How to Upload a CSV to Sales Navigator: Step-by-Step

Are you looking to turn a CSV of accounts into a Sales Navigator account list? Sales Navigator Advanced (Team) has a solution for you. However, if you have Sales Navigator Core (Professional), you'll need to upgrade your subscription to access this feature.

This feature is a game-changer, allowing you to import data from other B2B databases such as Crunchbase, Wappalyzer, or job boards into Sales Navigator. Instead of searching for target companies one by one, you can save a significant amount of time by bulk uploading your Excel file.

Here's how to upload a CSV to LinkedIn Sales Navigator:

Before you upload list to sales navigator, it's worth noting that according to LinkedIn, companies that use Sales Navigator see an average of 20% more sales opportunities. Ensuring your data is clean and accurate before importing maximizes the value you get from this tool. Consider using a tool like Scrupp to enrich your CSV file with additional data points, such as verified email addresses and company information, to further enhance your prospecting efforts within Sales Navigator.

1. Go to the Account Lists tab

Navigate to Account Lists > Create an Account List > Upload an Account from CSV. Please note that this option will only be visible if you have a Sales Navigator Advanced subscription.

2. Upload your file

Once you click the upload button, a pop-up will appear with guidelines to follow. You can upload up to 1000 companies maximum, and you need to provide at least the company name. The more information you add, such as ID, website, etc., the better the chances are that LinkedIn will match your CSV with the right companies. Therefore, make sure to provide as much data as possible when uploading an account list on LinkedIn Sales Navigator.

Before uploading your CSV to Sales Navigator, it's beneficial to excel compare 2 lists for duplicates. This ensures that you're not wasting upload capacity on redundant entries and that your outreach efforts are focused on unique accounts. Excel compare 2 lists for duplicates can be achieved using various Excel functions, such as VLOOKUP or conditional formatting. Identify and remove any duplicate entries from your CSV file to maintain a clean and efficient account list. This step is crucial for optimizing your Sales Navigator usage and maximizing the effectiveness of your lead generation efforts. Tools like Scrupp can also help with data cleaning and deduplication before importing into Sales Navigator.

Key CSV Preparation Best Practices for Sales Navigator

• Clean Data is Crucial: Before importing, ensure your CSV is free of irrelevant characters, extra spaces, or formatting issues.
• Deduplicate Entries: Use Excel's "Remove Duplicates" feature or advanced formulas (like COUNTIF) to eliminate redundant company entries. This prevents wasted upload capacity and ensures focused outreach.
• Standardize Company Names: Ensure consistency in company names (e.g., "Google Inc." vs. "Google"). LinkedIn's matching algorithm works best with standardized data.
• Include Essential Fields: At minimum, provide the company name. Maximize matching accuracy by including website URLs, LinkedIn Company Page URLs, and industry codes (SIC/NAICS).
• Format Dates and Numbers Correctly: If your CSV includes dates or numerical data, ensure they are in a consistent and recognized format.
• UTF-8 Encoding: Always save your CSV file with UTF-8 encoding to prevent character display issues, especially if your data contains special characters.

To further enhance the accuracy of your data when you upload company list to sales navigator, consider adding industry codes (like SIC or NAICS) to your CSV file. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, these codes provide a standardized way to classify businesses, which can help LinkedIn accurately match your accounts. You can easily enrich your existing data with these codes using tools like Scrupp before you import list into sales navigator.

The best-case scenario is when you have the LinkedIn URL of the company page. It's much easier for LinkedIn to retrieve the company from its database when you provide this information.

3. Map the data inputs

After uploading your file, LinkedIn will ask you to map the headers of your file with the expected inputs. Simply associate the right columns with the right data and press launch.

4. Let LinkedIn do the matching

When you launch a CSV upload, a little tag "CSV" will appear next to the name of the list. It typically takes 5-30 minutes for LinkedIn to retrieve the companies, depending on the size of your file. Once you get the list, you can start your LinkedIn outreach.

It's important to note that LinkedIn can make mistakes and associate companies in your list with the wrong LinkedIn company pages. There are two options here:

1. You find the LinkedIn URL of all company pages before the upload, so you're sure that the matching is perfect.
2. You don't provide the LinkedIn URL and spend some time double-checking the results.

Personally, option 1 is preferable since double-checking data can be quite tedious.

Common Questions About Sales Navigator CSV Upload

Two of the most common questions are:

Can you import lead lists on Sales Navigator?

No, you can't import lead lists on LinkedIn Sales Navigator. The option is only available for Account Lists, and the feature would go against privacy rules, so LinkedIn can't offer it.

What should you do after uploading your CSV?

After uploading your file, the best thing to do is to find the decision-makers inside the companies on your list. To do this:

When you upload account list to sales navigator, remember that Sales Navigator's advanced search filters are key to finding the right decision-makers. For example, use the 'Years in Current Position' filter to target individuals who have been in their role for a significant amount of time, indicating stability and influence. Also, consider using the 'Spotlight' filter to identify leads who have recently engaged with your company's content or visited your website. These insights can significantly improve your outreach efforts after you upload list to linkedin sales navigator.

1. Go to lead the search.
2. Find the Workflow section.
3. Select your list in the account list filter.
4. Add other filters to find decision-makers.

Other Sales Navigator Advanced Features

Overall, Sales Navigator Advanced offers a range of useful features for LinkedIn prospecting and lead generation. The ability to upload a CSV of accounts and turn it into a Sales Navigator account list is a valuable tool for anyone looking to save time and improve their efficiency.

Many users leverage Sales Navigator's CSV upload feature to import data from their existing CRM systems, such as Salesforce. A Salesforce export can be easily transformed into a Sales Navigator account list. To do this, perform a Salesforce export of your target accounts, ensuring that the export includes key fields like company name, website, and LinkedIn URL (if available). Once you have your CSV file, follow the steps outlined earlier in this article to upload it to Sales Navigator Advanced. This allows you to seamlessly integrate your existing CRM data with Sales Navigator's powerful prospecting tools, enhancing your lead generation and outreach efforts. Tools like Scrupp can further enrich your Salesforce data before importing it into Sales Navigator.

Tips for Optimizing Your Salesforce Export for Sales Navigator

To ensure a smooth transition from Salesforce to Sales Navigator, consider these best practices when exporting your data:

• Include Essential Fields: When performing your Salesforce export, make sure to include critical fields such as "Account Name," "Website," "Industry," "Number of Employees," and if available, a custom field for "LinkedIn Company Page URL."
• Clean Data in Salesforce First: Before exporting, take time to clean and standardize your account data within Salesforce. This includes correcting typos, standardizing names, and removing duplicates to prevent issues during the Sales Navigator import.
• Map Fields Clearly: Be aware of how your Salesforce field names will map to Sales Navigator's expected inputs. Renaming columns in your CSV to match common Sales Navigator fields (e.g., "Company Name," "Company Website") can simplify the mapping process.
• Segment Your Exports: If you have a very large Salesforce database, consider segmenting your exports by region, industry, or sales territory. This allows you to create more manageable and targeted account lists within Sales Navigator.
• Regularly Update: For ongoing prospecting, establish a routine for exporting updated account lists from Salesforce and re-uploading them to Sales Navigator, ensuring your data stays fresh.

By providing as much data as possible, including LinkedIn URLs and other details, users can improve their chances of accurate matching when uploading their CSV. And once the list is uploaded, users can easily find decision-makers within those companies and begin their outreach.

To maximize the effectiveness of your LinkedIn Sales Navigator upload CSV account list, consider segmenting your CSV file based on industry, company size, or other relevant criteria before uploading. This allows you to create targeted account lists within Sales Navigator, enabling more personalized outreach. For instance, you can upload csv to sales navigator for companies in the tech industry separately from those in the healthcare industry. This segmentation strategy ensures that your messaging resonates with each specific audience, boosting your engagement rates and overall prospecting success.

In addition to the CSV upload feature, Sales Navigator Advanced also offers other useful features such as Smart Links and TeamLink, which can further enhance your LinkedIn prospecting efforts.

Sales Navigator Smartlinks

Sales Navigator Smart Links enable you to create sales presentations that aggregate files and websites, and then easily share and track your prospects' interactions with this content.

LinkedIn Teamlink

LinkedIn TeamLink helps sales teams detect warm introduction opportunities with their prospects. Teamlink does this by showing you if people in your search results are among your teammates' first-degree connections.

Overall, if you are serious about LinkedIn prospecting and lead generation, upgrading to Sales Navigator Advanced is definitely worth considering. And with the ability to upload CSVs of accounts and turn them into account lists, you can save time and get even more out of this powerful tool.

The ability to upload a CSV and create LinkedIn imported contacts lists within Sales Navigator Advanced is a significant time-saver. Instead of manually searching for and saving each account, you can leverage your existing database of contacts. This feature is especially useful if you're migrating from another CRM or lead generation tool. By ensuring your CSV is properly formatted with key information like company name and website, you can maximize the accuracy of the LinkedIn imported contacts matching process. Remember to prioritize including LinkedIn URLs when possible to further streamline the identification of the correct company profiles. With tools like Scrupp, you can enrich your data and enhance your LinkedIn prospecting efforts.

When you upload list to sales navigator, remember to check the encoding of your CSV file. Incorrect encoding can lead to garbled characters and inaccurate data. UTF-8 encoding is generally recommended for optimal compatibility. You can specify the encoding when saving your CSV file in Excel or other spreadsheet software. Ensuring proper encoding will help you import account list to sales navigator without issues and maintain the integrity of your data. Scrupp can also help with encoding issues during CSV enrichment.

When uploading your CSV to Sales Navigator, ensuring that the Excel file format or extension is not valid can prevent errors and streamline the import process. Sales Navigator typically accepts CSV files, so save your Excel data in this format before uploading. If you encounter an error message indicating that the Excel file format or extension is not valid, double-check the file type and ensure it is indeed a CSV file. Also, verify that the file is not corrupted. Corrupted files can cause issues during the import process. Opening the file in Excel and re-saving it as a CSV can sometimes resolve this issue. Using tools like Scrupp can also help ensure your data is clean and properly formatted before importing.

In today's competitive business landscape, access to reliable data is non-negotiable. With Scrupp, you can take your prospecting and email campaigns to the next level. Experience the power of Scrupp for yourself and see why it's the preferred choice for businesses around the world. Unlock the potential of your data – try Scrupp today!