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Key takeaways
- HubSpot needs an email address to create a new contact from a file. Sales Navigator exports don't have one.
- So the order is: export the search, add emails with an enrichment tool, then import.
- Map profileUrl to a custom LinkedIn URL property so every contact links back to the person's profile.
- Save the file as CSV UTF-8 so accented names come through correctly.
- With Create and update selected, HubSpot matches contacts by email, so importing the same people again updates them instead of duplicating them.
Why you can't import the export as it is
HubSpot uses the email address to identify a contact, so it needs one to create a new contact from an import file. A Sales Navigator export only has what the search results show: names, titles, companies and profile links. You have to add emails in between.
According to HubSpot's import file requirements, Email is the required property for new contacts. First and last name are optional. If you import a file with no email column, HubSpot has nothing to create the contacts from.
The whole process at a glance
- 01
Export
Sales Navigator search to CSV
- 02
Enrich
Find a work email per lead
- 03
Tidy
Drop rows with no email
- 04
Map
Match columns to properties
- 05
Import
Contacts, single file
- 06
Check
Read the error report
Step 1: Export the search
Run your Sales Navigator lead search and export it with Scrapigator. The export guide has the full steps. You get one row per person, with columns such as firstName, lastName, fullName, title, company, location, salesNavUrl and profileUrl.
Step 2: Add email addresses
Upload your CSV to an enrichment tool such as Clay or Apollo. It matches each person's name and company to a work email and adds an email column. Keep the rows where it found one, and verify the addresses before you send any email.
- Give the tool good inputs. firstName, lastName and company are what it matches on. The profileUrl column helps tools that accept LinkedIn URLs.
- Expect gaps. No tool finds an email for every person. Plan for some rows to come back empty.
- Verify before sending. A found email is a guess until it is verified. Bounces hurt your sending reputation.
Step 3: Tidy the file
Before importing, spend five minutes on the file. It saves an afternoon of cleanup later.
- Delete rows where no email was found. HubSpot can't create those contacts anyway.
- Remove duplicate people. If you merged several exports, match people on the lead ID at the start of salesNavUrl (the part before the first comma). The same person can appear with two different profileUrl values, so don't rely on that column.
- Delete columns you won't use, or plan to skip them in the import (HubSpot has a Don't import column option).
Step 4: Map the columns
HubSpot asks which contact property each column belongs to. Here is a sensible starting point:
| Column in your file | HubSpot contact property |
|---|---|
| email (from enrichment) | Email (required) |
| firstName | First name |
| lastName | Last name |
| title | Job title |
| company | Company name |
| location | Custom property, e.g. LinkedIn location (City expects just a city) |
| profileUrl | Custom property, e.g. LinkedIn URL |
| salesNavUrl | Custom property, or skip |
What about the other columns?
Lead exports also include seniority, industry, tenure and more. Import them into custom properties if your team will filter or report on them. If nobody will look at a column, skip it. Fewer properties keep HubSpot easier to use.
Step 5: Run the import
- 1
Save the file as UTF-8 CSV
In Excel, use Save As and pick CSV UTF-8. This keeps names like Müller or Ruiz-Peña intact.
- 2
Open the import tool in HubSpot
In HubSpot, open More, then Data Management, then Data Integration, and click Import data.
- 3
Choose what you're importing
Pick Advanced imports (all objects), select Contacts, click Next, then choose Single file. When HubSpot asks how to handle existing records, choose Create and update.
- 4
Upload and check the mapping
Upload the CSV. HubSpot suggests a property for each column; correct any it got wrong using the table above.
- 5
Finish and read the error report
Run the import, then open the import summary. Any rows HubSpot skipped are listed with a reason, usually a missing or badly formatted email.
HubSpot renames menus from time to time. If a label doesn't match, its own import guide has the current click path.
Avoiding duplicate contacts
HubSpot matches existing contacts by email address. If a row's email already exists, the import updates that contact instead of creating a second one, as long as you chose Create and update. With a create-only import, HubSpot ignores rows that match an existing contact.
To avoid exporting the same people twice in the first place, turn on Only new when you start a Scrapigator export. It skips anyone you have already exported and tells you how many it skipped.
Before you click Import
- Every row has an email address.
- Emails have been verified, or you know which ones haven't.
- The file is saved as CSV UTF-8.
- Duplicate people are removed (match on the lead ID in salesNavUrl).
- Custom properties such as LinkedIn URL exist in HubSpot.
- You know which columns you will skip.
Questions
Can I import Sales Navigator leads into HubSpot without email addresses?
Not as new contacts. HubSpot needs an email address to create a contact from an import file, and a Sales Navigator export does not include one. Add emails with an enrichment tool first.
Which enrichment tool should I use?
Any tool that finds a work email from a name and company works, for example Clay or Apollo. Pick one you already pay for if you can, and verify the emails before you send anything.
Where do I store the LinkedIn profile URL in HubSpot?
Create a custom contact property, for example LinkedIn URL, and map the profileUrl column to it. That keeps the link to the person's profile on every contact record.
Will re-importing the same leads create duplicates?
Not if the rows have the same email and you choose Create and update during the import. HubSpot then matches existing contacts by email address and updates them instead of creating copies.
Why do names with accents look broken after import?
The file was probably not saved as UTF-8. Save it again as CSV UTF-8 and re-import.
Is there a way to skip the enrichment step?
Yes, if you use an export tool that includes emails, such as Evaboot, which charges per credit. Scrapigator keeps the price flat by leaving emails out.
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