How to Export Contacts from Salesflare

Managing your customer relationship management (CRM) data is crucial for any business. Whether you're creating a backup, migrating to a new system, or running in-depth analysis, knowing how to export your contacts is a fundamental skill. At Add to CRM, we're experts in CRM data, and this guide will walk you through the complete process of exporting your contacts from Salesflare. We'll also explore how you can go beyond simple exports to build fresh, verified contact databases that fuel your sales pipeline.

Why Export Contacts from Salesflare?

Exporting your contact data isn't just for switching CRMs. There are several strategic reasons why you might need a local copy of your Salesflare contacts:

• Data Backup: Regularly exporting your data creates a secure backup, protecting you from accidental deletion or data loss.
• CRM Migration: If you're moving to a different CRM, an export is the first step in transferring your valuable contact information.
• In-depth Analysis: Exported data can be used in tools like Excel or Google Sheets for custom reporting, sales forecasting, and performance analysis that may go beyond your CRM's built-in capabilities.
• Data Cleaning: Working with a spreadsheet can make it easier to perform bulk updates, merge duplicates, and clean up your data before re-importing it.
• Compliance: Some regulations may require you to maintain accessible archives of your customer data.

Before You Export: Important Considerations

Before you click the export button, it's important to understand a few key aspects of the process.

Data Privacy and Compliance

Exporting customer data doesn't exempt you from privacy regulations like GDPR or CCPA. You are still responsible for protecting the personal information in your exported files. Ensure you handle the data securely and only use it for legitimate, compliant purposes.

What Data Gets Exported

Salesflare allows you to export your contacts, accounts, and opportunities. The export file will contain all the related data for the records you've selected. You can choose to export a default set of columns or all available data columns, giving you control over the information you extract.

Export Limitations

While Salesflare offers a straightforward export process, it's always a good practice to be aware of potential limitations, such as file size or the number of records you can export at one time. For large databases, you may need to export data in batches. Always refer to Salesflare's official documentation for the most current information on export limits.

Step-by-Step Export Process

Exporting from Salesflare is a simple process. Here’s how to do it.

Preparing for Export

For a clean export, we recommend a quick review of your data. Ensure your contacts are correctly categorized and that the data you need is present and accurate. While Salesflare's export is direct, having clean source data always yields a better result.

Exporting Contacts from Salesflare

Follow these simple steps to get your data out of Salesflare:

1. Log in to your Salesflare account.
2. Navigate to the Contacts section using the left-hand sidebar.
   
3. In the top right corner of the contacts list, click the three-dot menu icon.
   
4. From the dropdown menu, select Export.
   
5. A dialog box will appear. Here, you can choose your desired file format and which data columns to include.
6. Click the final Export button to download the file to your computer.

Export Format Options

Salesflare provides two primary formats for your export:

• CSV (Comma-Separated Values): This is a universal format that can be opened by almost any spreadsheet program or data analysis tool. It's the best choice for migrating data to another system.
• Excel (XLSX): This format is ideal if you plan to work with the data directly in Microsoft Excel.

Working with Exported Data

Once you have your file, the work isn't over. Proper handling ensures the data remains useful.

Understanding Your Export File

Open your downloaded file in a spreadsheet program like Excel or Google Sheets. Each row will represent a contact, and each column will correspond to a data field from Salesflare, such as name, email, phone number, and any custom fields you selected.

Data Cleaning and Validation

This is a great opportunity to clean your data. Look for inconsistencies, merge duplicate entries, and standardize formatting. If you're using a CSV file in Excel and the data appears in a single column, use the "Text to Columns" feature (under the Data tab) and select "Comma" as the delimiter to properly format your sheet.

Common Issues and Solutions

The most common issue users face is improper formatting when opening a CSV file in certain versions of Excel. As mentioned above, the "Text to Columns" tool is the perfect solution to separate your data correctly into columns.

Alternative Export Methods

For more advanced or automated needs, Salesflare offers an API (Application Programming Interface). This allows developers to build custom integrations that can pull data from your CRM on a schedule or based on specific triggers, offering more flexibility than manual exports.

Building Fresh Contact Databases with LinkFlare

Exporting your existing data is great for backups and analysis, but what about growth? Your exported list is a snapshot of the past, and data can become outdated quickly. For active sales and marketing, you need a constant flow of fresh, accurate contacts. This is where our Chrome extension, LinkFlare, comes in.

Why Fresh Data Beats Exported Data

Contact data decays over time. People change jobs, companies switch domains, and email addresses become inactive. An exported list from six months ago might have a high bounce rate today. In contrast, LinkFlare finds verified contact information directly from LinkedIn profiles, ensuring you have the most current, relevant data for your outreach.

How LinkFlare Complements Your Export Strategy

LinkFlare is a Chrome extension that finds verified contact information from LinkedIn profiles and adds them directly to Salesflare. Instead of just managing the data you already have, you can actively build new, high-quality lead lists. Use your exported data for analysis and backups, but use LinkFlare to enrich that data and drive new business with prospects who are active on LinkedIn right now.

Best Practices for Contact Data Management

Effective data management is an ongoing process. Here are a few best practices to follow.

Regular Export Schedules

We recommend exporting your contacts for backup purposes at least once a month, or quarterly at a minimum. Set a recurring calendar reminder to ensure it gets done consistently.

Data Security and Storage

Store your exported files in a secure, access-controlled location, such as an encrypted hard drive or a secure cloud storage folder. Never leave sensitive customer data on an unprotected device.

Keeping Data Current

Your CRM is only as good as the data inside it. Regularly review and clean your contacts. To keep your database fresh, use tools like LinkFlare to add new, verified leads directly from LinkedIn, ensuring your sales team is always working with the best possible information.

Common Export Use Cases

Here are a few practical scenarios where exporting your Salesflare data is essential.

CRM Migration

When moving to a new CRM, your exported contact file is the bridge that carries your data from the old system to the new one.

Data Analysis and Reporting

Use your exported data to build custom dashboards in business intelligence tools or perform deep-dive analysis in Excel to uncover sales trends and opportunities.

Team Distribution

Need to provide a specific list of contacts to a sales team member or an external partner? Exporting a filtered list is the quickest way to do it.

Compliance and Auditing

Exports provide a clear, time-stamped record of your contact database, which can be essential for compliance checks and internal audits.

Building Your Next Contact Database

While exporting is a key data management task, building your next high-value contact list is what drives revenue. LinkFlare offers a modern, efficient way to do this by turning LinkedIn into your primary source for verified leads.

Getting Started with LinkFlare

It only takes a few minutes to get started:

1. Install the LinkFlare extension from the Chrome Web Store.
2. Navigate to a prospect's LinkedIn profile.
3. Use the extension to find their verified email and other contact information.
4. Click "Add to CRM" to send the contact directly to Salesflare, no copy-pasting required.

LinkFlare vs Traditional Data Sources

Compared to a static, exported list or a purchased database, the data you get with LinkFlare is more accurate and up-to-date. You're getting information directly from the source—a user's professional profile—which dramatically reduces bounce rates and connects you with the right person.

Conclusion

Knowing how to export your contacts from Salesflare is an essential skill for data backup, migration, and analysis. The process is quick and straightforward, giving you full control over your data. However, managing existing data is only half the battle.

To truly accelerate your growth, you need a powerful tool to build and refresh your contact database with new, verified leads. LinkFlare saves your team hours of prospecting time and ensures you're always working with the most accurate data available. Stop chasing stale leads and start building a better pipeline today.

Ready to supercharge your prospecting? Try LinkFlare for free and start adding verified leads to Salesflare in one click.