Enabling and Configuring Mail Sync for Custom Providers

Mail Sync is a powerful tool that allows you to connect your inbox to Lead Gen & CRM. Once enabled, any email you send through that inbox—and any Smart Mail that you send out of Lead Gen & CRM will be recorded. There may be times when there are specific, custom settings are required for your inbox and Lead Gen & CRM to interact.

This article will provide information on how to set up custom Mail Sync.

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Article Contents

• Understanding Custom Mail Sync
• Syncing Emails
• Suggested Port Settings for Select Providers
• Disabling Syncing
• Validating Mail Sync Status

Available With:

Trial	✓
Essential	✓
Advanced	✓
Ultimate	✓

Toolbar:

Settings

Users:

Administrators	✓
Company Managers	✓
Marketing Managers	✓
Sales Managers	✓
Salespersons	✓
Jr. Salespersons	✓

Understanding Custom Mail Sync

Users who sync their custom email accounts have the added benefit of sending Smart Mails through their individual SMTP accounts. This allows ISPs like Google and Microsoft to recognize these emails as one-to-one or personal messages for optimum delivery.

Once your Mail Sync is set up, then all of your Smart Mail will go through SMTP. This means that when a person receives your Smart Mail, it will look like you sent it through your own inbox and not through Lead Gen & CRM. Additionally, you will be able to view replies from that lead on their Life of the Lead.

As an example, if you sync the inbox for gregg@gmail.com and send Smart Mail, then the recipient will see it coming from gregg@gmail.com.

Configuring Custom Mail Sync

Custom Mail Sync requires information for both IMAP and SMTP sending accounts.

Setting IMAP Syncing

To set up and configure custom IMAP parameters for Mail Sync, do the following:

1. Click Settings in the left toolbar.
2. Click Mail Sync, located under My Account in the left panel.

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3. Select Custom.
   
   

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4. In the Username text box, enter the email address you are using.
5. In the Password text box, enter the password for the email box you are using.
6. In the Hostname text box, enter the IMAP host URL for the email provider you are using. For example: imap.sampledomain.com
7. In the Port text box, enter the port number for the email provider you are using.
8. If necessary, click the following checkboxes:
   • Use SSL?
   • Self-Signed Certificate?
9. Click Next.
   
   

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Setting SMTP Syncing

To set up and configure custom SMTP parameters for Mail Sync, do the following:

1. After setting IMAP syncing settings, click SMTP Account.
2. In the Username text box, enter your email address you are using.
3. In the Password text box, enter the password for the email box you are using.
4. In the Hostname text box, enter the provider's SMTP host URL for the email provider you are using. For example: smtp.sampledomain.com
5. In the Port text box, enter the provider's SMTP port.
6. If necessary, click the following checkboxes:
   • Use SSL?
   • Self-Signed Certificate?
7. Click Connect SMTP.
   
   

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8. Click Finish.

Important: Customers using the legacy SharpSpring Free CRM plan are limited to 100 daily synced emails per user. If the account password is changed outside of Lead Gen & CRM, it will need to be changed within Lead Gen & CRM as well. When using a custom IMAP account, make sure the account is enabled for IMAP to be compatible for syncing. Additionally, confirm that your email information is accurate. Failure to do so may result in the inability to integrate your account. Due to how GoDaddy configures their IMAP services, GoDaddy users may have inconsistent Mail Sync results when using the SecureServer.net hostname.

Note: For information on your provider's SMTP hostname and port parameters, contact your administrator.

Once syncing has been set up, your emails will be sent from domains other than the Lead Gen & CRM domain.

Suggested Port Settings for Select Providers

For more common providers, consider the following settings:

Contact your administrator for more information on your provider and any relevant settings.

Disabling Syncing

When disabling Mail Sync, you can choose to either keep or remove all previous communication. This means that, if you so choose, you can remove all prior Mail Sync entries from relevant Life of the Lead entries, as well as relevant opportunities. To disable Mail Sync, do the following:

1. Click Settings in the left toolbar.
2. Click Mail Sync, located under My Account in the left panel.
   
   

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3. Click Disable Syncing.
   
   

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4. Select one of the following options:
   • Keep all previously synced email communication
   • Remove all previously synced email communication
5. Click Disable Sync.
   
   

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Once your email sync has been removed, you will need to enter new sync information in order for SMTP and other sync features to be enabled.

In addition, once you disable syncing, administrators will see the Your Mail Sync is not configured link eventually appear again in the top toolbar. Use the Mail Sync tool to re-sync as necessary.

Validating Mail Sync Status

There are many moving parts with Mail Sync, so the process might not connect or may otherwise result in error. However, you can tell if Mail Sync was successful with just a glance.

The Mail Sync settings page provides a running log of all recent errors. The page details the date and time that the error occurred, what the error was, and how best to fix the error.

Click    User Menu > Settings > Mail Sync to access the log of all recent errors.

In addition, user accounts with Mail Sync enabled will display their current connection status, as well as any relevant issues. 

Once you have enabled Mail Sync, the associated email address will update with one of the following colors and statuses:

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Status		Color		Description
Connection Issue				Unable to connect for two days due to errors. No longer trying to sync. Billing will not be enabled for the duration of this issue.
Error				An error occurred when attempting to sync the user account's email. Errors include, but are not limited to, using an invalid email address or certain email connectivity issues.
Pending				This user account is waiting for a raise in the company's mailbox sync limit, or waiting for someone else to disconnect from the company mailbox so that they are below the sync limit.
Enabled				Mail Sync was successfully enabled for this user account.

Refer to Troubleshooting IMAP Sync Errors for more information on troubleshooting Mail Sync errors.