Inevitably there will come a time when you will want to manually upload prospects into Account Engagement (Pardot). They may be from an event or just extra collected data. Regardless, you need to get your prospects out of an Excel sheet and online. The idea of manually adding each prospect probably sounds exhausting and luckily it’s not the way to go.
Usually your list of prospects will start as an excel sheet. Account Engagement (Pardot) does not allow Excel sheets to be uploaded into it, so the very first step before adding your prospects is to convert your Excel spreadsheet to a CSV. This is the file type that Account Engagement (Pardot) allows to be uploaded into its servers.
Step 1:
You’ll want to navigate to Prospects > Prospect List > and click the import prospects button in the right-hand corner. Then drag and drop the CSV file you just created into the upload box.
Next, select “Create or update prospects using email address.” You can choose to update by the other option of Salesforce ID or Contact Lead, but that is not recommended if they are brand new.
Step 2:
When you map your fields you’ll want to select whichever fields should be added to a prospect ID. This can include name, phone number, address, or anything that is on the CSV file. The only field that must always be added is the email address associated with the prospect.
Then select your campaign and your ideal option between “Do not change the campaign for existing prospects” and “Set this campaign for all prospects,” with the first being highly recommended in most instances.
Pro-Tip: Account Engagement (Pardot) usually makes the recommended option in this process noted. If you’re ever confused about which option to choose, just look for (recommended) on the option.
Step 3:
When you get to the “Select Action” page you’ll choose what to do with your prospects you’re adding. You can add or remove from an existing list, add them to a new list, globally opt those prospects out, or just add them into your Account Engagement (Pardot) environment. As a general rule, it’s good to create and add these prospects to a list, so they are sorted correctly.
After moving on to the final menu tab all you will need to do is review your information and save. The process of uploading the prospects into Account Engagement (Pardot) can take anywhere from several minutes to an hour depending on CSV size.
Adding prospects from Excel spreadsheet to CSV to Account Engagement (Pardot) is handy to have in your tool belt as a digital marketer. This way information from trade shows and events can be easily accessible within your Account Engagement (Pardot) environment.
