Pipedrive is good at moving deals through a pipeline. Where teams get stuck is everything before that: where raw leads go, how to import a list without creating a mess, and how to know which channel a lead came from.
This guide covers the full lead workflow in Pipedrive: the Leads Inbox vs deals, importing leads from a spreadsheet, tracking lead source, qualifying, exporting, and keeping the inbox filled with leads worth calling.
Pipedrive changes its menus from time to time, so if a label below does not match your screen exactly, look for the closest equivalent - the workflow stays the same.
Disclosure: Needle, mentioned in the lead generation section, is our product.
Leads vs deals in Pipedrive
Pipedrive keeps two separate places for opportunities, and using them correctly is the foundation for everything else.
| Lead | Deal | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it lives | Leads Inbox | A pipeline, in a stage |
| What it means | Someone who might buy; not qualified yet | A qualified opportunity you are actively working |
| Counts toward forecast | No | Yes |
| Typical sources | Imports, web forms, chat, prospecting, integrations | Converted leads, direct qualified inquiries |
| What happens next | Qualify, then convert to a deal or archive | Move through stages to won or lost |
The rule that keeps your pipeline honest: nothing enters a pipeline until it passes a qualification step. Imported lists, cold prospects, and inbound inquiries all start as leads. A reply, a booked call, or a clear buying signal is what turns a lead into a deal.
If you put unqualified contacts straight into the pipeline, your stage conversion rates and forecast stop meaning anything.
How to import leads into Pipedrive
Step 1: Prepare the file
Most import problems start in the spreadsheet, not in Pipedrive. Before you upload:
- One row per lead. If one person appears twice, merge the rows first.
- Separate columns for person name, email, phone, organization name, lead title, and lead source.
- Consistent organization names. "Acme", "Acme Inc." and "ACME Inc" can become three organizations.
- Clean emails. Trim spaces and remove obviously invalid addresses. A quick pass through an email validator helps if the list came from a third party.
- A lead title. Every lead needs a title; a pattern like "Company - source" makes the inbox readable.
- Lead source on every row. Add the column now, even if every row has the same value. It is far harder to backfill later.
Pipedrive accepts CSV and Excel files.
Step 2: Run the import
- Open Pipedrive's import tool: Tools and apps > Import data > From a spreadsheet.
- Upload your file.
- Choose leads as the record type you are importing, so rows land in the Leads Inbox rather than your pipeline.
- Map each column to a Pipedrive field. Map person and organization columns to the person and organization fields so they link to the lead, and map your lead source column to your source field.
- Choose how to handle duplicates. When asked, merge with existing people and organizations rather than creating new ones.
- Run the import and review the summary for skipped or failed rows.
Step 3: Test before the full import
Import 10-20 rows first. Open a few of the new leads and check that the person, organization, owner, and source are all correct. It takes five minutes and saves you from cleaning up hundreds of bad records.
If an import goes wrong, Pipedrive's import history lets you review past imports and, in many cases, revert one. Check that before you start deleting records by hand.
Other ways to get leads in
- Web forms and chat: Pipedrive's LeadBooster add-on includes forms, a chatbot, and live chat that create leads directly.
- Email: leads can be created from emails in a synced inbox.
- Integrations and API: most lead generation tools connect through the Pipedrive Marketplace, the API, or an automation tool like Zapier or Make. Through the API, a lead must be linked to a person or an organization, so create or look up that record first.
- LinkedIn: see our guide to syncing LinkedIn and Sales Navigator to Pipedrive.
How to track lead source in Pipedrive
Lead source answers the only marketing question that matters early: which channel produces leads that turn into revenue?
Use the built-in source fields if you have them
Newer Pipedrive accounts include built-in source fields on leads and deals. One records how the record was created (for example, manually, by import, or through the API), and one records the marketing channel. Check your lead detail view to see which ones your account has.
Add a custom Lead Source field if they do not cover your channels
- Go to Settings > Data fields and open the fields for leads.
- Add a single-option field called Lead Source. Single-option keeps values consistent; free-text fields fill up with typos.
- Add one option per channel you actually use, for example:
Community - RedditCommunity - Hacker NewsLinkedIn outboundWebsite formProduct Hunt launchStartup directoryReferral
- Make sure the same field exists on deals and carries over when you convert, so you can report on source all the way to won revenue.
Set the source everywhere a lead is created
- Imports: map your source column to the field.
- Forms: add the source as a hidden or default value.
- Integrations: set the source in the integration or automation step, or tag leads with a label and update the field in bulk.
- Manual entry: make the field required for your team.
A source value is only useful if every lead has one. Review your leads with an empty source once a week.
Carry UTM parameters into the lead source
For leads that arrive through your website, UTM parameters tell you which link sent them. The setup is three steps:
- Tag every link you share. Use the same lowercase values every time, for example
utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=community&utm_campaign=launch-oct. The free UTM builder generates these links. - Capture the values in your form. Most form tools can read UTM parameters from the page URL into hidden fields. Pass at least
utm_sourceandutm_mediumalong with the lead. - Map them to your Lead Source options. Keep a small lookup, such as
reddit+community→Community - Reddit, and apply it in the form integration or automation that creates the lead. If you also keep the rawutm_campaignvalue in a text field, you can compare individual campaigns later without adding more Lead Source options.
Our UTM tagging SOP covers a naming scheme that stays clean as the number of campaigns grows.
How to qualify leads in the Leads Inbox
Use labels for temperature
Pipedrive leads have labels, and new accounts start with simple Hot, Warm, and Cold labels. Keep the definitions written down so the whole team uses them the same way:
- Hot: explicit buying signal - asked for a recommendation, requested a demo, or replied with interest.
- Warm: fits your ideal customer profile and has the problem, but no buying signal yet.
- Cold: fits on paper, no engagement.
Decide your conversion bar
Pick one or two concrete criteria that turn a lead into a deal, such as "replied and agreed to a call" or "described a budget or timeline". Write them down. When a lead meets them, convert it to a deal, and the deal enters your pipeline at the first stage.
Clean the inbox weekly
Leads that sit untouched for weeks bury the good ones. Once a week, convert, archive, or assign every lead older than seven days. An inbox you can scan in two minutes gets worked; one with 900 leads gets ignored.
How to export leads from Pipedrive
To pull leads into a spreadsheet for cleanup, an audit, or an email tool:
- Open the Leads Inbox.
- Filter the list (for example, by source, label, or owner).
- Use the export option on the list view to download the filtered results as CSV or Excel.
Account admins can also export every lead at once from Pipedrive's data export option. Menu labels change between Pipedrive versions, so if you cannot find it, search "export" in Pipedrive's help center.
Only export what you need. A filtered export of 200 hot leads is useful; a full dump of every contact rarely is.
If you need leads in a spreadsheet on a schedule rather than once, a sync connector or Pipedrive's API is less work than repeating manual exports.
Pipedrive lead generation: keeping the inbox full
A clean process does nothing if the Leads Inbox is empty. The leads that convert best are people who are already looking for a solution.
Inbound
Make it easy for interested visitors to become leads: a clear demo or contact form, chat on high-intent pages like pricing, and forms that set the source automatically.
Outbound lists
Bought or scraped lists fill the inbox quickly but convert poorly. If you use them, import them as leads (never as deals), label them Cold, and qualify with outreach before anything enters the pipeline. For finding the right contact at a target company, our company email finder works from a domain.
Community and social intent
People ask for tool recommendations in public every day on Reddit, Hacker News, Stack Overflow, and similar communities. These are some of the warmest leads available, because the person has described the problem in their own words.
Needle (ours) searches those communities, ranks posts by buying intent, and with the Pipedrive integration creates a lead in your Leads Inbox for each alert. Each lead is titled with the alert and has the thread summary and link as its note. Needle creates leads only; it does not read or change your deals, and it does not add contact details, because community posts rarely include them. Your team follows up in the thread or through its own research.
Set your Lead Source value (for example, Community - Reddit) on these leads so you can compare them against other channels. Our step-by-step Needle and Pipedrive workflow walks through the setup and a weekly follow-up rhythm.
A weekly Pipedrive lead routine
| When | Task |
|---|---|
| Daily, 15 min | Scan new leads; reply to anything Hot the same day |
| Twice a week | Work Warm leads with personalized outreach |
| Weekly | Convert, archive, or reassign leads older than seven days; fill in missing sources |
| Monthly | Report on leads, deals, and won revenue by source; cut or double down on channels |
The monthly report is where the setup pays off. When every lead has a source, you can see exactly which channel produces customers, not just activity.