How to Import Leads Into a CRM: CSV Upload Guide for Sales Agents

How to Import Leads Into Tele-Blast: Step-by-Step

Importing a CSV contact list into Tele-Blast takes under 5 minutes. The process has four steps: upload the file, map your columns to the right fields, select your pipeline, and confirm the import. Once complete, every lead appears in your pipeline and the Power Dialer queue is ready to start. Here is exactly what to do.

Step 1: Prepare Your CSV File

Before importing, clean your list. Remove duplicates, make sure phone numbers are in a consistent format (10 digits, no dashes or parentheses works best), and ensure every row has at least a phone number or a name. Tele-Blast imports a row if either the business name or contact name is present — blank rows are automatically skipped.

• Required: at least one of — First Name, Last Name, Business Name, or Phone Number
• Recommended columns: First Name, Last Name, Business Name, Phone, Email, Birthday, Industry, City, State
• File size: Tele-Blast supports up to 500 leads per upload batch
• Tip: Save your file as CSV UTF-8 from Excel or Google Sheets to avoid encoding issues

Step 2: Upload and Map Your Columns

In the Leads tab, tap the Import button and select your CSV file. Tele-Blast reads the header row and shows a column mapping screen. Match each column in your file to a Tele-Blast field — First Name, Last Name, Phone, Email, Birthday, Industry, and so on. Columns that do not match any field are skipped automatically.

• First Name / Contact Name — maps to the lead first name for {{first_name}} templates
• Business Name — maps to the company field
• Phone / Cell / Mobile — maps to the primary phone number
• Birthday / DOB / Date of Birth — maps to Birthday Queue
• Industry / Business Type — maps to the Industry dropdown and populates it for future filtering

Step 3: Select Your Pipeline

Before confirming the import, assign the leads to a pipeline. Choose an existing pipeline from the dropdown or create a new one inline — type a name and press Create. Every imported lead lands in the first stage of that pipeline. This is required — you cannot import without assigning a pipeline.

Create separate pipelines for different lead sources or products. For example, funding brokers might use one pipeline per lender, while insurance agents might use one per product line.

Step 4: Batch Selection for Large Files (500+ Rows)

Tele-Blast caps each import at 500 leads to keep the app fast. If your file has more than 500 rows, a batch selection screen appears after mapping. You choose which 500-lead group to import first — the 1st 500, the 2nd 500, the 3rd 500, and so on. Tele-Blast remembers which batches have already been uploaded so you do not re-import duplicates.

• 1,500-row file — import in 3 batches of 500
• Choose which batch to upload on each import session
• Already-imported batches are greyed out so you always know where you left off
• Tip: work through one batch before importing the next to avoid an overwhelming queue

Industry Column: Populate Your Filter Dropdown

If your CSV has an Industry column and you map it during import, those industry values are automatically added to your Industry dropdown filter in the Leads tab. This means you can filter by Restaurant, Healthcare, or Retail immediately after import — useful for agents who work multiple vertical markets from a single lead list.

Common Import Questions

CSV shows wrong data after import: check that your file is saved as CSV (not XLSX) and that column headers are in row 1 with no blank rows above them.

Import fails to start: make sure you have selected a pipeline before confirming. This is the most common cause of a stalled import. See our CRM for small business guide for pipeline setup tips.

Phone numbers not dialing: ensure phone numbers are 10-digit US numbers with no formatting characters other than digits. International numbers require a country code prefix.

Start Importing Your Leads Today

Tele-Blast CSV import is designed to get your list from spreadsheet to power-dialer-ready in under 5 minutes. Get started with the $15/month plan and have your first leads imported and your first dialer session running today.