist (like “Webinar” when your org only has “Web”), the import fails for that row. Check your Salesforce picklist values in Setup before importing, and make sure your CSV values match exactly, including capitalization.

“Error on Account Lookup”

When importing Contacts, this means the Account Name in your CSV doesn’t match any existing Account and Salesforce can’t create it. Verify your Account Name column has clean, consistent values. Leading or trailing spaces in the company name will prevent a match.

Some Fields Are Empty After Import

If certain fields show up blank even though your CSV had data, check the field mapping. Also verify that data formats match what Salesforce expects. Date fields need MM/DD/YYYY format. Number fields can’t contain currency symbols. Phone numbers should be clean digits with an optional country code.

Setting Lead Source for Event Leads

After importing trade show leads, tag them properly so your team knows where they came from. The cleanest approach is to include a Lead Source column in your CSV with a consistent value for every row, like “Trade Show” or the specific event name.

If you forgot to include Lead Source in your CSV, you can update it in bulk after import. Create a list view filtered to your recently imported leads (filter by Created Date), select all records, and use inline editing or mass update to set Lead Source.

Proper Lead Source tagging is how you prove event ROI later. Don’t skip this step.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I import data into Salesforce?

Open Setup, search for Data Import Wizard, and click Launch Wizard. Select your object type (Leads or Accounts and Contacts), upload a CSV file, map your columns to Salesforce fields, and start the import. The full process is covered in the step-by-step walkthrough above.

Can I import a CSV into Salesforce?

Yes. CSV is the file format that Salesforce Data Import Wizard accepts. Save your spreadsheet as a .csv file with column headers in the first row. Data Import Wizard handles up to 50,000 records per import. For larger files, use Data Loader instead.

What is the difference between Data Import Wizard and Data Loader?

Data Import Wizard is browser-based, handles up to 50,000 records, and requires no installation. Data Loader is a desktop application that handles up to 5 million records and supports more operations like hard deletes and scheduled jobs. For most imports, especially trade show leads, Data Import Wizard is all you need.

Should I import trade show leads as Leads or Contacts?

Import as Leads. Salesforce Leads are designed for unqualified prospects. Your sales team can review, qualify, and convert them into Contacts and Accounts through Salesforce’s standard lead conversion process. Importing directly as Contacts requires associating each record with an Account, which adds unnecessary complexity right after an event.

How does Salesforce handle duplicates during import?

Data Import Wizard checks for duplicates based on the matching rule you select: Salesforce ID, Email, or Name. If it finds a match and you chose “Add new and update existing records,” it updates the existing record with your CSV data. If you chose “Add new records” only, duplicates are skipped.

How do I import leads into Salesforce from a trade show?

Export your lead data as a CSV with at least Last Name and Company columns. Add a Lead Source column with a value like “Trade Show” or the event name. Open Data Import Wizard in Salesforce Setup, select Leads, upload your CSV, map the fields, and start the import. The step-by-step walkthrough covers each click.

Importing Contacts into Other CRMs

This guide covers Salesforce. If your team uses a different CRM, we have step-by-step guides for those too:

• How to Import Contacts into HubSpot

References

• Data Import Wizard — Salesforce Help
• Data Loader — Salesforce Help
• Lead Fields — Salesforce Help
• Lead Object Reference — Salesforce Developers
• Downloading Your Data from LinkedIn — LinkedIn Help Center

Skip the CSV Entirely

If you’re importing trade show leads after every event, the CSV formatting and field mapping routine gets old. BoothIQ captures leads at the event by scanning badges, business cards, and nametags, then syncs contacts directly to Salesforce with proper field mapping and Lead Source attribution. No CSV, no Data Import Wizard, no manual field mapping. Your leads show up in Salesforce before you’ve left the venue.