Duplicate leads and the email-or-phone rule

A lead you cannot contact is not a lead. The system enforces that with a simple rule: a name, and at least one of email or phone.

The same two fields are what duplicate detection matches on, so the rule does two jobs at once.

Who this is for

Anyone creating leads by hand, and admins configuring forms and imports.

Before you start

• Permission to create leads.
• Actual contact details — this is the one place where a blank is better than a guess.

The rule is 'at least one', not 'both'
A lead with an email and no phone is fine. A lead with a phone and no email is fine. A lead with neither is rejected, with a message saying so. If you are hitting that error on an import or a webhook, the fix is in the mapping — one of those two fields is not arriving where it should.

Keep leads clean

1. Capture a reachable route on every form
   Make sure every capture path collects email or phone. A form that collects neither produces submissions that cannot become leads.
2. Search before creating manually
   The email address is the fastest check. Most manual duplicates are created by someone who did not look first.
3. Map both fields on imports and webhooks
   Mapping only one gives you leads that validate but dedupe poorly. Mapping neither correctly produces rejected rows.
4. Never invent a value to get past the rule
   A placeholder email defeats both purposes — it does not reach anyone, and it makes the record look distinct from its own duplicate.
5. Merge duplicates when you find them
   The history comes together rather than being split between two half-records.
6. Fix the source
   Repeated duplicates from one route point at a mapping or a process problem rather than at carelessness.

What you get

• Every lead reachable by at least one route.
• Duplicate detection that works, because it has something to match on.
• Fewer rejected rows on imports and inbound traffic.
• A clear diagnosis when leads are rejected.

Frequently asked questions

Why was my lead rejected?

It needs a name and at least one of email or phone. The error message says exactly that. On an import or webhook, the cause is nearly always mapping.

Do I need both email and phone?

No — at least one. Both is better for reaching people and for duplicate matching, but only one is required.

Can I use a placeholder email to get past the rule?

Don't. It creates a record you cannot contact and one that will not match its own duplicate, which is worse than not having the lead.

How do I stop duplicate leads?

Search before creating manually, and map email and phone correctly on every automated route. Those two habits prevent nearly all of them.