Contacts and channels
Bringing in the contacts you already have
Start from the list you already have, without typing anyone in.
Nobody starts from zero: the supplier or client list already exists somewhere, even if only in a spreadsheet. Bringing it in whole takes half an hour and avoids the slowest possible start, which is typing two hundred contacts.
What the list needs
Half an hour well spent before importing
- 1
Remove duplicates: the same person twice becomes two records with split histories.
- 2
Remove people who have left: dead addresses gain you nothing.
- 3
Check the columns: an email in the phone column is spotted by your eye before the system's.
Watch out
Importing a dirty list does not clean it: it relocates it. From then on the bounces show up inside cases, when they get in the way.
Worth knowing
If you have ten years of contacts, bring only the active ones. The rest can be imported later if needed, and meanwhile they do not clutter searches.
Important
That list holds personal data about people who did not choose to be in your new tool. Bring what you need to work — name, email, professional contact number — and do not drag along fields you will never use just because they were in the file.
›Can I re-import to update?
Yes, and existing records are updated rather than duplicated.
›What if my system does not export to a spreadsheet?
Almost all do. Failing that, it can come in through the API.
›Are contacts notified when imported?
No. Importing sends nothing; notices go out when you launch something.
A real case
The situation
A company has 340 suppliers in an eight-year-old spreadsheet.
What you do
- Filters the 190 with recent activity
- Removes 24 duplicates
- Imports those 190
What you get
Starts working that same afternoon without typing a single contact.
The situation
An old list is imported and half of it bounces.
What you do
- Cleans it before importing
What you get
The first campaign does not start on bounces.
The situation
Contacts are imported with no company attached.
What you do
- Attaches each contact to their company
What you get
The contact is usable.
The situation
It is imported twice and contacts duplicate.
What you do
- Checks for duplicates after importing
What you get
Nobody receives the same thing twice.
The situation
The data comes in columns that do not match.
What you do
- Reviews the mapping before importing
What you get
The phone number does not end up in the job-title field.
The situation
Everything is imported and the address book becomes unmanageable.
What you do
- Imports only what is used
What you get
The address book stays useful.
This article answers
- import contacts from a spreadsheet
- upload the supplier list
- migrate contacts from another system
- bulk load clients