If you've ever tried to wrangle a B2B contact list, you know the pain: messy spreadsheets, duplicates, weird formatting, and the nagging worry you’re about to import a thousand useless entries into your CRM. This guide is for people who want to actually use their data, not just dump it somewhere and hope for the best. We'll get into how to import and keep your contact lists clean in Matchkraft, without wasting time or getting burned by rookie mistakes.
Why Getting This Right Matters
Bad contact data isn’t just annoying—it's expensive. It means missed deals, wasted marketing, and endless cleanup work. Matchkraft can help, but only if you give it a fighting chance by importing your lists the right way. Let’s keep it simple, efficient, and as foolproof as possible.
Step 1: Prep Your Contact List Before Importing
Don’t even think about hitting “Import” just yet. Garbage in, garbage out.
What to do:
- Consolidate sources. If your contacts are scattered across Excel, Gmail, Notion, and napkins, pull them into one spreadsheet first.
- Standardize columns. Make sure every row has the same columns in the same order: typically, First Name, Last Name, Email, Company, Phone, Job Title, and whatever custom fields you actually use.
- Clean up duplicates. Use your spreadsheet's built-in dedupe tools. Don’t trust yourself to spot them by eye.
- Check for obvious junk. Delete test contacts, “info@company.com” addresses, and half-filled rows.
- Validate emails. If your list is old or scraped, run it through a basic email verifier—bouncing emails do you zero favors.
Pro tip: If you’re importing a big list, do a quick spot-check. Scroll through, search for common surnames, and check for suspicious formatting. Fixing a small issue now is way easier than after import.
Step 2: Get Your File Ready for Matchkraft
Matchkraft wants a clean, well-formatted CSV file. Here’s how to avoid headaches:
- Save as CSV. Don’t use XLSX, Google Sheets, or anything exotic. Export your cleaned list as a comma-separated CSV.
- No special characters in headers. Stick with simple names: “First Name,” not “First Name (Primary Contact).”
- Avoid empty rows. Delete blank lines at the top or hidden at the bottom of your sheet.
- Use UTF-8 encoding. If you have international contacts, make sure your CSV is encoded as UTF-8 to avoid weird symbols.
What to ignore: Fancy formatting, colors, bold fonts—Matchkraft won’t see any of that. Only the raw data matters.
Step 3: Importing Into Matchkraft
Here’s where you actually bring your data into Matchkraft.
- Go to the Import Tool. Usually, you’ll find it under “Contacts” or a similar menu in the sidebar.
- Upload your CSV. Click “Import” and select your file. Matchkraft will preview the data.
- Map your columns. Double-check that each column from your CSV matches a field in Matchkraft. If Matchkraft can’t match a column, you’ll need to pick the right field manually, or create a new custom field.
- Set deduplication rules. Most CRMs, including Matchkraft, let you decide how to handle duplicates. Choose to merge, skip, or overwrite. If you’re not sure, start safe—skip or merge, not overwrite.
- Kick off the import. Hit “Import” and let it run. For big lists, this might take a few minutes.
What works: Matchkraft’s import process is straightforward if your file is clean. If you get errors, they’re usually about missing required fields or weird characters.
What doesn’t: Don’t expect the import tool to magically fix your bad data. If you import garbage, that’s what you’ll see in your CRM.
Step 4: Sanity Check and Clean Up After Import
After importing, don’t assume everything’s perfect. Take a few minutes to check:
- Spot-check a few records. Open random contacts to see if fields are mapped right and nothing’s in the wrong place.
- Search for duplicates. Even with deduping, some may slip through if emails or names are slightly different.
- Look for empty or weird fields. Sort contacts by any field and see if anything looks off—e.g., “Company: null” or “First Name: test.”
- Test search and filters. Make sure you can find contacts by company, job title, or whatever fields matter to you.
Pro tip: If you spot a problem with hundreds of records, don’t panic. Most CRMs, including Matchkraft, support bulk editing or deleting. Fix it now rather than living with a messy database.
Step 5: Set Up Ongoing List Hygiene
Getting your data in once is only half the battle. Here’s how to keep it that way:
- Establish import rules. Decide who’s allowed to import lists and how often. The fewer people touching your data raw, the better.
- Use tags or segments. Tag your imported lists (e.g., “2024 Expo Leads”) so you can track where contacts came from and avoid duplicates later.
- Regularly dedupe. Set a calendar reminder to run duplicate checks (monthly is usually fine).
- Update incomplete contacts. Use Matchkraft’s filtering tools to spot missing info. Reach out or remove contacts with no email or company.
- Export backups. Occasionally export your contacts as a CSV, just in case something goes wrong.
What to ignore: Don’t get sucked into “completeness” for its own sake. If a contact has no useful info and isn’t engaging, it’s okay to archive or delete them.
Step 6: Integrate With Other Tools (But Don’t Overcomplicate It)
It’s tempting to wire up every app you use—marketing, email, event tools—to automatically sync with Matchkraft. Sometimes this is useful, sometimes it’s a mess.
What works: - Direct integrations for tools you use daily (like your email marketing platform) can keep new contacts flowing in with less manual work. - Zapier or similar can automate simple tasks, like adding new form fills to Matchkraft.
What doesn’t: - Too many integrations create more duplicates and data mismatches than they solve, especially if you don’t have a clear owner for data hygiene. - Relying on automation to clean your data. Automated tools won’t catch all the weird edge cases you see in real contact lists.
If you’re just starting, keep it simple: import manually, get your process down, then automate only what actually saves you time.
Step 7: Train Your Team and Set Clear Guidelines
Even the best import process falls apart if your team keeps adding messy data.
- Document your import steps. Share this process so new hires don’t reinvent the wheel.
- Set required fields. If Matchkraft lets you, make fields like “Email” or “Company” mandatory for new contacts.
- Review regularly. Every quarter, review your contact list for accuracy and relevance.
Pro tip: Incentivize quality over quantity. A smaller, cleaner list beats a giant, messy one every time.
Final Thoughts: Keep It Simple, Iterate as You Go
Importing and managing B2B contact lists isn’t rocket science, but it does take discipline. Don’t let perfection get in the way of progress—just start with a clean import, sanity check your work, and make list maintenance a habit. Most importantly, don’t buy into hype about magical tools that “clean” your data for you. A little hands-on effort up front saves you a ton of headaches down the road.
Keep it straightforward, focus on what matters, and your contact lists in Matchkraft will actually help you close deals—not just collect dust.