Outlook / Microsoft 365
Salesforce Leads14 fieldsHow to import Outlook / Microsoft 365 data into Salesforce Leads
Take your Outlook or Microsoft 365 contact export and load it into Salesforce. This template maps name, email, company, job title, business phone, mobile phone, and full business address to Salesforce's standard lead fields. Notes, Categories, and Birthday are composed into Salesforce's Description field as a labeled multi-line block, so per-contact notes, Outlook category tags, and the birthday string travel with the lead instead of being dropped. Two things to know before you start: Salesforce requires LastName and Company on every lead, and Outlook contacts often have blanks in those columns for personal contacts. The Before you start section below explains how to handle both.
Field-by-field mapping
This is the complete column mapping from Outlook / Microsoft 365 to Salesforce Leads. The left column is the header in your CSV export. The right column is the Salesforce Leads field it should map to.
Before you start
This template's destination has 2 required fields that need attention before upload. You can still use this template. The steps below tell you what to add and where.
- Last NameLastName
Salesforce requires LastName on every lead. Outlook exports the column, but contacts saved without a surname leave it blank, and Salesforce rejects those rows.
What to do. Before upload, fill any blank Last Name cells with a placeholder like 'Unknown' so every row passes Salesforce's import validation.
- Company
Salesforce requires Company on every lead. Personal contacts in Outlook often have no company set, leaving the column blank.
What to do. Before upload, fill blank Company cells with a placeholder like 'Individual'. Or set a default Company in Salesforce after import using bulk-edit on the new leads.
| Outlook / Microsoft 365 column | Salesforce Leads field | |
|---|---|---|
| First Name | First NameFirstName | |
| Last Name | Last Name*LastName | |
| E-mail Address | Email TransformLowercased and trimmed | |
| Company | Company* | |
| Job Title | Title | |
| Business Phone | Phone TransformStandardized to international format (+1, +44, etc.) | |
| Mobile Phone | Mobile PhoneMobilePhone MobilePhone is a standard Salesforce Lead field that's often hidden in the default layout. If you don't see it, add MobilePhone to your Lead page layout in Salesforce setup before importing. TransformStandardized to international format (+1, +44, etc.) | |
| Business Street | Street | |
| Business City | City | |
| Business State | State/ProvinceState | |
| Business Postal Code | Zip/Postal CodePostalCode | |
| Business Country/Region | Country | |
| Web Page | Website | |
| Notes, Categories, Birthday | Description Three slots compose into Salesforce's Description field as a labeled multi-line block. Slot 1 is the Notes free text. Slot 2 is Categories (Outlook color-coded category tags). Slot 3 is Birthday (the date string from Outlook). Each slot renders as '- column: value' on its own line. Empty slots are skipped, so a contact with only one of these populated still lands with just that single line. Remove the row in the column mapper if you don't want it. TransformComposed into a multi-line block |
Required by Salesforce Leads.
Columns we don't use
Your Outlook / Microsoft 365 export includes 2 columns this template doesn't map. Each one below explains why, plus the workaround if you want the data in Salesforce Leads.
- Home Phone
Salesforce Leads have Phone and MobilePhone fields. Business Phone and Mobile Phone already take those slots, so there's no third built-in phone field.
If you need it. Add a custom phone field on the Lead layout called Home Phone, then re-run this template to map it.
- Home Street / City / State / Postal Code / Country
Outlook exports a separate residential address block alongside the business one. Salesforce's Street, City, State, PostalCode, and Country fields already hold the Business Address from this template.
If you need it. If residential is the more useful address, swap the mapping after upload: send Home Street to Street, Home City to City, and so on. To keep both, add custom address fields on the Lead layout (Home Street, Home City, etc.), then re-run this template.
Formatting and cleanup
Outlook / Microsoft 365 exports rarely match the format Salesforce Leads expects. Fix these before you import.
- 1.Lowercases and trims email addresses
- 2.Renames 'Business Country/Region' to Salesforce's Country field
- 3.Standardizes Business Phone and Mobile Phone numbers to international format (+1, +44, etc.)
- 4.Maps Business Phone to Salesforce's Phone field and Mobile Phone to MobilePhone
- 5.Composes Notes, Categories, and Birthday into Salesforce's Description field as a labeled multi-line block
Or skip the manual work
Operelio runs this cleanup and mapping for you. Upload your Outlook / Microsoft 365 export and download a clean, import-ready file for Salesforce Leads.
Outlook / Microsoft 365 to Salesforce Leads FAQ
How do I export contacts from Outlook?
In classic Outlook for Windows, go to File, Open & Export, Import/Export, then choose Export to a file as Comma Separated Values. In the new Outlook or Microsoft 365 web, go to People, click Manage contacts, then choose Export contacts.
Are both business and mobile phone numbers preserved?
Yes. Business Phone maps to Salesforce's Phone field and Mobile Phone maps to MobilePhone. You keep both numbers. Home Phone doesn't have a default home; see the 'Columns we don't use' section below for the workaround.
What if Company is blank for some contacts?
Salesforce requires a Company on every lead. Personal contacts without a company name need a placeholder (e.g. 'Individual') before importing, otherwise Salesforce will reject those rows.
Where do Notes, Categories, and Birthday end up?
All three are composed into Salesforce's Description field as a labeled multi-line block. Each row arrives in Salesforce with whichever of the three it had populated, each on its own line. Empty slots are skipped, so a contact with only Notes still lands with just that single line in Description.
Will this create duplicate leads?
Salesforce checks for duplicates based on your org's matching rules. Review your duplicate settings before importing to control how matches are handled.
