Prevent Duplicate Leads When Importing Leads as Campaign Members in Salesforce

This article explains how to prevent duplicate Leads when importing Leads directly as Campaign Members in Salesforce, using Duplicate Management (Matching Rules and Duplicate Rules) so the import is blocked when a Lead with a matching Last Name already exists.

Before You Start

Note: Prepare an Excel file that covers the data needed on the Lead object (for example, Owner, Last Name, and Lead Status are required fields).

Step 1: Create a Matching Rule

Go to:

In Salesforce Classic: Setup | Data Management | Duplicate Management | Matching Rules
In Lightning Experience: Setup | Data | Duplicate Management | Matching Rules

1. Click New Rule.
2. Select Lead as the object, then click Next.
3. Enter a Rule Name and Unique Name.
4. For Matching Criteria, select Last Name in the Field box and Exact for the Matching Method (Last Name is required on Lead).
5. Save.
6. Activate the Matching Rule.

Note: You can add more fields depending on your requirement. In this example, only Leads that share the same Last Name are prevented.

Step 2: Create a Duplicate Rule

Go to:

In Salesforce Classic: Setup | Data Management | Duplicate Management | Duplicate Rules
In Lightning Experience: Setup | Data | Duplicate Management | Duplicate Rules

1. Click the New Rule dropdown and select Lead.
2. Enter a Rule Name.
3. Select a Record-Level Security setting.
4. Specify an action (for example, Action on Create | Allow | Alert and Report).
5. Under Matching Rules, select Leads for "Compare Leads With".
6. Set Matching Rule to the Lead matching rule you created in Step 1.
7. Confirm the field mapping is correct (a yellow exclamation icon means incorrect mapping; green means correct).
8. Set Conditions with the criteria Campaign: Campaign Name NOT EQUAL TO null so the rule only applies to Leads associated with a Campaign.
9. Save and activate the Duplicate Rule.

Step 3: Import Leads into a Campaign

On an existing Campaign record:

1. Click the Manage Members dropdown and select Add Members - Import File.
2. Click Import Leads to open the Lead Import Wizard.
3. On Step 6, click Choose File and select the Excel file you prepared for import.
4. Complete the remaining steps as needed, then click Next.
5. Verify the field mapping is correct, then click Next.
6. Click Import Now.

Salesforce shows a message that the import is in progress. You can check its status under Setup | Monitor | Imports.

What Happens When a Duplicate Is Found

Because Duplicate Management is active, the import process still finishes, but you receive an email stating that specific rows failed with a validation error when the system detects a duplicate Last Name for a Lead. A sample notification looks like this:

===============================================
Salesforce.com import of file Lead Import.csv has finished, processed 3 lines

Salesforce.com has just completed your import process!

Result:
Total records processed: 2
Leads created: 0
Campaign Members created: 0

Lead Validation Errors: 2
Line 2: You're creating a duplicate record. We recommend you use an existing record instead.
Line 3: You're creating a duplicate record. We recommend you use an existing record instead.

We strongly recommend that you check a few of your imported records to verify that your information was imported as expected.

If you encounter any problems or have any questions, contact us by clicking Salesforce Help at the top right of any salesforce.com page and choose the My Cases tab.

Thank you!

Customer Support
salesforce.com
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Related Idea

Include Record Type as a field option for Matching Rules