How to Import Trade Show Leads from Google Sheets to Salesforce with N8n

Workflows > + Add Workflow

Create new N8n workflow

Start with a fresh workflow to handle your lead import automation. Name it something descriptive so you can find it later among your workflows.

1. 1Click '+ Add Workflow' in the N8n dashboard
2. 2Name the workflow 'Trade Show Lead Import'
3. 3Click 'Save' to create the empty workflow

Nodes > Google Sheets > Trigger

Add Google Sheets trigger node

Configure N8n to watch for new data in your attendee spreadsheet. This trigger fires whenever you add or modify rows in the specified sheet.

1. 1Click the '+' button to add a node
2. 2Search for 'Google Sheets' and select it
3. 3Choose 'On Row Added or Updated' as the trigger type
4. 4Select 'Every time the workflow is called' for testing

Node Settings > Credentials > Google Sheets OAuth2

Connect your Google account

Authenticate N8n to access your Google Sheets. You'll need to grant permissions for N8n to read your spreadsheet data.

1. 1Click 'Create New Credential' in the Google Sheets node
2. 2Select 'Google Sheets OAuth2 API'
3. 3Click 'Connect my account' and complete OAuth flow
4. 4Select your connected account from the dropdown

Node Settings > Spreadsheet Configuration

Select your attendee spreadsheet

Point N8n to the specific Google Sheet containing your trade show attendee data. Choose the exact sheet tab where you paste the lead information.

1. 1Click the 'Spreadsheet' dropdown
2. 2Select your attendee tracking spreadsheet
3. 3Choose the specific sheet tab (usually 'Sheet1' or 'Attendees')
4. 4Set 'Range' to include all data columns (e.g., 'A:H')

Nodes > Salesforce > Create > Lead

Add Salesforce node

Connect the Salesforce node to create leads from your Google Sheets data. This node handles the actual lead creation in your CRM.

1. 1Click '+' to add a new node after Google Sheets
2. 2Search for 'Salesforce' and select it
3. 3Choose 'Create' as the operation
4. 4Select 'Lead' as the resource type

Node Settings > Credentials > Salesforce OAuth2

Set up Salesforce credentials

Authenticate with your Salesforce org to enable lead creation. N8n needs API access to write new lead records to your CRM.

1. 1Click 'Create New Credential' in the Salesforce node
2. 2Select 'Salesforce OAuth2 API'
3. 3Enter your Salesforce login URL (usually login.salesforce.com)
4. 4Complete the OAuth flow with your Salesforce credentials

Node Settings > Fields > Add Field

Map Google Sheets columns to Salesforce fields

Configure how attendee data from your spreadsheet translates into Salesforce lead fields. This mapping ensures data lands in the right places in your CRM.

1. 1Click 'Add Field' for each Salesforce lead field you want to populate
2. 2Map 'Company' to {{ $json.Company }} from Google Sheets
3. 3Map 'Email' to {{ $json.Email }} from the spreadsheet
4. 4Add mappings for FirstName, LastName, Phone, and LeadSource

Node Settings > Fields > LeadSource

Set lead source and campaign

Tag imported leads with source tracking so you can measure trade show ROI. Use consistent values that match your existing Salesforce picklist options.

1. 1Add a 'LeadSource' field mapping
2. 2Set the value to 'Trade Show' or your specific event name
3. 3Add 'Campaign' field if you track campaigns
4. 4Set a static value like 'Q4 2024 Events' for campaign tracking

Nodes > IF > Conditions

Add data validation node

Insert an IF node to check for required data before creating Salesforce leads. This prevents incomplete records from cluttering your CRM.

1. 1Add an 'IF' node between Google Sheets and Salesforce
2. 2Set condition to check if Email field is not empty
3. 3Add a second condition for Company or LastName being present
4. 4Configure 'true' path to continue to Salesforce

Workflow > Execute Workflow

Test with sample data

Run a test execution to verify your mapping works correctly with real attendee data. Check that leads appear in Salesforce with all expected field values.

1. 1Click 'Execute Workflow' to test the entire flow
2. 2Check the execution log for any errors
3. 3Verify new leads appear in Salesforce with correct data
4. 4Review field mapping if any data looks incorrect

Node Settings > Settings > Continue on Fail

Configure error handling

Set up proper error handling so failed lead imports don't break the entire batch. This ensures partial failures don't lose all your attendee data.

1. 1Click the Salesforce node settings gear icon
2. 2Select 'Continue on Fail' in the error handling section
3. 3Add an 'Edit Fields' node on the error path to log failed records
4. 4Connect error output to a Google Sheets append for tracking failures

Workflow > Activate Toggle

Activate workflow for production

Enable the workflow to run automatically when you add new attendee data to your Google Sheet. Set appropriate execution settings for your trade show volume.

1. 1Click the 'Inactive' toggle at the top of the workflow
2. 2Verify the webhook URL appears in the Google Sheets trigger
3. 3Test by adding a new row to your attendee spreadsheet
4. 4Confirm the new lead appears in Salesforce within 30 seconds

Drop this into an n8n Code node.

// Clean phone numbers from booth scans
const phone = $json.Phone || '';
const cleaned = phone.replace(/[^0-9+]/g, '').replace(/^1/, '+1');

// Clean phone numbers from booth scans
const phone = $json.Phone || '';
const cleaned = phone.replace(/[^0-9+]/g, '').replace(/^1/, '+1');
return { Phone: cleaned.length >= 10 ? cleaned : null };