Export and Sync to Salesforce

This article explains how to export contacts, leads, and accounts from Cognism to Salesforce. It also explains how deduplication works during export.

By understanding export options and deduplication logic, you can ensure records are created or updated accurately in Salesforce.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure:

• Your Salesforce integration is enabled 
• Data import (bi-directional sync) is enabled 
• Your field mappings are configured 

Without these settings, you cannot export or sync records to Salesforce.

Choose export object type (Lead or Contact and Account)

In both the Cognism web app and the Cognism Chrome extension, you can choose how records are created in Salesforce.

When exporting, select one of the following:

• Lead – creates a Lead record in Salesforce  
• Contact and Account – creates or updates a Contact and associated Account  

Your selection determines which Salesforce objects are created or updated during export.

Understand export and sync deduplication

Salesforce uses advanced deduplication rules. During export from Cognism, matching checks identify whether a record already exists in Salesforce.

Lead matching

Leads are matched using:

• Email address 
• First name + last name + city 

Contact matching

Contacts are matched using:

• Email address 
• First name + last name + company 

Account matching

Accounts are matched using:

• Domain 
• Domain contained within website 
• Company name + city 
• Company name 

What happens if a match is found?

• If Cognism identifies an existing record, the export updates that record based on your update rule settings in Integration Settings. 
• If Cognism does not identify a match but Salesforce does, the export still updates the existing record using your update rule settings. 

Export from a list

1. Go to Lists in the left-hand navigation panel.  
2. Click the name of the list you want to export. 
3. Select the contacts you want to export. 
4. Click Export selection.  
5. Click Export.  
6. Select Salesforce. 

7. Choose whether to export as Lead or Contact or Account. Additionally, you can also add to a specific campaign.

   

8. Review the data you wish to export, then click export to action.

The selected records will sync to Salesforce.

Export from the Cognism Chrome extension

Note: You must reveal a contact before you can view their contact data or export them. Revealed contacts can then be added to a list or exported.

1. Open the Cognism Chrome extension on a contact profile. 
2. Reveal the contact (this uses a credit). 
3. Click Export.  
4. Select Salesforce.  
5. Choose whether to export as Lead or Contact and Account.  
6. Confirm the export. 

Export from search results

Note: You must spend a credit to reveal contact data before you can add contacts to a list or export them.

1. Select the contact or contacts you want to export. 
2. Reveal the selected contacts. 
3. Click Export.  
4. Select Salesforce. 
5. Choose whether to export as Lead or Contact and Account. 
6. Review the associated contacts/accounts.
7. Click Export

Export from an individual contact profile

Note: You must reveal the contact before exporting. This uses a credit.

1. Open the contact profile. 
2. Reveal the contact. 
3. Click Export in the top right.  
4. Select Salesforce. 
5. Choose whether to export as Lead or Contact and Account. 
6. Review and select the associated contacts/accounts.
7. Confirm the export. 

View CRM status in search

If your Salesforce integration is active, you can see whether a record already exists in Salesforce.

In search results

• Hover over the Salesforce icon to view record status 
• If the record exists, a hyperlink appears 
• Click the hyperlink to open the record in Salesforce 

In the contact profile

• Go to the CRM info section  
• View the Salesforce status of the record 

In the Cognism Chrome extension

• Open the extension on a contact profile 
• View the Salesforce record status directly 

Access exported and synced records in Salesforce

To view exported records in Salesforce:

1. Log in to Salesforce. 
2. Navigate to Leads or Contacts, depending on your export selection.  
3. Records exported as Leads appear in the Lead object  
4. Records exported as Contact and Account appear in the Contact object and are associated with an Account