Prospect Import Flow
The Lists feature lets you upload external prospect lists and assign them directly to your active campaigns.
Best for: conference attendees, webinar sign-ups, free trial users, or any custom list.
Note: Make sure you have at least one active campaign ready before starting. → How to set up a campaign
Step-by-Step
Step 1: In the left sidebar, click Lists → + Create list.
Step 2: An "Import from" modal opens with 4 options — select Prospects list ("Import a list of LinkedIn URLs or prospect and company names") and click Next.
On the Upload List screen that opens next, you'll fill in the upload box and the fields below it, in this order:
Step 3: Upload your CSV (click to upload or drag and drop).
File format: CSV only, max 6MB.
Fields needed: only the LinkedIn URL or Prospect and company name columns. Extra columns won't affect the import. If you see a "file too large" error, delete extra columns — no need to split the file.
Enrichment: if you import with Prospect and company names (no LinkedIn URL), Spear enriches the list to find each prospect's LinkedIn profile — first via Vetric, and now also via Apollo as a second pass when Vetric doesn't find a match. Expect roughly 10-20% more LinkedIn URLs found than before.
Step 4: Enter a List name.
Step 5: Choose the Identifier type — LinkedIn URLs or Prospect and company names, matching your CSV columns.
Step 6: Select the column in your CSV that contains the LinkedIn URLs (or full name). Spear shows how many prospects it found (e.g. "11 prospects found") and confirms upfront how many import credits that will use.
Note: If you select "Prospect and company names", ensure you provide a column with the prospect's full name (first and last name combined). If separate, use: =CONCAT(A2, " ", B2) where A2 = first name, B2 = last name.
Step 7: Choose whether to filter by ICP:
Filter by ICP: ON — Coming soon. Not available yet — this option is shown but not selectable.
Filter by ICP: OFF — all prospects go directly to creation. Only excluded companies and duplicates are blocked. This is the only option currently available.
Note on credits: Uploads draw from a monthly credits allowance (shown at the bottom of the screen, e.g. "5,000 of 5,000 credits remaining this month"). Credits are consumed per row uploaded via LinkedIn URL — the app confirms the exact number before you proceed (e.g. "11 prospects found. This action will use 11 import credits, no matter if the prospect was eventually uploaded or not."). If a row has no LinkedIn URL and Spear has to search for the prospect using their name + title/company instead, that row consumes roughly double the credits.
Step 8 — Configure Your List: Prospect handling. Choose one of three options:
Monitor prospects — behavior depends on the campaign's message type: prospects going into tailored message campaigns are monitored for a trigger; prospects going into custom message campaigns are pushed straight to Suggestions.
Push to custom message campaign — prospects are approved automatically, and the custom message already set up in the selected campaign(s) is sent to all of them.
Send personalised message — prospects are approved automatically, and a personalized message you write right there is sent to all of them.
Note: This setting cannot be changed after the list is created. If you need a different handling method, you'll need to create a new list.
Step 9 — Campaigns assignment. This screen splits your uploaded rows into three sections:
New prospects — clean entries ready to be assigned. Choose either:
Select an existing campaign(s) — prospects are evenly distributed among the campaign(s) you pick, or
Create a new list-only campaign — a brand-new campaign is created that works only with this list and won't generate other prospects automatically.
You can also check "Discard these prospects — they will not be imported" to skip a section entirely.
Existing network connections — prospects who are already in your network; assigned the same way (existing campaign(s) or discard).
Failed prospects — rows with missing identifiers or that the system couldn't match; shown separately, with a further breakdown for prospects with missing or malformed data. You can export this list as a CSV — it now includes a Failure Type column explaining why each row failed (e.g. missing identifier, no match found), so you can fix and re-upload just those rows.
Step 10: Review the upload summary — New, Existing, Duplicates, or Missing data. This is a preview only.
What happens after the upload?
Prospects don't appear in Suggestions immediately — included in the next daily push. Expected behavior, not a bug.
Monitor prospects — prospects appear in Suggestions over the following days as triggers are collected (or immediately, for custom message campaigns).
How do I rename or delete a list?
Go to Lists in the left sidebar. Find the list you want to manage and click the 3-dot menu on the right side of its row.
View list — see the prospects in that list
Rename — edit the list name
Delete — remove the list permanently
Note: The 3-dot menu only allows renaming or deleting a list. It is not possible to change the Prospect Handling or ICP filter settings after a list has been created.
Common questions
Can I change the Prospect Handling after the list is created?
No. Once a list is created, this setting cannot be changed. If you need a different method, create a new list.
How long does it take for triggers to start working after upload?
It can take a few days. If you need to start sooner, use "Push to custom message campaign" or "Send personalised message" instead of Monitor.
My uploaded prospects don't show up in Suggestions — what's wrong?
Normal. They'll be processed in the next daily push. If you selected an auto-approve handling option, they skip Suggestions entirely.
What happens to prospects with a pending connection request?
Follow-up messages are on hold until the prospect accepts. Some accept days or weeks later — worth waiting before taking action.
Import from CRM
You can also import prospects directly from your connected CRM. In Lists → + Create list, the "Import from" modal shows two separate CRM options: Salesforce and Hubspot — each described as "Connect us to the MCP of your CRM and upload lists". Select the one matching your CRM.
If that CRM isn't connected yet, selecting it takes you to Settings → Integrations, where you're prompted to connect it before continuing.
Note: To set up or manage your CRM integration directly, go to Settings → Integrations.