So your contact list is a mess, and you’re hoping Insightly can finally get your B2B sales team to stop tripping over bad data and lost leads? Good call. But, like any CRM, Insightly only works as well as the data you feed it. The real magic is in prepping, importing, and actually organizing your contacts so your team can, you know, sell.
This guide walks you through the whole process—step by step—with real talk about what’s worth your time and what you can ignore.
Step 1: Audit and Clean Up Your Contacts Before Importing
Don’t skip this. If you dump a dirty contact list into Insightly, you’re just moving the chaos. Garbage in, garbage out.
What to do:
- Consolidate sources: Gather contacts from all the places they’re hiding—spreadsheets, email lists, old CRMs, business cards, your rep’s inbox, etc.
- Remove duplicates: Use Excel’s “Remove Duplicates” or Google Sheets’ “Unique” function. If you have multiple spreadsheets, combine them and dedupe.
- Standardize fields: Make sure columns like “First Name,” “Last Name,” “Email,” “Company,” and “Phone” are consistent. Don’t get fancy—stick to basics.
- Fix formatting: Clean up weird characters, fix casing (nobody wants to see “jOhN DOE”), and make sure emails and phone numbers look right.
- Delete junk: Nix old or irrelevant contacts. If you wouldn’t call them, don’t import them.
Pro tip: If you’re importing for a whole team, ask them for their lists now. Herding cats is easier than fixing data later.
Step 2: Map Out Your Contact Data Structure
Insightly lets you create custom fields and tags, but don’t let that tempt you into over-engineering. Keep it simple—especially if your team isn’t CRM-happy yet.
Decide on:
- Must-have fields: Name, email, phone, company, title, and maybe lead source. Resist adding 20 custom fields “just in case.”
- Custom fields: Only add what you’ll actually use for filtering or reporting. For example, “Industry,” “Company Size,” or “Account Owner.”
- Tags: Use tags for quick grouping (e.g., “Trade Show 2024,” “Newsletter,” “VIP”). Tags are easy to add/remove; don’t get too granular.
What to ignore: Fancy automation and workflow fields right now. You can always layer that on later, once your basic data is solid.
Step 3: Prepare Your Import File
Insightly takes CSV files for importing contacts. Here’s how to set yourself up for a smooth import:
- Save your contact list as a .csv file (comma-separated values). Excel and Google Sheets both export to this format.
- Order columns to match Insightly’s fields (not required, but it helps).
- Column headers matter: Use clear, standard names. If you’re unsure, check Insightly’s sample import file.
- Leave out blank columns or unused fields. Less is more.
Watch out for:
- Commas inside fields (like company names) can mess up CSVs. Use quotes or clean them out.
- Weird characters (emojis, smart quotes) might not import cleanly.
Step 4: Import Contacts Into Insightly
Now for the main event. Here’s how to get your cleaned file into Insightly without drama.
- Log in to Insightly.
- Go to “Contacts.”
- Click the “Import” button. It’s usually at the top right.
- Select “Import Contacts from a CSV File.”
- Upload your file.
- Map your fields: Match your CSV columns to Insightly’s fields. Double-check this—don’t trust auto-mapping.
- Choose deduplication settings: Insightly can skip or merge duplicates based on email address. Use this if you’re not 100% sure you got every dupe in your prep.
- Import and review errors: If Insightly kicks back errors, don’t panic. Download the error file, fix the issues, and re-import just those rows.
Pro tip: Import a small test batch (10-20 contacts) first. Make sure everything lands where you want it, then do the full list.
Step 5: Organize Contacts With Tags, Custom Fields, and Linking
Now your contacts are in—don’t just leave them scattered like socks after laundry day.
Use Tags
- Tag contacts by source: How did you get this contact? Event, referral, web form, etc.
- Tag by priority: “Hot,” “Warm,” “Cold,” or “Do Not Call.” Whatever makes sense for your team.
- Bulk tagging: You can add tags to batches of contacts at once—don’t do it one at a time.
Custom Fields
- Stick to custom fields you actually need for reporting or filtering.
- Good examples: “Industry,” “Account Owner,” “Contract Renewal Date.”
- Bad examples: Anything you don’t plan to fill in for at least 80% of contacts.
Link Contacts to Organizations
- Don’t skip this: Linking contacts to their companies lets you see the big picture—who you know at each account.
- If you didn’t import organizations, you can create them now and link manually or with Insightly’s bulk tools.
Assign Owners
- Assign contacts to sales reps so follow-ups don’t fall through the cracks.
- Use Insightly’s filters to quickly reassign leads as needed.
Step 6: Set Up Basic Views and Filters
You want your team to find what they need—fast.
- Create saved filters: For example, “All contacts tagged ‘Trade Show 2024’” or “Contacts without email addresses.”
- Build list views: Let reps see “My Contacts” or “Unassigned Contacts” at a glance.
- Don’t overcomplicate: Stick to the handful of views your team will actually use.
Warning: If you make 30 different filters, nobody will use any of them. Focus on what supports your daily sales workflow.
Step 7: Regular Maintenance—Don’t Set and Forget
CRMs get messy. If you want Insightly to stay useful:
- Schedule a monthly cleanup: Deduplicate, archive dead leads, and review “unknown” contacts.
- Ask reps to update as they work: Make it a habit, not a quarterly headache.
- Spot-check data quality: Run simple reports to see if key fields are missing or outdated.
Pro tip: If nobody owns CRM hygiene, it won’t happen. Assign a point person—even if it rotates.
What Actually Matters (and What Doesn’t)
Worth your time: - Clean, deduped data up front - Simple, clear field structure - Regular cleanup
Not worth sweating: - Over-customizing fields before your team is even using the basics - Fancy automation or integrations before you’ve got the core data right - Importing every possible contact “just in case”—quality beats quantity every time
Keep It Simple, Fix as You Go
Getting your contacts into Insightly isn’t rocket science, but it’s easy to overthink. Start with the basics: clean data, simple structure, and clear ownership. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good—import, organize, and let your team start selling. You can always tweak and improve as you go. In the end, the best CRM setup is the one your team actually uses.