Importing data from Outlook

Learn how to import your data from Outlook

Overview

What does importing contacts mean? 
Importing contacts is how you can mass-load your contacts into Salesforce CRM.

Why is importing your contacts important?
Importing contacts helps get all your contacts into your Salesforce CRM application in minutes so you can spend your time growing your business instead of entering phone numbers and email addresses.

Export your contacts from Outlook

This tutorial will walk you through how to export your contacts from Outlook and import them into Salesforce CRM.

1. Launch Outlook.
2. Select File menu and then the Import and Export… menu option.
3. Choose Export to a file and click Next.
4. Choose Comma Separate Values (Windows) and click Next. 
   NOTE: If you have Outlook 2000, you may be required to install the export component for this step.
5. Select the Contacts folder and click Next. You can select a different contacts folder if you have contacts stored in multiple folders.
6. Choose filename for the exported data and click Next.
7. Check Custom Field mapping. If you have any fields in Salesforce CRM that you want contact information mapped into (e.g., you track the number of years each contact has been at a company), you can do so by clicking Map Custom Fields and then following the instructions.
8. Click Finish.

NOTE: If you want to import contacts from multiple users, follow the additional steps below. If you are only importing contacts for one user, proceed to the next section.

9. Repeat Steps 1–8 to export the contacts for all users whose contacts you want to import into Salesforce CRM.
10. Merge all files into a single CSV file using Excel or a similar application.
11. Review your data for accuracy.
12. Add a column titled Record Owner and add the user’s Salesforce CRM username to this field in the format jsmith@acme.com or Joe Smith. This step ensures that each user’s data is correctly owned by that user in Salesforce CRM. 
    NOTE: All users named in the CSV file must be created in Salesforce CRM before importing.
13. Save file and proceed to the next section.

Import your contacts to Salesforce CRM

1. Log in to Salesforce CRM.
2. Click the Contacts tab.
3. Click the Import My Accounts & Contacts link in the Tools section.
4. Click Start the Import Wizard.
5. Select Microsoft Outlook from the radial dial and then click Next.
6. Click the Browse or Choose File button to select the file to upload and then click Next.
7. Click Next again. On the off-chance your data does not import correctly, this is where you can manually map each of the fields in your file to Salesforce CRM.
8. Keep clicking Next until you reach the end of the mapping process, then click Import Now!
9. Click Finish when done.
10. Click the Contacts tab to check your work. You can see the contacts that have just been imported.