Importing all of your contacts into one system allows you to effectively keep in touch with all your contacts, build relationships, and win more business. You can import contacts from a CSV file (which is the most common), or you can import from the following sources:

CSV Import

When importing a CSV file, you can create a custom contact list, or you can export contacts from other online programs - just make sure you save your list as a Comma Separated File (CSV).

Now, there are two very important parts to the process, and you'll want to start from the beginning to ensure a successful import:

  1. Preparing Your List for Import
  2. Uploading & Importing Your List

(info) Not using Microsoft Excel?

  • If you're using Numbers: Click on "File > Export As > Windows CSV"
  • If you're using Excel for Mac: Click on "File > Save as > Specialty Formats > Windows CSV"
  • If you're using anything else: Get a Google Sheets account and use that for your import


Preparing Your List for Import

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(info) To streamline your import, you can use our Contact Import template.

Quick Tips:

  • Each contact in your import file must have at least a first name, last name, and either an email address, complete physical address, or home phone number. All other columns are optional.
  • If you are importing a birthday or purchase anniversary, you may need to format the cells in your spreadsheet. The required format is YYYY-MM-DD (example: 1980-04-16). 
  • You can import 10 - 4,999 contacts per import. Also, you can import multiple files per day.
  • The maximum number of contacts you can import into your system is a total of 15,000.
  • Organize your import file(s) by Status, Type, and Group before you import them into the system.


Uploading & Importing Your Contact List

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Quick Tips:

  • You can choose how to map each column to a specific field in your system, so you don't have to spend time trying to match up your column headers.
  • The Status, Type, and Group selections you make will be applied to all of the contacts in the file that you are importing.
  • It can take up to an hour for the system to process and import your file.
  • You can see the status of your imports by clicking the View Import History button.
  • You can download a list of contacts that failed to import, so you can fix the errors that caused them to fail, and then upload & import that list.
  • If there are errors in the first 10 rows of your list, you’ll see a message next to the field that has the error; click the Edit link for that field, you’ll see what the error is.
  • The most common errors are: a required field is missing, an email address is invalid, or the contact already exists in your system.


(info) We're here to help! If you've followed all of the steps for a smooth import and you're still having trouble, you can send your CSV file to imports@marketleader.com. Just be sure to include the contact status and group you'd like your list imported into (a single import list can only go into one status and/or group). Then we'll take care of the rest!

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Google Contacts Import

To do a one-time import from Google, first select Google Contacts from the menu.

Next, select the contact status, type, and group for your Google Contacts, then click Next.

(warning) A single import can only go into one status and/or group, so these selections will apply to all of the contacts in your Google import.If you want to import your Google contacts into multiple different groups/types/statuses, then we recommend exporting the contact list as a CSV and following the steps above to prepare your CSV file(s) and import them.

Then check the box to verify all of these contacts are not from a purchased email list, then click the Import button.

You'll be prompted to enter your Google login and password, and then once you enter your credentials, your Google import will start.

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Office 365

To do a one-time import from Office 365, first select Office 365 from the menu.

 Next, select the contact status, type, and group for your O365, then click Next.

 (warning) A single import can only go into one status and/or group, so these selections will apply to all of the contacts in your O365 import. If you want to import your O365 contacts into multiple different groups/types/statuses, then we recommend exporting the contact list as a CSV and following the steps above to prepare your CSV file(s) and import them.

 Then check the box to verify all of these contacts are not from a purchased email list, then click the Import button.

You'll be prompted to enter your Office 365 login and password, and then once you enter your credentials, your import will start.

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 Additional Resources:

To export your contacts from your Market Leader system into a CSV file, hover over the Contacts tab, and select Import/Export.

Next, click the Export Contacts tab. Here you can choose how you want to export your contacts. Since larger contact lists (with 10,000 or more contacts), can take longer to export, so we recommend exporting by groups or contact status. Learn more about contact groups or status options.

From here, you can select the groups or statuses you want to export. Once you've made your selections, click the Export button.

 Note: If you select a group or status to export, any contacts not in that group will not be exported.

If you have more than one group, status, or combination of the two you would like to export, simply repeat these steps until all of your desired contacts are exported.

(warning) When exporting contacts with a physical address, the Mailing Address box MUST be checked in order for their address to export. If this box is not checked, the address will not export.