Acquisition: Import Workflow

By Summit53 Team

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Overview

The Import tab is the third view inside Summit53's Acquisition zoom level. It's where leads enter the Revenue Engine — whether from an Apollo CSV export, a HubSpot list, a spreadsheet, or manual entry.

Import is designed to be fast and forgiving. You upload a file, map your columns, preview the results, and confirm. Summit53 handles deduplication, validation, and ICP scoring automatically.

Supported File Formats

Summit53 accepts:

  • CSV (.csv) — the most common format, used by Apollo, LinkedIn Sales Navigator exports, and most CRM tools
  • Excel (.xlsx, .xls) — for spreadsheets with multiple sheets, Summit53 lets you select which sheet to import

Preset Column Mappings

To speed up repeated imports, Summit53 includes preset mappings for popular data sources:

  • Apollo — auto-maps Apollo's default export columns (First Name, Last Name, Title, Company, Email, LinkedIn URL, City, State, Country, Industry, Employee Count, etc.)
  • HubSpot — maps HubSpot contact export fields including lifecycle stage, lead status, and company properties
  • LinkedIn Sales Navigator — maps the standard Sales Navigator CSV export format
  • Custom — manually map any column in your file to any Summit53 lead field. You can save custom mappings for reuse.

When you select a preset, Summit53 auto-matches columns by header name. Any columns that don't match are left unmapped — you can assign them manually or skip them.

Column Mapping

The mapping interface shows a two-column layout:

  • Left side — your file's column headers with a preview of the first few values
  • Right side — Summit53 lead fields available for mapping

Required fields are marked with an asterisk. At minimum, you need:

  • First Name and Last Name (or a single Full Name field)
  • Email or LinkedIn URL — at least one contact method
  • Company — for ICP matching and deduplication

Validation Preview

Before committing the import, Summit53 shows a validation preview:

  • Total rows — how many leads will be imported
  • Valid rows — rows that pass all validation checks
  • Warnings — rows with minor issues (missing optional fields, unusual formatting) that will still import
  • Errors — rows that cannot be imported (missing required fields, invalid email format). These are skipped and available for download so you can fix and re-import them.
  • Duplicates detected — leads that match existing records by email or LinkedIn URL

Duplicate Handling

Summit53 checks every incoming lead against your existing database using email address and LinkedIn URL as match keys. When a duplicate is found, you choose how to handle it:

  • Skip — don't import the duplicate (default)
  • Update — overwrite the existing record with the new data
  • Create new — import as a separate lead (useful if the same person is being targeted for a different campaign)

You can set the duplicate strategy globally for the entire import or review duplicates individually.

Automatic ICP Scoring

After import, Summit53 automatically scores each lead against your ICP criteria and assigns a Fit Rating (Excellent, Good, Medium, or Low). The scoring considers:

  • Industry match
  • Company size (employee count or revenue)
  • Title seniority and function
  • Geographic fit
  • Technology stack (if available from enrichment data)

Leads that score Excellent or Good are automatically assigned to Tier 1 or Tier 2 for higher-priority outreach. You can adjust these thresholds in Settings.

What Happens After Import

Once confirmed, imported leads appear in the Leads view at the Imported stage. From there you can:

  • Review Fit Ratings and adjust tiers
  • Enrol leads in a sequence to start outreach
  • Filter and sort to prioritise your highest-value targets

In the Figure-Eight model, this is the very top of the Acquisition loop — the "Import" node where new contacts enter the Revenue Engine for the first time.

Manual Lead Entry

Don't have a CSV? You can add leads one at a time using the Add Lead button. Fill in the contact details, assign a tier and fit rating, and the lead enters at the Imported stage just like a CSV import.

Manual entry is useful for adding referrals, conference contacts, or leads from sources that don't export cleanly.

Import History

The Import tab keeps a log of all previous imports with:

  • Date and time of import
  • Source file name
  • Number of leads imported, skipped, and errored
  • Mapping preset used

You can re-download any error file to fix and re-import leads that failed validation.