Cognism
Salesforce Contacts11 fieldsHow to import Cognism data into Salesforce Contacts
Cognism exports prospect lists as CSV files from Prospector. This template maps the export to Salesforce's standard contact fields: names, email, job title, department, the person's mailing address, and the LinkedIn profile URL. Mobile (including Cognism's Diamond-verified mobiles) maps directly to Salesforce's native MobilePhone field. The remaining workplace phones (Direct, Office, HQ) coalesce into the Phone field, with the first available number winning. Cognism's Department column is comma-separated, so the template takes the first listed. The Personal Linkedin URL column maps to a custom LinkedIn_URL__c Contact field, so create that field on the Contact object in Salesforce before importing, or repoint the mapping in the column mapper. Salesforce Contacts associate to an Account, so Company Name is left for you to link after import. Phones, emails, and country names are standardized. The company's registered office and HQ addresses are company-level data and belong on the Salesforce Account record. Data Salesforce has no standard contact field for is listed in the Columns we don't use section.
Field-by-field mapping
This is the complete column mapping from Cognism to Salesforce Contacts. The left column is the header in your CSV export. The right column is the Salesforce Contacts field it should map to.
| Cognism column | Salesforce Contacts field | |
|---|---|---|
| First Name | First NameFirstName | |
| Last Name | Last Name*LastName Salesforce requires a Last Name on every Contact. This template creates Contacts; link each one to its Account by company name after import. | |
| Job Title | Title | |
| Email TransformLowercased and trimmed | ||
| Mobile | Mobile PhoneMobilePhone Maps to Salesforce's MobilePhone field, including Cognism's Diamond-verified mobile numbers. MobilePhone is a standard Salesforce Contact field that's often hidden in the default layout. If you don't see it, add MobilePhone to your Contact page layout in Salesforce setup before importing. TransformStandardized to international format (+1, +44, etc.) | |
| Direct → Office → HQ | Phone Salesforce Contacts have one Phone field. It takes the first available number: Direct first, then Office, then HQ. Whichever is present wins; the rest are skipped. Mobile maps to MobilePhone separately. TransformStandardized to international format (+1, +44, etc.) | |
| Department → first | Department Cognism ships several departments per row, comma-separated. Salesforce's Department field holds one value, so the template takes the first listed department. Cognism does not order departments primary first, so this is the first listed one, not necessarily the main one. To keep the full list, remove the split in the column mapper. | |
| City | Mailing CityMailingCity Cognism's person-level City column maps to the Contact's Mailing City. The company's City and HQ City columns are not mapped here; they belong on the Salesforce Account record. | |
| State | Mailing StateMailingState Cognism's person-level State column maps to the Contact's Mailing State. The company's State columns are not mapped here. | |
| Country | Mailing CountryMailingCountry Cognism's person-level Country column maps to the Contact's Mailing Country. The company's Country columns are not mapped here. | |
| Personal Linkedin URL | LinkedIn URLLinkedIn_URL__c Maps to a custom Salesforce field called LinkedIn_URL__c. Create that field on the Contact object in Salesforce before importing, or open the mapping in Operelio and point the column at a different field instead. |
Required by Salesforce Contacts.
Columns we don't use
Your Cognism export includes 46 columns this template doesn't map. Each one below explains why, plus the workaround if you want the data in Salesforce Contacts.
- Company Name
Salesforce Contacts associate to an Account rather than carrying a company name on the Contact itself. This template creates Contact records; the Account link is a separate step.
If you need it. After import, link each Contact to its Account in Salesforce, or run a Cognism to Salesforce Accounts pass first and match on company name.
- Website
The company website belongs on the Salesforce Account record, not the Contact.
If you need it. Run a separate Cognism to Salesforce Accounts pass to land the website on the Account record.
- Industries
Salesforce Contacts have no native Industry field. Industry is company-level data and belongs on the Account record.
If you need it. Run a Cognism to Salesforce Accounts pass to land industry on the Account, or map it by hand to a custom Contact field.
- Company Address Line, Company City, Company Post Code/ZIP, Company County/State, Company Country
These are the company's registered office address. The Contact's Mailing City, State, and Country are filled from the person-level columns instead, since those describe where the contact actually is. The company's registered office belongs on the Salesforce Account record.
If you need it. Land the registered office address on the Salesforce Account record in a separate pass. If you would rather use the company's office address on the Contact, swap the mappings by hand in the column mapper.
- Seniority
Salesforce Contacts have no native seniority field. The data is real and useful, Salesforce just has no standard place for it.
If you need it. Map it by hand to a custom Contact field if you want seniority in Salesforce.
- Technologies
Salesforce Contacts have no native field for a company's tech stack. The data is useful for targeting, Salesforce just has no standard place for it.
If you need it. Map it by hand to a custom Contact field, or land it on the Account record in a separate pass.
- Email Quality
Salesforce Contacts have no native field for an email confidence flag. The Verified Email or Likely Email signal is useful for filtering, Salesforce just has no standard place for it.
If you need it. Map it by hand to a custom Contact field if you want to filter on email quality in Salesforce.
- Education
Salesforce Contacts have no native education field.
If you need it. Map it by hand to a custom Contact field if you want it.
- List Name
Salesforce Contacts have no native field for the source list a row came from. Salesforce campaigns are managed inside Salesforce.
If you need it. Map it by hand to a custom Contact field if you want to record which Cognism list a contact came from.
- Diamond Record
Salesforce Contacts have no native field for Cognism's Diamond-verified flag.
If you need it. Map it by hand to a custom Contact field if you want to keep the flag.
- Profile ID
Salesforce Contacts have no native field for an external ID on the standard layout. Salesforce matches contacts on email.
If you need it. Map it by hand to a custom Contact field marked as an External ID if you want Cognism's ID for re-import matching.
- sId
Cognism's internal composite ID has no downstream use in a CRM.
If you need it. None needed. This column is safe to ignore.
- Company Alias
Salesforce Contacts have no native field for an alternate company trading name. It belongs on the Account anyway, and is often the same as Company Name.
If you need it. Map it by hand to a custom field if you want it.
- Lead Source
Every Cognism row carries the literal value 'Cognism'. Salesforce Contacts have no native Lead Source field, that field is on the Lead object.
If you need it. If you want the source recorded on the Contact, add a custom Contact field and set it by hand, or keep the source on the linked Account.
- Headcount, Financials, Company Type, Company Description, Company Founded Year, Company Linkedin URL
These are company-level data points. Salesforce Contacts have no native fields for them, they belong on the Salesforce Account record.
If you need it. Run a separate Cognism to Salesforce Accounts pass to land these on the Account record.
- Company HQ Address Line, Company HQ City, Company HQ Post Code/ZIP, Company HQ County/State, Company HQ Country
These are the company's HQ address, a second company-level address. The Contact's Mailing address fields are filled from the person-level columns. The HQ address belongs on the Salesforce Account record.
If you need it. Land the HQ address on the Salesforce Account record in a separate pass if you need it.
- SIC, ISIC, NAICS
Salesforce Contacts have no native fields for industry classification codes. They are company-level data.
If you need it. Run a Cognism to Salesforce Accounts pass, or map them by hand to custom fields.
- Hiring Title, URL, Location, and Date columns (1 through 5)
Salesforce Contacts have no native fields for hiring-signal data. These columns capture roles the contact's company is hiring for, a real buying signal, but Salesforce has no standard place for them.
If you need it. Map them by hand to custom Contact fields if you track hiring activity as a buying signal.
- Job Change - Previous Company, Previous Title, New Company, New Title, Date
Salesforce Contacts have no native fields for job-change data. A recent job change is a useful champion signal, Salesforce just has no standard place for it.
If you need it. Map them by hand to custom Contact fields if you track job changes.
- Location Move - From Country, From State, To Country, To State, Date
Salesforce Contacts have no native fields for location-move data. The signal is useful for territory planning, Salesforce just has no standard place for it.
If you need it. Map them by hand to custom Contact fields if you use them for territory planning.
Formatting and cleanup
Cognism exports rarely match the format Salesforce Contacts expects. Fix these before you import.
- 1.Lowercases and trims email addresses
- 2.Standardizes phone numbers to international format (+1, +44, etc.)
- 3.Maps Mobile directly to MobilePhone; fills Phone with the first available of Direct, Office, HQ
- 4.Takes the first listed department from Cognism's comma-separated Department list, so a single value lands in Salesforce's Department field
- 5.Maps the person-level City, State, and Country to the Contact's Mailing address fields
- 6.Maps Personal Linkedin URL to the custom LinkedIn_URL__c Contact field
- 7.Title-cases name fields, including Cognism's ALL-CAPS job titles
- 8.Normalizes country names to a standard form
- 9.Trims whitespace and removes blank rows
Or skip the manual work
Operelio runs this cleanup and mapping for you. Upload your Cognism export and download a clean, import-ready file for Salesforce Contacts.
Cognism to Salesforce Contacts FAQ
How do I export from Cognism?
In Cognism Prospector, build your search, save the contacts to a list, then click Download CSV from the list view. Upload that file to Operelio.
Should I use the Leads template or the Contacts template?
Use the Leads template for cold prospecting lists you want to work before they convert. Use this Contacts template when you want the people to land directly as Contacts, for example because they already belong to Accounts you track. Salesforce Leads and Contacts are different objects with different fields, so the two templates map the export differently.
How does the template handle Cognism's four phone columns?
Cognism ships Mobile, Direct, Office, and HQ. Mobile (including Cognism's Diamond-verified numbers) maps directly to Salesforce's native MobilePhone field. The Phone field is filled from the first available of Direct, Office, and HQ. All numbers are standardized to international format before import. MobilePhone is a standard Salesforce Contact field that's often hidden in the default layout; add it in Salesforce setup if you don't see it.
Why isn't Company Name mapped?
Salesforce Contacts associate to an Account rather than storing a company name on the Contact record itself. This template creates Contacts; linking each one to its Account is a separate step. You can link them in Salesforce after import, or run a Cognism to Salesforce Accounts pass first and match on company name.
Where does the Department column go?
Cognism ships several departments per row, comma-separated. Salesforce's Department field holds one value, so the template takes the first listed department. Cognism does not order departments primary first, so this is the first listed one, not necessarily the main one. If you want the full list instead, remove the split on the Department row in the column mapper.
Why aren't Seniority and the other Cognism signals mapped?
Salesforce Contacts have no standard fields for Seniority, Technologies, Email Quality, and similar Cognism signals. The data is real and useful, Salesforce just has no native place for it. Those columns are listed in the Columns we don't use section. If you want them in Salesforce, create a custom Contact field and map the column to it by hand.
Which address does the template use?
This template fills the Contact's Mailing City, State, and Country from Cognism's person-level City, State, and Country columns. Those describe where the contact actually is. Mailing Street and Postal Code are not part of this template's Salesforce Contacts schema. Cognism also ships two company-level addresses (the registered office and the HQ); both are listed in the Columns we don't use section because they belong on the Salesforce Account record, not the Contact.
Will this create duplicate contacts?
Salesforce checks for duplicates based on your org's matching rules. Review your duplicate settings in Salesforce Setup before importing, especially if you already have contacts from the same Cognism searches.
