Looking to get more out of your Salesforce reports, but tired of staring at mismatched or missing fields? If you’re pulling in third-party data—especially from Peopledatalabs—and want it to play nice with your Salesforce instance, you’re in the right place. This guide walks you through the real-world steps to map fields, dodge common headaches, and actually make your data useful. Whether you’re a Salesforce admin, a data person, or just the “accidental techie” at your company, you’ll find clear, honest advice here.
Why Map Peopledatalabs Data to Salesforce, Anyway?
Let’s get this out of the way: importing data for the sake of it is pointless. The goal is cleaner reporting, smarter automation, and fewer hours wasted cleaning up junk. Peopledatalabs offers rich person and company data—think job titles, social URLs, company info, you name it. But if those fields don’t line up with your Salesforce objects and custom fields, you’re left with a mess.
Good mapping means: - You can actually run reports without pulling your hair out. - Your sales and marketing teams trust what they see. - You’re not stuck with duplicate fields like “Title” and “Job Title” that mean the same thing.
Step 1: Get Clear on What Data You Actually Need
Before you even start mapping, stop and ask: what’s the point? More data isn’t always better. Decide what you’ll actually use in Salesforce.
How to figure this out: - Talk to the folks who run reports or do outreach. What fields do they wish they had? Which ones do they never touch? - Look at your existing Salesforce fields—especially on Lead, Contact, and Account objects. Where are the gaps? - Don’t just map everything “just in case.” It’ll slow things down later.
Pro tip: Make a spreadsheet with three columns: 1. Peopledatalabs field name 2. Description of what it actually is 3. Do we need it? (Yes/No/Maybe)
Step 2: Audit Your Salesforce Instance
Now, look at what you’ve already got set up in Salesforce. You’ll want to know: - Which standard fields match up with Peopledatalabs - Which custom fields you’ve already added - Where you might have duplicate or “dead” fields that nobody uses
How to do it: - Go to Object Manager in Salesforce Setup. - Export a list of fields for Lead, Contact, and Account. - Mark which fields are required, and which are safe to overwrite.
Watch out for: - Fields with similar names but different purposes (“Industry” vs. “Company Industry”) - Fields that are used in automations or formulas—don’t break things you don’t mean to
Step 3: Map Peopledatalabs Fields to Salesforce Fields
Here’s where the real matching happens. For each Peopledatalabs field you want, decide: - Does it match an existing Salesforce field? Great, map it directly. - Is it a new kind of data? You’ll need to create a custom field.
Common field matches:
| Peopledatalabs Field | Likely Salesforce Field | Notes |
|----------------------|------------------------|-------|
| full_name | Name | May need parsing for first/last name |
| job_title | Title | Direct match for Lead/Contact |
| company_name | Account Name | Requires matching logic if updating Accounts |
| email | Email | Watch for duplicates |
| linkedin_url | Custom Field | Salesforce doesn’t have this by default |
| industry | Industry | Salesforce picklist values may not match PDL’s |
Tips:
- If you care about URLs (LinkedIn, Twitter), set up custom fields. Use consistent naming—e.g., LinkedIn_URL__c.
- Keep picklists in sync. If Peopledatalabs sends “Information Technology,” but Salesforce uses “IT Services,” you’ll need a translation table.
What to skip: - Fields you’ll never use (e.g., “Facebook URL” for B2B sales? Probably not worth the noise) - Super granular fields like “Seniority Level” if your team never filters by them
Step 4: Create or Update Custom Fields in Salesforce
For any data you want from Peopledatalabs that doesn’t fit an existing Salesforce field, you’ll need to create a custom field.
How to do it:
1. Go to Object Manager > [Object] > Fields & Relationships.
2. Click “New Field.”
3. Choose the right data type (Text, URL, Picklist, etc.). Don’t overthink it—Text works for most things.
4. Name it something clear (e.g., LinkedIn_URL__c).
5. Set field-level security and add it to layouts if needed.
Pro tip: Don’t create custom fields for every possible data point “just in case.” You can always add more later. Start with what’s actually useful.
Step 5: Set Up the Data Import or Integration
How you pull Peopledatalabs data into Salesforce depends on your setup. There’s no magic button, but here are the main ways:
Option 1: Manual Import - Export data from Peopledatalabs as CSV. - Use Salesforce Data Import Wizard or Data Loader. - Map columns from your CSV to Salesforce fields. - Good for one-off loads, bad for ongoing sync.
Option 2: Automated Integration - Use middleware (Zapier, Workato, Tray.io) to connect APIs and automate the mapping. - Or, build a custom integration using Salesforce’s API and Peopledatalabs API. - Set up field mapping in the integration tool—not just in Salesforce.
Watch out for: - API limits (Salesforce has them, and they sneak up on you) - Duplicates—always use matching logic (like email or external ID) to avoid creating the same record over and over - Data formats—dates, phone numbers, and picklists often need extra cleanup
Pro tip: Do a test run with 10-20 records first. Check how the data looks in Salesforce before doing a big import.
Step 6: Clean Up and Test Your Reports
Once the data is in, don’t just hope for the best. Check your most important reports and dashboards:
- Are the new fields showing up?
- Is the data in a format that makes sense?
- Are there weird duplicates or blanks where you expected data?
Ask a couple people who actually use the reports to take a look. If something looks off, fix the mapping or field types before rolling out to everyone.
Common issues: - Picklist values not matching (e.g., “Financial Services” vs. “Finance”) - URLs or emails missing because of validation rules - Data in the wrong field (easy to do if you rushed the mapping step)
Step 7: Set Up Ongoing Maintenance (Without Making It Your Full-Time Job)
Data mapping isn’t a one-and-done thing—especially if you’re syncing data regularly. But you don’t need a “data steward” badge to keep things tidy.
Basic upkeep: - Set a quarterly calendar reminder to review field usage and reports. - Remove or hide custom fields nobody uses (be ruthless). - Check for integration errors or failed imports. - Update picklist translations if Peopledatalabs changes their field values.
Ignore: Calls to “audit your data weekly.” That’s overkill for most teams unless you’re in a super-regulated industry.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate Fast
Getting Peopledatalabs data into Salesforce isn’t rocket science—it just takes a little planning and discipline. The main reason field mapping projects drag on forever? People try to map everything and make it perfect from day one. Don’t do that. Start with a handful of fields you care about, get the basics working, and tweak as you go.
Above all, remember: the point isn’t to have “more data.” It’s to have useful data. That’s what makes reporting easier, not harder.
Now go map those fields—and don’t let perfect be the enemy of done.