Got a CSV file with company names, domains, or LinkedIn URLs—but no people yet? You can still use it to find leads in lemlist.
In this workflow, you’ll import your CSV into a company list, use that list as a filter in the People database, and then push matching people to either a contact list or directly into a campaign.
Learning objective
By the end of this tutorial, you’ll know how to turn a company-only CSV into a list of people you can contact in lemlist, and how to send those people to contacts or campaigns.
Why this matters
Campaigns in lemlist work with people, not company records. So if your starting point is a list of companies, this process helps you discover the relevant contacts inside those companies and move them into your outreach workflow.
Important: You can’t import a company list directly into a campaign. Campaigns require people records, which is why you first need to search for matching leads in the People database.
What you’ll need
A CSV file containing company data
At minimum, a company name column
Optional but helpful: company domain and LinkedIn URL
Core lesson: import companies, find people, and push them to outreach
Phase 1: Prepare your company CSV
Create a CSV with one row per company.
Your file can contain only company data. A simple structure is:
company name
company domain
linkedin URL
This helps lemlist match and organize the companies more accurately. You can add as many info about company as you have.
Phase 2: Create a company list and import your CSV
Go to Companies in the left sidebar, then create a new company list. This gives you a dedicated place to store the companies from your CSV before using them as a filter in lead search.
Click Create company list and name your list. This is useful if you want to keep imported accounts separate by project, campaign, market, or client.
Open the new empty list and click Import new companies. This starts the import flow for that specific list.
Select CSV import, then upload your file by clicking the upload area or dragging and dropping the CSV. This tells lemlist you’re importing your own company data rather than searching manually.
Map your CSV columns to the correct company fields, such as Name, Domain, and LinkedIn URL, then push the records to companies. Correct field mapping improves matching and makes the next filtering step much easier.
Phase 3: Use the company list to find matching people
Go to People database and make sure you’re on the People tab. This is where lemlist searches for person-level leads connected to your imported companies.
In the Company filter section, find Company lists and click the + icon. This lets you filter people based on the company list you just imported.
Search for your company list and select it from the dropdown. Once applied, lemlist will show people associated with the companies in that list.
Phase 4: Select leads and push them to contacts or a campaign
Select all matching people or only the ones you want, then choose Push to contacts or Push to campaign.
Use Push to contacts if you want to review or organize leads first. Use Push to campaign if your people are ready to enter outreach right away.
Practical example
Let’s say you have a CSV of 300 target SaaS companies from an event list or account-based sales project. Instead of trying to upload those companies into a campaign, you:
import them into a company list,
filter the People database by that list,
find decision-makers working at those companies,
and push the resulting people into contacts or directly into a campaign.
This is the best approach when your starting data is account-based rather than contact-based.
Best practices
Include company domain whenever possible for better matching accuracy.
Add LinkedIn URLs if you have them, especially for companies with similar names.
Start by pushing leads to contacts if you want to review them before launching outreach.
Use a clear naming convention for company lists, such as campaign name, ICP, market, or date.
Troubleshooting and common pitfalls
Issue: I can’t add my company CSV directly to a campaign
Root cause: Campaigns require people, not company records.
Fix:
Import the CSV into a company list first.
Go to People database.
Filter by Company lists.
Select people from the results and then push them to your campaign.
Issue: My imported company list shows no people
Root cause: The imported companies may not have matching person records available in the database, or the filter may not be applied yet.
Fix:
Confirm your company list was imported successfully.
Make sure you selected the correct list under Company lists.
Improve your CSV quality by adding company domains and LinkedIn URLs where possible.
Issue: My CSV imports, but company matching seems weak
Root cause: Company names alone can be ambiguous.
Fix:
Add a company domain column.
Add a LinkedIn URL column.
Double-check your field mapping during import.
Issue: I’m not ready to launch a campaign yet
Root cause: You may want to review or enrich leads first.
Fix:
Use Push to contacts instead of Push to campaign.
Organize, review, or enrich your contacts before adding them to a live sequence.
Quick recap
Upload your company-only CSV into a company list.
Go to the People database.
Apply the Company lists filter.
Select matching people.
Push them to contacts or directly to a campaign.
If you start with companies, this is the fastest way to turn account data into campaign-ready leads in lemlist.