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Salesforce Integration Overview

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Jake Crown
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While SharpSpring uses its own CRM, the platform also enables you to use Salesforce if you are currently using it as your CRM. Salesforce integration currently supports Enterprise, Unlimited, Professional, and Performance editions. This article will detail how to integrate Salesforce with SharpSpring.


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     Available with:    
  Marketing Automation ✓  
  CRM Ultimate ✓  
  CRM PRO ✓  
  CRM Free ✓  
        
  Toolbar:    
01NavSettings.png
       
  Users:    
  Administrators ✓  
  Company Managers    
  Marketing Managers    
  Sales Managers    
  Salespersons    
  Jr. Salespersons    
 


Salesforce Requirements

These are the requirements that you must meet in order to use the Salesforce integration:

  • You must be using either the Enterprise, Unlimited, Professional, or Performance edition of Salesforce.

  • The CRM user must be an administrator in Salesforce.

  • The CRM user must have Marketing User privileges.

  • The CRM user must have modify all data selected within the system administrator profile of Salesforce.

  • Password expiration within Salesforce must be turned off.

  • API Access must be turned on, which is enabled by default for Enterprise, Unlimited, and Performance editions. For the Professional edition, all requests for API access must be purchased through Salesforce support.


Backing Up Salesforce Data

Prior to beginning the integration process, back up your Salesforce data. Refer to the following external Salesforce support articles for more information on backing up Salesforce data:


Salesforce Preparations

There are certain things you must do before you can begin integrating Salesforce.

To prepare to integrate Salesforce, do the following:

  1. Log in to Salesforce.
  2. Navigate to the User Settings menu.
  3. Ensure that your account is listed as Admin.
  4. Ensure that the Marketing User checkbox is checked.
  5. Ensure that the Modify All Data checkbox is checked.
  6. If you are using Web-to-Lead in Salesforce, ensure that you do not have a default response template enabled.
  
Note: If you have a default response template enabled, when leads are synchronized with Salesforce from SharpSpring, Salesforce recognizes that as a form submission event. That will trigger an email to leads with the content of the default response template.


Integrating Salesforce

Once you have configured Salesforce settings, you can begin to integrate.

To integrate Salesforce, do the following:

  1. Log in to Salesforce.
  2. Click your name in the top-right corner of Salesforce.
  3. Select Setup in the drop-down menu that appears.
  4. Click My Personal Information, located under Personal in the left panel.
  5. Click Personal Information in the drop-down list.
  6. Click Edit.
  7. Click the Role drop-down menu.
  8. Select Admin.
  9. Click the Marketing User checkbox. 
  
Important: Once you have successfully connected Salesforce to SharpSpring, the Accounts, Opportunities, Pipeline, and Reports sections of SharpSpring will be removed. While you can still open the Sales menu, all sales activity is expected to be conducted within Salesforce. Once the integration is complete, the Salesforce opportunity name will be displayed in the Memberships tab of the associated SharpSpring contact's record. 
   


Setting Salesforce Passwords to Never Expire

You will need to make sure that your Salesforce password does not expire. If the password expires, it will disconnect the Salesforce API from SharpSpring.

To ensure that your password does not expire unexpectedly, do the following:

  1. Log in to Salesforce.
  2. Click your name in the top-right corner of Salesforce.
  3. Select Setup in the drop-down menu that appears.
  4. Click Security Controls, located under Administration Setup in the left panel.
  5. Click Password Policies in the drop-down list.
  6. Select Never expires in the User passwords expire in drop-down list.
    


Entering Salesforce Credentials into SharpSpring

After setting password expiration, you will need to input your Salesforce username, password, and security token in SharpSpring.

To put your Salesforce credentials in SharpSpring, do the following:

  1. Log in to SharpSpring.
  2. Click  12personas.png   User Menu > Settings in SharpSpring's top toolbar.
  3. Click Salesforce, located under Third-Party Settings in the left panel.
  4. Click Connect to Salesforce.
  5. Enter your username in the Username field.
  6. Enter your password in the Password field.
  7. Enter your security token in the User Token field.
  8. Enter Confirm in the Warning field. 
  9. Click Confirm.
  


Click to enlarge.
Important: Back up all of your Salesforce data before integrating Salesforce with SharpSpring.


Marketing Engagements

Salesforce allows you to sync marketing events as activities on a lead or contact record. Choose which type of additional marketing events you want to sync to Salesforce as activities on a lead or contact record:  
Click to enlarge.

 

Events   Description

Form
Submissions

   Indicates when a user fills out a form. 
Marketing
Email Sends		  

An activity log showing when an email has been sent through
SharpSpring.
Marketing
Email Opens		  

An activity log showing when an email sent through SharpSpring
has been opened.
Marketing
Email Clicks		  

An activity showing the first time a link is clicked in an email
sent through SharpSpring.

Page
Visits

   Indicates that the user has visited a tracked page.

 


Lead Synchronization

When SharpSpring and Salesforce synchronize lead information, consider the following:

  • Leads are synced bidirectionally with Salesforce.

  • As leads are deleted in Salesforce, they will be deactivated in SharpSpring. In order for a lead to be reactivated, the lead must fill out a form or be re-imported via the Import Tool.

  • In the Salesforce section of the Settings page is the Lead Field Mapping tab. Within this tab, you will be able to decide what lead fields you would like synced on a field-by-field basis. This allows nearly every field to be mapped from Salesforce to SharpSpring, and vice versa.

  • For each field, it is possible to select whether SharpSpring values will override Salesforce values via the Push option, whether Salesforce values will override SharpSpring values via the Pull option, or whether any conflicts will be handled via the Two-way option.

  • Lead scores can be pushed from SharpSpring to Salesforce. 

  • Any lead ownership associations will be synchronized with Salesforce, provided the lead owners are mapped to SharpSpring accounts.

  • A Lead Hyperlink Widget is a link that will funnel SharpSpring information regarding a lead into Salesforce. It will provide you with a quick glance at the pertinent details for the lead. This link will give you quick access to SharpSpring's memberships and assignments related to the Life of the Lead, lists, workflows, pending emails, and campaigns.

  • Key communication events will funnel into the Salesforce event history. Included in this communication history will be form fill-outs and email history.


Contact Synchronization

When SharpSpring and Salesforce synchronize contact information, consider the following:

  • Contacts are synced bidirectionally with Salesforce.

  • In the Salesforce section of the Settings page is the Contact Field Mapping tab. Within this tab, you will be able to decide what contact fields you would like synced on a field-by-field basis. This allows nearly every field to be mapped from Salesforce to SharpSpring, and vice versa.

  • As with lead synchronization, key communication events will be pushed to Salesforce for each contact.


Opportunity Synchronization

When SharpSpring and Salesforce synchronize lead information, SharpSpring performs a single-directional synchronization on opportunities. Once you have successfully connected Salesforce to SharpSpring, the Opportunities section in SharpSpring will be removed. 


Owner Synchronization

In order to synchronize user accounts with Salesforce, SharpSpring requires you to select a Salesforce account for each SharpSpring user account.

To map a SharpSpring account, do the following:

  1. Click  12personas.png   User Menu > Settings in SharpSpring's top toolbar.
  2. Click User Accounts, located under My Company in the left panel.
  3. Click  cog.png  Options > Edit next to an account name.
  4. Click the This user has a CRM account checkbox in the CRM Settings section.
  5. Select an account for the user in the Select a CRM Account drop-down menu.
  6. Click Save Changes.
  


Click to enlarge.

At this point, any leads, contacts or opportunities associated with that user account will have that association synced bidirectionally.

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