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How to migrate from Smartlead to FirstSales

Move your leads, mailboxes, and sequences off Smartlead into FirstSales with a clean CSV import, reconnected inboxes, and a fresh warm-up.

Tutorials
Getting Started
min read
10 min
steps
7 · Intermediate

  1. Export your leads from Smartlead

    In Smartlead, open your leads — either from a single campaign or the master leads list — and use its export-to-CSV option to download everything to a .csv file. Grab every column you use for personalization; you'll map them in the next step.

  2. Open the FirstSales contact importer

    Go to Contacts, choose an existing list or create a new one, and open Import. The wizard walks you through upload → map → import.

    Open the FirstSales contact importer

  3. Upload the CSV and map columns

    Drop your Smartlead export — files up to 5 MB and 10,000 rows per import are supported. FirstSales auto-maps common headers; confirm the rest against the field list: email (required), firstName/lastName/fullName, title, phone, linkedinUrl, company.name/company.domain, and tags (semicolon-separated). Set anything you don't need to Skip.

  4. Run the import and verify the counts

    Confirm the import. FirstSales reports how many rows were imported, duplicates, and skipped so you can see the full list landed before you move on.

  5. Reconnect your sending mailboxes

    Go to Connectors → Add Connector and reconnect the same domains you sent from in Smartlead. Google and Microsoft connect with one OAuth click; any other provider connects over SMTP / IMAP with host, port, and app password.

    Reconnect your sending mailboxes

  6. Start warm-up before you send

    Open each reconnected connector's Warm Up tab and switch it on; leave auto-adjust on to ramp volume for you. See the Set up email warm-up tutorial for the full walkthrough.

    Start warm-up before you send

  7. Rebuild your sequence in the campaign builder

    Create a campaign and fill in the required pieces: name, goal, audience (your imported list), an email content source, a sender (your warmed connector), and an approval flow. Re-type your Smartlead sequence steps as the content source, then launch only once warm-up is healthy.

Pro tips

  • Warm up before you blast

    Reputation does not come across in the CSV: a reconnected mailbox is a cold mailbox to inbox providers. Run warm-up for at least 2 weeks before pointing real campaigns at it, or you'll tank deliverability on day one.

  • Keep your domains: just re-authenticate

    You don't need new domains. Reconnect the same sending domains and re-confirm SPF/DKIM/DMARC in the connector; your DNS records carry over, only the platform connection is new.

  • Clean while you map

    Use Skip on junk columns and split full names into firstName/lastName where you can: personalization tokens read from these fields, so a clean import means better first lines.

  • Import in batches under 10,000

    The importer caps at 10,000 rows / 5 MB per file. Split a large Smartlead export into multiple CSVs rather than forcing one oversized file.

Frequently asked questions

Will my warm-up reputation transfer from Smartlead?

No. Warm-up reputation lives with the mailbox/domain's sending history, not the platform, and it isn't exportable. Reconnect the mailbox and run FirstSales warm-up fresh for 2+ weeks before real sends.

Can I keep my existing sending domains?

Yes. Reconnect the same domains and re-verify SPF/DKIM/DMARC in the connector — the DNS records stay; only the platform link changes.

Is there a one-click Smartlead importer?

No — migration is a manual CSV export → CSV import plus mailbox reconnect. That's by design and takes about 10 minutes.

How many contacts can I import at once?

Up to 10,000 rows and 5 MB per file. Split larger exports into multiple imports into the same list.

Which mailbox types can I reconnect?

Google and Microsoft via OAuth, or any other provider via SMTP / IMAP with host, port, and app password.

Do my Smartlead sequences import automatically?

No — rebuild the sequence in the campaign builder. It's quick: paste your existing steps as the email content source and set audience + sender.

Will I double-contact people I already emailed in Smartlead?

Manage this on your side — import only the contacts you intend to (re)touch, and use list/tag segmentation. FirstSales de-dupes within an import and reports duplicates, but it doesn't know your Smartlead send history.

Getting Started

Outreach that keeps going after you log off.Leads, emails, follow-ups and replies, handled.

Connect unlimited mailboxes and let AI agents find leads, write each email and follow up. Or send your own templates in manual mode. From $29/mo.

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Install with AI

Your coding agent sets up the FirstSales CLI and skills for you.

Prompt for Claude Code

I'm setting up FirstSales (https://firstsales.io), an AI outbound sales platform: campaigns, contacts, a reply inbox, deliverability and lead signals. Help me get my workspace sending real, good emails end to end, from Claude Code.

Read these first so you know how FirstSales works:
- Developer docs and API: https://developer.firstsales.io
- CLI: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@firstsales.io/cli
- Skills for coding agents: https://github.com/firstsalesio/firstsales-skills (read README.md and GUIDE.md)

Setup
1. Install the CLI: npm install -g @firstsales.io/cli
2. Install the FirstSales skills:
   claude plugin marketplace add firstsalesio/firstsales-skills
   claude plugin install firstsales@firstsales
3. Ask me if I already have a FirstSales account. If not, send me to https://app.firstsales.io to sign up.
4. Ask me to create an API key under Settings → API → API Keys, with only the scopes we need.
   Never ask me to paste the key into this chat. Tell me to run this in my own terminal, so the key stays hidden:
   read -rs FS_KEY && firstsales auth login --api-key "$FS_KEY"; unset FS_KEY
5. Run `firstsales whoami` and tell me which workspace and organisation we are connected to.

Then ask me about my business: what I sell, who I sell to (roles, company size, countries), my best customers, and what I use today for outbound (tools, lists, mailboxes). Walk me through:
1. Teaching FirstSales my business: website, offer, proof points and case studies in the knowledge base, so the AI writes like someone who knows the product.
2. Connecting my sending mailboxes and checking my sending domain: SPF, DKIM, DMARC and warm-up. If anything is unhealthy, tell me the exact DNS record to add.
3. Bringing in contacts: import my CSV or CRM export into a clean list, remove duplicates and bad emails, and block domains I must never email (customers, competitors, my own).
4. Building my first campaign: the right list, senders, steps and timing. Write the sequence with me, show me the drafts, and do not launch until I say yes.
5. Setting up Signals if it fits: find people engaging with LinkedIn posts about topics my buyers care about, and turn them into leads.
6. Inviting my team and giving each person the right access.

Once campaigns run, show me how to work the reply inbox from here: which replies need an answer, draft responses in my voice, and move good conversations into deals. If I use Cal.com, connect it so follow-ups can offer my booking link (not the first email).

Throughout, as you learn about my business, proactively suggest and help create:
- Reply templates for the questions and objections my prospects are likely to raise, based on my product, site and codebase if you can see them.
- Campaign ideas and segments worth testing, with the reason for each.

Safety rules:
- Show every change as a dry run (--dry-run) first and wait for my yes. Never send emails, launch campaigns or delete anything without my yes.
- Tell me before anything that spends credits, and how many.

Be opinionated. If the docs give a sensible default, just use it. Don't make me choose between five options.
Developer docs ↗npm: @firstsales.io/cli ↗GitHub: firstsales-skills ↗