Can this handle duplicate contacts if I import the same sheet twice?

Yes, when 'Update existing contacts' is enabled, Make will add your event tag to existing HubSpot contacts instead of creating duplicates. The email address is used as the unique identifier.

What happens if some rows in my sheet have missing email addresses?

HubSpot will reject those contacts since email is required. Add a filter between your modules to skip rows with empty email fields, or the entire scenario will fail on the first missing email.

How many leads can I import in one batch without hitting limits?

Make can handle 100-200 contacts reliably in one run. For larger events with 500+ leads, split your sheet into multiple tabs or run separate imports to avoid timeout issues.

Will this workflow preserve custom fields I've added to HubSpot?

Yes, existing contact data remains unchanged. Only the fields you specifically map in the workflow get updated, plus your new event tag gets added to the existing tag list.

Beginner~12 min setupProductivity & CRMVerified April 2026

Event lead import — Google Sheets to HubSpot in Make

Import event leads from Google Sheets into HubSpot with custom tags and duplicate detection.

Steps and UI details are based on platform versions at time of writing — check each platform for the latest interface.

Make

Also on:Zapier N8n Power-automate Pipedream

Best for

Marketing teams that collect 50-500 leads per event and need quick import with proper tagging

Not ideal for

Single-record imports or real-time sync scenarios where leads trickle in continuously

Sync type

manual

Use case type

import

Real-World Example

💡

A SaaS startup collects 300 leads at TechCrunch Disrupt using a shared Google Sheet on iPads. Their marketing coordinator normally spends 2 hours manually copying contact info into HubSpot, often missing the event tag or creating duplicates. This workflow imports all 300 contacts in 3 minutes with the correct 'TechCrunch-2024' tag applied automatically.

What Will This Cost?

Drag the slider to your expected monthly volume.

Monthly workflow runs

/mo

505005K50K

Each platform counts differently — Zapier: 1 task per trigger. Make: 1 operation per module per record. n8n: 1 execution per run.

$30/mo if billed monthly

Pipedream

$29/mo

Basic plan

Prices shown for annual billing. Based on published pricing as of April 2026.

Estimated ROI

1000

min saved/mo

$583

labor value/mo

Free

no platform cost

Based on ~2 min manual effort per operation at $35/hr fully loaded labor cost.

Implementation

Skip the setup

Import this workflow directly into Make

Copy the pre-built Make blueprint and paste it straight into Make. All modules, filters, and field mappings are already configured — you just need to connect your accounts.

Before You Start

Make sure you have everything ready.

Google account with edit access to the event lead spreadsheet

HubSpot account with contact creation permissions

Event leads organized in Google Sheets with consistent column headers

Make account with available operations for your expected lead volume

Field Mapping

Map these fields between your apps.

Field	API Name	Description
Required
Email	`email`	Required for contact creation and duplicate detection in HubSpot

8 optional fields▸ show

First Name	`firstname`	Personalizes follow-up emails and contact records
Last Name	`lastname`	Completes contact identity for professional outreach
Company	`company`	Essential for B2B lead qualification and segmentation
Job Title	`jobtitle`	Determines decision-maker status and sales approach
Phone	`phone`	Enables direct contact for high-value leads
Website	`website`	Provides company research context for sales team
Lead Source	`hs_lead_source`	Tracks which events or booths generate best leads
Industry	`industry`	Enables industry-specific follow-up sequences

Step-by-Step Setup

Create new scenario in Make

Log into Make and click 'Create a new scenario' from the dashboard. Search for 'Google Sheets' in the apps panel and drag the Google Sheets module onto the canvas. Choose 'Search Rows' as the module type. This will pull all your event leads from the sheet in one batch operation.

Connect your Google account

Click 'Create a connection' in the Google Sheets module. Sign in with the Google account that owns your event lead sheet. Make will request permission to read your spreadsheets. After authorization, you'll see your connection name appear in the dropdown.

⚠

Common mistake — Use the same Google account that has edit access to your event sheets to avoid permission errors.

Make settings

Connection

Choose a connection…Add

click Add

Google Sheets

Authorize Make

popup window

✓

Connected

green checkmark

Configure the spreadsheet source

Select your event lead spreadsheet from the 'Spreadsheet' dropdown. Choose the correct worksheet tab where your leads are stored. Set 'Table contains headers' to Yes if your first row has column names like 'First Name' and 'Email'. Leave the range blank to pull all rows with data.

Add HubSpot contact creation module

Click the '+' button after your Google Sheets module and search for 'HubSpot'. Add the 'Create a Contact' module. This will create individual contact records in HubSpot for each row from your sheet. The module appears as an orange HubSpot icon connected to your sheets module.

Connect HubSpot account

Click 'Create a connection' in the HubSpot module. Choose 'OAuth 2.0' and sign in with your HubSpot account credentials. Make will request permissions to read and write contacts in your HubSpot portal. After connecting, select your HubSpot portal from the dropdown if you have multiple.

⚠

Common mistake — Ensure your HubSpot user has contact creation permissions or the workflow will fail with 403 errors.

Map contact fields from sheet data

In the HubSpot module, click the mapping fields to connect your Google Sheets columns. Map 'Email' to the email field, 'First Name' to firstname, 'Last Name' to lastname. For company, phone, and job title fields, click the field and select the corresponding column from your sheet data dropdown.

Google Sheets fields

Column A

Column B

Status

Notes

available as variables:

1.props.Column A

1.props.Column B

1.props.Email

1.props.Status

1.props.Notes

Add event tag to contacts

Scroll down in the HubSpot module to find the 'Tags' field. Type your event name like 'TechCrunch-2024' or 'Trade-Show-Boston'. You can also map this to a sheet column if different rows need different tags. Multiple tags can be added by separating them with commas.

⚠

Common mistake — HubSpot tags are case-sensitive and cannot contain spaces - use hyphens or underscores instead.

Configure duplicate handling

In the HubSpot module settings, find the 'Update existing contacts' toggle and turn it on. This prevents duplicate contact creation if someone is already in your HubSpot database. Set the update behavior to 'Update existing properties' to add your event tag to existing contacts.

Test with sample data

Click 'Run once' at the bottom left of the scenario. Make will pull the first few rows from your sheet and attempt to create contacts in HubSpot. Check the execution log to see how many contacts were created versus updated. Each successful operation shows a green checkmark with the HubSpot contact ID.

⚠

Common mistake — Test runs process all rows in your sheet - use a copy with just 2-3 sample rows to avoid creating test contacts in production HubSpot.

Make

▶ Run once

executed

✓

Google Sheets

✓

HubSpot

🔔 notification

received

Review imported contacts in HubSpot

Open HubSpot and navigate to Contacts > All Contacts. Filter by your event tag to see the newly imported leads. Verify that contact information mapped correctly and that existing contacts received the new tag without creating duplicates. Check that required fields like email addresses are properly formatted.

Save scenario for future events

Click 'Save' in the top right corner and name your scenario something like 'Event Leads Import - [Event Name]'. Turn off the scheduling toggle since this is a manual import workflow. You can clone this scenario for future events by changing the spreadsheet source and tag name.

Scaling Beyond 200+ Records

If your volume exceeds 200 records, apply these adjustments.

Split large sheets into batches

Process 100-200 contacts per run to avoid Make timeout limits. Create separate worksheet tabs for each batch or filter by row numbers in your Google Sheets module.

Monitor HubSpot API rate limits

HubSpot allows 100 API calls per 10 seconds for most plans. Add a 1-second delay between contact creations in Make's advanced settings if you hit rate limit errors.

Enable partial failure handling

Set your scenario to continue processing even if some contacts fail. Go to scenario settings and enable 'Allow storing incomplete executions' so successful imports aren't lost due to a few bad records.

Going live

Production Checklist

Before you turn this on for real, confirm each item.

Test with a small batch of 5-10 contacts first to verify field mapping accuracy

Verify HubSpot connection has contact creation permissions in your production portal

Applies when: crm

Lock header row in Google Sheets to prevent accidental column shifts during events

Applies when: spreadsheet

Set up Make error notifications to catch failed contact imports immediately

Document your event tag naming convention for consistent lead source tracking

Applies when: crm

Create a backup copy of your sheet before running large imports

Applies when: batch

Troubleshooting

Common errors and how to fix them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about this workflow.

Analysis

VerdictWhy Make for this workflow

Use Make for this if you import event leads monthly or quarterly in batches of 50-500 contacts. Make's visual interface makes field mapping obvious, and the HubSpot integration handles duplicate detection automatically. Skip Make if you need real-time lead sync as contacts trickle in during events — Zapier's webhook triggers work better for that scenario.

Cost

This workflow costs 2 operations per contact in Make (one to read the sheet row, one to create the HubSpot contact). At 200 leads per event and 4 events yearly, that's 1,600 operations annually — well within Make's free tier of 10,000 operations monthly. Zapier would cost $20/month minimum for the same volume since their free tier caps at 100 tasks.

Tradeoffs

Zapier handles Google Sheets updates better with instant webhook triggers when rows are added during live events. N8N offers better bulk processing with built-in pagination for massive lead lists over 1,000 contacts. But Make wins for quarterly batch imports because the scenario builder makes field mapping visual and the error handling shows exactly which contacts failed and why.

You'll hit HubSpot's rate limits around 300 contacts per run, causing random failures mid-import. Google Sheets sometimes returns empty cells as null values that break email validation. Test your scenario with a 5-row sample first because Make processes your entire sheet on every test run, potentially creating hundreds of duplicate test contacts in HubSpot.

Ideas for what to build next

→
Add lead scoring based on event responses — Extend this workflow to assign HubSpot lead scores based on survey responses or booth interaction data captured in your event sheet.
→
Create automated follow-up email sequences — Build a second scenario that triggers HubSpot email workflows for contacts with your event tags, sending personalized follow-up content within 24 hours.
→
Set up event ROI tracking dashboard — Connect HubSpot deal data back to your event tags to measure which events generate the highest value customers over time.