A beginner guide to integrating Leadformly with your CRM system

If you’re tired of copying leads from your website into your CRM by hand, you’re in the right spot. Integrating your forms with your CRM doesn’t have to be confusing or risky—if you take it step by step. This guide is for anyone who’s new to Leadformly, not a developer, and just wants leads to show up in their system without a bunch of fuss.

Let’s get your forms talking to your CRM, so you can spend less time wrangling spreadsheets and more time following up.

1. Understand What You’re Integrating (and Why It Matters)

Before you start clicking, it helps to know the basics.

Leadformly is a form builder focused on capturing leads—think contact forms, quote requests, consultation sign-ups. The main appeal is that it’s designed to get more people to actually fill out your forms, using clever design tricks.

But a form by itself just collects info. Integrating with your CRM means:

  • New leads go straight into your sales pipeline.
  • No forgetting to follow up.
  • No manual data entry mistakes.

CRMs (like HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, etc.) are where your leads actually get managed. If this connection is broken or set up wrong, you’ll either lose leads or annoy your team.

Bottom line: The goal isn’t just to “integrate”—it’s to make sure the right info lands in the right spot, every time.

2. Get Ready: What You’ll Need Before You Start

Here’s what you need to have on hand:

  • A Leadformly account with at least one published form.
  • Access to your CRM (and permission to add integrations or API keys).
  • A list of fields you want to pass from your form to your CRM (e.g., name, email, phone, company, message).
  • Administrative access to both platforms—otherwise you’ll hit roadblocks.

Pro tip: If you’re testing for a client or team, make sure you’re using a staging environment or test CRM record, so you don’t flood your real pipeline with fake leads.

3. Decide: Direct Integration or Middleware?

Not all integrations are created equal. Here’s the honest truth: Leadformly supports direct integration with some CRMs, but for many, you’ll need to use a third-party tool like Zapier.

Direct Integrations

  • Pros: Easier, fewer moving parts, usually more stable.
  • Cons: Limited to supported CRMs (mostly major ones).
  • Works best for: HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, MailChimp, and a handful of others.

Using Zapier (or similar)

  • Pros: Works with almost anything, tons of flexibility.
  • Cons: Extra cost, another moving part to troubleshoot, can be delayed if you’re on a free Zapier plan.
  • Works best for: Less common CRMs, or if you need custom logic.

What to ignore: Don’t bother trying to hack together custom code unless you’re a developer—middleware like Zapier is faster and less likely to break.

4. Step-by-Step: Connecting Leadformly to Your CRM

Step 1: Map Your Fields

Before you connect anything, make sure your Leadformly form fields match what your CRM expects. For example, if your CRM has a field for “First Name” and your form just says “Name,” you’ll need to decide how that maps across.

  • Check your CRM’s field names. Custom fields? Note them.
  • Edit your Leadformly form so fields are clearly labeled.
  • Write down a “field map” (even a quick list in a notebook works).

Why bother? If your field names don’t match, data can end up in the wrong place or not transfer at all.

Step 2: Choose Your Integration Path

If Your CRM is Supported Directly

  1. Go to Leadformly’s dashboard.
  2. Open “Integrations” or “Connect” (the exact label may vary).
  3. Find your CRM in the list.
  4. Click “Connect” or “Add.”
  5. You’ll be prompted to log in to your CRM account and authorize access.
  6. Once connected, Leadformly will ask you to map form fields to CRM fields. Double-check each one.
  7. Save and test.

If You Need to Use Zapier

  1. Sign up for a free Zapier account if you don’t have one.
  2. In Leadformly, go to “Integrations” and choose Zapier.
  3. Follow the instructions for generating a webhook or connecting your Leadformly account.
  4. In Zapier, set up a new “Zap”:
  5. Trigger: Leadformly (new form submission)
  6. Action: Your CRM (e.g., create contact, add lead)
  7. Map the Leadformly fields to the corresponding fields in your CRM.
  8. Test the Zap with sample data.
  9. Turn it on.

Note: Some CRMs may require you to generate an API key or OAuth token. Don’t share these with anyone you don’t trust—they’re basically a master key to your data.

5. Test Everything (Seriously)

This is where most people cut corners, then regret it later.

  • Submit at least 3-5 test leads.
  • Check your CRM: Did every field land where it should? Did any data get dropped?
  • Try edge cases: What happens if someone skips a field? Uses a weird character? Submits from a mobile device?
  • Check for duplicates: If your CRM has duplicate checking, see if two submissions with the same email create one or two records.

If anything looks off, go back and double-check your field mapping. It’s usually a mismatch or a typo.

6. Set Up Notifications and Fallbacks

Integration is great, but things break. Make sure you have a backup plan.

  • Enable email notifications in Leadformly so you get an alert for every new submission, even if your CRM integration fails.
  • Check your CRM’s “recent imports” or activity logs every few days—especially early on.
  • Consider a weekly “lead audit” (just a quick glance that everything’s flowing as expected).

Pro tip: Sometimes, CRMs update their APIs or change permissions without warning. If you suddenly stop seeing new leads, don’t assume “no one is filling out forms”—check your connection.

7. Common Issues (and How to Fix Them)

Here’s what actually goes wrong in the real world:

  • Leads not showing up: Usually a field mapping or authorization issue. Double-check your integration settings.
  • Fields are blank or in the wrong place: Field labels don’t match, or your CRM requires a format you’re not sending (e.g., phone number with country code).
  • Duplicate leads: Your CRM isn’t deduping, or your Zapier logic is off.
  • Delayed or missing leads: Zapier’s free plan can be slow. Upgrade if you need near-instant delivery.
  • Integration “disconnects” after a week or two: Sometimes, access tokens expire. Reconnect your accounts and check for any permission changes.

What not to do: Don’t ignore error emails from Leadformly or Zapier. Those are free clues.

8. Keep It Simple (But Document Everything)

You don’t need to automate everything on day one. Get the basics working:

  • One form
  • One CRM pipeline/stage
  • Only the fields you really need

Write down your process somewhere—screenshots, a Google Doc, whatever. If you’re not around, someone else can fix things if they break.

Iterate as you go: Once you trust it, you can add more forms, tags, or automation rules.

Final Thoughts: Don’t Overthink It

Integrating Leadformly with your CRM isn’t magic, but it’s not rocket science either. Start small, test everything, and don’t be afraid to ask for help from support if you’re stuck. Most mistakes come from skipping the basics—mapping fields, testing, and monitoring.

Keep it simple, stay skeptical of fancy “automation” claims, and remember: done is better than perfect. You can always fine-tune once leads are flowing where they belong.