Connecting Zendesk and Salesforce for seamless support handoffs in Tray

You’ve got support tickets in Zendesk. You’ve got sales and account info in Salesforce. And you’re tired of the clunky back-and-forth when a customer issue needs a sales follow-up—or vice versa. If you’ve landed here, you’re probably looking for a less painful way to connect the dots. Good news: with Tray, you can build automations that move info between Zendesk and Salesforce, cut out manual work, and make sure nothing falls through the cracks.

This is a nuts-and-bolts guide. No buzzwords, just what you need to know to set up a seamless support handoff. Whether you’re in IT, ops, or just the “person who figures it out,” this is for you.

Why bother connecting Zendesk and Salesforce?

  • No more copy-paste headaches. Automate info handoffs so you’re not shuffling between tabs.
  • Better customer experience. Sales gets context when a support ticket’s escalated, and support knows when a customer’s a VIP—or a churn risk.
  • Cleaner data. No more “which system is right?” debates.

But let’s be real: automating between two big systems isn’t magic. You’ll hit some rough edges. Tray makes it easier, but you’ll still need to wrangle APIs, field mappings, and the occasional “why is this field blank?” puzzle.

What you’ll need before you start

Don’t skip this list—it’ll save you headaches later:

  • Admin access to both Zendesk and Salesforce. You need this for API connections.
  • A Tray account with permission to create and run workflows.
  • A clear use case. Example: “When a Zendesk ticket is tagged ‘Sales Followup’, create a Salesforce task and attach the ticket info.”
  • Field mapping plan. Know which fields in Zendesk map to which in Salesforce. (Write it down. Seriously.)
  • Test data. Don’t build with your live customers’ info—use some dummy tickets and contacts.

Step 1: Connect Zendesk and Salesforce to Tray

First things first: connect your accounts so Tray can talk to both systems.

  1. Log into Tray and go to the workflow builder.
  2. Add Zendesk and Salesforce connectors to your workflow.
  3. Authenticate each connector:
  4. For Zendesk, you’ll need your API token and subdomain.
  5. For Salesforce, you’ll need OAuth credentials—ideally from a sandbox, not production (yet).
  6. Test the connections. If either one fails, fix it now. Don’t try to “just move ahead”—it’ll bite you later.

Pro tip: If your org has strict permissions, you might need to get IT to approve Tray as an app in both Zendesk and Salesforce. Do this early so you’re not stuck waiting.

Step 2: Define the trigger—what starts the handoff?

You need to decide what kicks off the workflow. Common triggers:

  • A new Zendesk ticket is tagged (e.g., ‘Sales Followup’).
  • A ticket is updated to a certain status (‘Escalated’, ‘VIP’, etc.).
  • A Salesforce opportunity moves to a new stage, and support needs to know.

Set up your trigger in Tray:

  1. Choose the right Zendesk or Salesforce event as the trigger step.
  2. Filter for only the events you care about. Don’t flood Salesforce with every ticket, just the important ones.

What works: Starting small. Pick one trigger and get that working before you go wild with every possible scenario.

What doesn’t: Overcomplicating things right out of the gate. If your workflow looks like a bowl of spaghetti, dial it back.

Step 3: Map the data—what info gets handed off?

This is where most people trip up. Zendesk and Salesforce don’t speak the same language. You have to tell Tray exactly how to translate.

  1. List out the fields you want to pass along. Example:
  2. Zendesk Ticket ID → Salesforce Task Custom Field
  3. Ticket Subject → Task Subject
  4. Ticket Description → Task Description
  5. Requester Email → Salesforce Contact
  6. Handle missing data. Not every Zendesk ticket will match a Salesforce contact. Decide:
  7. Should you create a new contact, or just log the task?
  8. What if the email doesn’t exist in Salesforce?
  9. Use Tray’s data mapping tools to set up the right field connections.
  10. Test with sample data. Expect the first run to have dumb mistakes—fix them now, not in production.

What to ignore: Don’t try to sync every field or attachment. Focus on what sales/support actually need to do their job. Everything else is noise.

Step 4: Build the handoff action in Tray

Now, create the “action” step that actually makes something happen in Salesforce (or Zendesk, if you’re going the other way).

  1. Create Salesforce Task/Case/Opportunity (as needed):
  2. Use the mapped fields from your previous step.
  3. Attach relevant Zendesk info (ticket link, summary).
  4. Add error handling:
  5. If Salesforce can’t find a matching contact, log the error (maybe in a Slack channel or email).
  6. Optionally, loop back and create the contact if that’s safe for your org.
  7. (Optional) Update Zendesk ticket to show it was handed off (e.g., add a private note or tag).

Pro tip: Keep each workflow focused. If you try to do too much in one go, debugging is a nightmare.

Step 5: Test the whole flow—then get feedback

Don’t trust that it “should work.” Try it with real (but non-critical) data:

  1. Trigger a test event (e.g., tag a Zendesk ticket).
  2. Watch the workflow run in Tray. Look for:
  3. Errors or failed steps.
  4. Data showing up in the right Salesforce fields.
  5. Any weird duplicates or missing info.
  6. Ask your support and sales users to try it and give honest feedback. What’s confusing? What’s missing? Fix that before scaling up.

What works: Frequent, small tests. Catch issues before they snowball.

What doesn’t: Pushing it live and hoping users will “just get it.”

Step 6: Go live—cautiously

Once things look solid:

  1. Move from sandbox to production connections.
  2. Turn on the workflow for a small group first.
  3. Monitor for mistakes. Tray logs are your friend.
  4. Iterate based on real-world hiccups.

Don’t get cocky and roll it out to everyone at once. There’s always a surprise lurking in your real data.

FAQ: Common headaches (and how to dodge them)

What about duplicates?
If you’re creating contacts or cases in Salesforce from Zendesk, you’ll need logic to check for existing records first. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a mess.

Permissions errors?
Double-check API credentials. In Salesforce, you may need to tweak user profiles or connected app permissions.

Attachment syncing?
Painful. It’s possible, but Tray’s support for file attachments is limited and often not worth the trouble unless you really need it.

Keeping things in sync both ways?
Start one-way. Two-way syncs sound cool but multiply your problems. Only do this if you have a rock-solid reason.

Honest advice on what’s worth your time

  • Start simple. You can always add more triggers or data fields later.
  • Keep users in the loop. Even a basic Slack alert (“Ticket 123 handed off to sales”) does wonders.
  • Document your field mappings. Future you will thank you.
  • Ignore the hype. No tool is truly “seamless.” There will be bumps. That’s normal.

Wrap-up: Don’t overthink it

Connecting Zendesk and Salesforce through Tray can save you a ton of grunt work—but only if you keep things simple and stay close to what your team actually needs. Build one workflow, see what breaks, fix it, and only then add more. Automation is a process, not a finish line.

Good luck—and remember, simple beats clever every time.