Importing & Updating Contacts or Prospects into Distrobird using CSV Files

There are multiple ways to add contacts to your Distrobird dashboard. If you’re looking to upload a list of contacts in bulk to your Distrobird dashboard, importing them via a CSV file is the way to go.

Follow the steps below to get started:

1. On the side navigation menu, click on the Contacts dropdown and select All Contacts.

2. On the Contacts page, click the Actions button located at the top-right corner of the page, then choose Import Contacts from the dropdown menu. This will open up the Import Contacts modal.

Before you continue...

Take note of the following to ensure a smooth CSV upload:

1. 1. Check that the file you’re uploading is in the .csv excel file format.
   2. Ensure that the first row in your spreadsheet is a header row that contains column names (i.e first name, last name, email address, phone number, etc.) Distrobird will attempt to map the column names in your spreadsheet to the column names on your Distrobird dashboard. This mapping can always be modified if necessary in the future.
   3. Please make sure that every contact in your file has at least a phone number or an email address. Distrobird can use this information to enrich the rest of your contact information to create a complete profile on them. 
   4. Check that phone numbers are entered in the E.164 phone number format. Learn more about E.164 formatting here.
      Note: If you're using an Excel CSV file and the phone numbers aren't formatted accurately in the E.164 number format (e.g., [phone]), you can use the CONCATENATE function in Excel to add the country code to the phone number.

      Here's how to do it:

      • Insert a new column next to the Phone Number column.
      • In the first cell of the new column, enter the CONCATENATE function, combining the country code with the existing phone number. For example: =CONCATENATE("+", A2) (assuming the phone number is in column A).
      • Drag the fill handle down to apply the CONCATENATE function to all phone numbers in the column.
      • Once all phone numbers have been updated with the country code, save the file as a CSV and continue with your upload.
      
      Follow the steps below to complete your upload:
      

Step 1- Upload CSV File 

 

On the Import Contacts pop-up modal, click on Choose a file from your computer to select the file path of the CSV file on your computer, or just drag and drop the CSV file in the box and click Continue. 

 

Step 2- Manage Columns

Next, review and map the column headers in your CSV document to the contact attributes on Distrobird and select the relevant data type using the dropdown. 

 

• Fields represent column names in your selected CSV file. Ensure that the columns you would like to be imported are toggled on. Columns that aren't toggled on will be skipped in the upload process

• Distrobird fields represent the column names (contact attributes)  on your Distrobird dashboard.  Use the dropdown to map each column in your file to the Distrobird fields. Be sure to map the email and/or phone number columns in your file to the Distrobird email and/or phone number fields, otherwise, the upload will fail.

• Data Type The data type specifies the format of the value in your columns. The data type options are:

• Text
• Number
• True/False
• Date

• Note: If you don't wish to import a column, simply turn off the toggle next to that column header.

• Once you’re done click Save Mappings & Continue.

Step 3- Enrich Data

 

Data Enrichment as the name implies enriches the contacts you've uploaded with publicly available social and professional data such as full name, current company, industry, job title, location, etc. This provides your team with better context when engaging with the prospect or customer. You can enrich a contact via email, phone number or both; simply toggle the options to enable it

 

Validate Email

Email validation removes all invalid email addresses from your contact list, which in turn helps you lower your email bounce rate, protect your IP reputation and improve campaign performance. To validate your contact’s email addresses, toggle on the validate email option.

 

Step 4- Manage Visibility

 

You have the flexibility to determine which teams or individuals should be granted access to the contacts on the list you're importing by managing visibility. To do this, click on the Manage visibility dropdown and select the teams or members who should be given access to the contacts uploaded.

 

After uploading your CSV file, we will begin importing your data! This may take a few minutes. When your data import is complete, you will be notified via email.

 

Please be aware that depending on the size of your CSV file, the upload process may take a few minutes. You can monitor the status of your uploads by navigating to the Settings page and then selecting Import History from the Your Data section in the sidebar.

 

 

Updating Existing Contacts

To update existing contacts, import the updated information using a CSV file that includes matching email addresses or phone numbers. These email addresses and phone numbers act as unique identifiers in our system. If the imported email addresses or phone numbers are not already in your contact list, our system will create new contacts for them. If they do exist, the system will update the existing contacts with the new data you have provided.

 

If you have additional questions about importing or updating your contacts, please feel free to reach out to us at [e-mail]; a member of our team will be happy to respond to your questions and resolve any issues you might be experiencing.

Happy selling!