If you spend your days jumping between LinkedIn and your CRM, you know the drill: copy, paste, repeat. It’s slow and soul-crushing. You want your LinkedIn contacts in your CRM, without the busywork. If you’re reading this, you’ve probably heard about Surfe—an extension that claims to sync LinkedIn contacts to your CRM in a few clicks. I’ll walk you through how to actually use Surfe to do this, what to watch out for, and how to avoid wasting time on fluff.
This guide is for folks who manage leads, founders who double as their own sales team, or anyone tired of spreadsheet gymnastics. Let’s get your contacts where you need them, with as little hassle as possible.
Step 1: Understand What Surfe Actually Does (and Doesn’t)
Before you install anything, let’s be clear about what Surfe does:
- It’s a browser extension (Chrome only, as of now) that overlays CRM buttons directly onto LinkedIn profiles.
- It lets you add LinkedIn contacts to your CRM with a click, pulling names and some profile info.
- It works with major CRMs like HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, and a few others.
But here’s what Surfe doesn’t do:
- It can’t bulk-import all your LinkedIn connections at once. It’s one contact at a time, unless you pony up for higher-priced plans with some automation.
- It can’t grab emails unless they’re public or you pay for enrichment credits.
- It’s not magic. If a LinkedIn profile is thin, you’ll get thin data.
Bottom line: Surfe saves time, but it’s not a silver bullet. If you expect a one-click solution to move your entire LinkedIn to your CRM, you’ll be disappointed.
Step 2: Set Up Surfe (Without Getting Lost in the Setup)
1. Install Surfe
- Go to the Chrome Web Store, search “Surfe,” and install the extension. (Double-check permissions—you’re giving it access to LinkedIn and your CRM.)
- Pin the Surfe icon in Chrome so you don’t lose track of it.
2. Connect Your CRM
- Open LinkedIn in your browser.
- Click the Surfe icon. It’ll prompt you to connect your CRM.
- Log in with your CRM credentials (HubSpot, Salesforce, etc.).
- Approve the permissions; Surfe needs this to create and update records.
Pro tip: If your company has 2FA or strict CRM security, you might have to jump through extra hoops. Have your admin on speed dial.
3. Configure Settings (Don’t Skip This)
- In the Surfe dashboard, check the fields it’ll sync. By default, it grabs name, title, company, and maybe location.
- If you want custom mapping (say, you call “Company” something else in your CRM), set that up now.
- Decide if you want Surfe to auto-enrich contacts (i.e., try to find email addresses). Be aware: enrichment usually costs extra.
What to ignore: Fancy enrichment add-ons or workflow automations you don’t understand. Start simple—you can always add bells and whistles later.
Step 3: Export LinkedIn Contacts to Your CRM
Here’s how it actually works, step by step:
1. Find a LinkedIn Contact You Want in Your CRM
- Go to their LinkedIn profile.
- You’ll see a new Surfe toolbar on the page—usually at the top or side.
2. Click “Add to CRM”
- Hit the button. Surfe will pull in the info and create a new contact record in your CRM.
- You’ll get a popup to edit or confirm the fields before saving. Double-check for typos, weird formatting, or missing info.
- If you’re using enrichment, Surfe might show you an email address or phone number (if it found one).
3. Add Notes or Tags (Optional, but Useful)
- You can add a note that this contact came from LinkedIn, or tag them as a prospect, lead, etc.
- This helps later when you want to segment or track outreach.
4. Sync and Check Your CRM
- Open your CRM and search for the contact. Make sure everything synced as expected.
- If you see duplicate records or mismatched data, fix it now. Problems only get bigger if you ignore them.
Pro tip: Don’t trust automation blindly. Double-check the first few contacts you export. Surfe’s mapping is good, but not perfect.
Step 4: Keep It Efficient—Don’t Fall Into the “Sync Everything” Trap
It’s tempting to try and push every LinkedIn connection into your CRM. That’s a recipe for clutter, bad data, and CRM chaos. Here’s how to keep your workflow sane:
- Be picky. Only export contacts who are real prospects or have a clear reason to be in your CRM.
- Skip tire-kickers and random connections. More data ≠ better data.
- Review before you export. If a profile is sparse, don’t expect miracles—manual editing might be faster.
What works: Using Surfe as a way to capture just your active pipeline, not your entire LinkedIn history.
What doesn’t: Syncing everyone and then trying to clean up the mess later.
Step 5: Stay Out of Trouble (LinkedIn and CRM Pitfalls)
Surfe is built to be compliant, but here’s some real talk:
- LinkedIn doesn’t love automation. Don’t try to use Surfe to mass-add contacts or you’ll risk throttling or account warnings.
- CRM data quality matters. Garbage in, garbage out. If you push in half-baked contacts, you’ll pay for it later in lost deals or wasted outreach.
- Privacy and permissions: If you’re handling customer data, check with your legal or compliance folks about enrichment and data storage. Not all enrichment is GDPR-friendly.
- Surfe pricing: The free version is limited. If you’re serious about sales workflow, expect to pay for premium features—budget for it.
Ignore: Any “hacks” that promise bulk exporting all of LinkedIn. Most are shady or break LinkedIn’s terms. Not worth risking your account.
Step 6: Level Up (If You Really Need To)
If you’re running a full outbound sales team, consider these:
- Team accounts: Surfe lets you manage multiple users and set up CRM pipeline stages right from LinkedIn. It’s fine, but don’t overcomplicate it.
- Templates and workflows: For high-volume teams, set up templates for notes or default tags. This helps with consistency.
- Integrations: Surfe plays nice with some outreach tools. But honestly, keep the stack simple until you need more complexity.
Pro tip: Every extra tool or integration is another thing to break. Start with the basics and only add features when your team’s actually bottlenecked.
Step 7: Troubleshooting and Honest Downsides
No tool is perfect. Here’s what to expect:
Common issues: - Surfe toolbar not showing? Try reloading LinkedIn, updating Chrome, or reauthorizing the extension. - Mismatched data fields? Check your CRM mapping in Surfe’s settings. - Email enrichment not working? You probably ran out of credits, or the email just isn’t public anywhere.
Real talk: - The speed boost is real for 1:1 prospecting, but it’s not a magic wand for massive data migration. - If your CRM setup is messy, Surfe won’t fix that—it’ll just make the mess bigger, faster. - Some CRMs (especially custom setups) play less nicely with Surfe. Expect some trial and error.
Keep It Simple—And Iterate
Surfe is a genuine time-saver if your workflow is built around LinkedIn prospecting and your CRM is central to your sales process. Don’t overthink it: set it up, get the basics working, and focus on quality over quantity. Export fewer, better contacts. You can always tweak your process as you go, but avoid the urge to automate everything out of the gate.
Start small, check your data, and only get fancy when you need to. That’s how you export LinkedIn contacts to your CRM efficiently—without losing your mind.