How to Integrate Airship with Salesforce to Streamline B2B Lead Management

If your sales team spends more time updating spreadsheets than actually talking to prospects, you're not alone. B2B lead management can be a mess of manual tasks, scattered data, and missed follow-ups. If you use Salesforce but want to automate the boring parts—like syncing leads, updating statuses, or sending notifications—integrating with Airship is worth a look.

This guide is for B2B teams who want a no-nonsense, practical way to connect Airship and Salesforce. We'll cover the real setup steps, what to watch out for, and a few shortcuts that actually work.

Why Bother Integrating Airship and Salesforce?

Let's get the basics out of the way:

  • Airship is built for automating business processes, notifications, and tasks—think of it as a no-code (or low-code) glue for your apps.
  • Salesforce is the CRM everyone loves to hate, but it's the backbone for lead management at most B2B companies.

Connect the two, and you can:

  • Cut out manual lead entry, assignment, and follow-up reminders.
  • Get real-time alerts when high-value leads hit certain stages.
  • Build automations that actually match your sales process—not just what Salesforce thinks it should be.

It’s not magic, but it’s a big step up from spreadsheets or endless copy-paste.

Before You Start: What You Need

Don’t jump in blind. Here’s what you’ll want ready:

  • Admin access to Salesforce. You need to be able to create connected apps, manage API tokens, and read/write to Leads.
  • An Airship account with permissions to create workflows and connect external apps.
  • A clear idea of your lead flow. If your process is a mess, automating it will just make the mess faster.

What Could Trip You Up

  • Salesforce API limits: These can sneak up on you if you do a lot of syncing.
  • Field mapping headaches: If your Salesforce fields are a patchwork, expect some manual mapping time.
  • Permissions: If you can’t access what you need, you’ll hit a wall fast.

Step 1: Set Up Salesforce for Integration

First, you need Salesforce to “trust” Airship.

1.1 Create a Connected App in Salesforce

  1. Go to Setup in Salesforce (the gear icon in the top right).
  2. Search for App Manager and click New Connected App.
  3. Fill in basic info (name, email). The name can be something like “Airship Integration.”
  4. Under API (Enable OAuth Settings):
    • Check Enable OAuth Settings.
    • Set the Callback URL (get this from Airship; usually something like https://YOUR-AIRSHIP-INSTANCE/callback).
    • Under Selected OAuth Scopes, add:
      • Full access (full)
      • Perform requests on your behalf at any time (refresh_token, offline_access)
  5. Save. Copy the Consumer Key and Consumer Secret—you’ll need these for Airship.

Pro tip: If you see a delay (sometimes 10 minutes) before your Connected App is fully available, that’s normal. Salesforce is slow here.

1.2 Adjust Salesforce User Permissions

Make sure the user you’ll use for the integration has:

  • API access
  • Read/write permissions on Leads, Contacts, Accounts, and any custom objects you want to sync

Don’t skimp here—if you hit permissions errors later, they’re a pain to debug.

Step 2: Connect Salesforce in Airship

Now, head over to Airship and set up the actual connection.

2.1 Authenticate Salesforce in Airship

  1. In Airship, go to Integrations or Connections (wording may vary).
  2. Search for Salesforce and click Connect.
  3. Enter your Salesforce Consumer Key and Consumer Secret from before.
  4. Paste the Callback URL (again, get this from Airship if you’re not sure).
  5. Authenticate—Salesforce will ask you to log in and grant permissions.

If Airship asks for specific API endpoints or objects, start with Leads. You can always add more later.

2.2 Test the Connection

Send a test request—most platforms have a “Test Connection” button. If it fails:

  • Double-check your OAuth settings.
  • Make sure the user account isn’t restricted by login hours or IP ranges.

Step 3: Map Your Data

This is where most people get tripped up. Don’t rush it.

3.1 Decide What Data to Sync

Ask yourself:

  • Are you syncing all leads, or just those in certain stages?
  • Do you want to update Salesforce from Airship, or both ways?
  • What about custom fields?

Write this down—it saves time.

3.2 Set Up Field Mapping in Airship

  1. In your Airship workflow, add the Salesforce “Create Record” or “Update Record” step.
  2. Map each field from Airship to Salesforce:
    • Standard stuff (Name, Email, Company) is easy.
    • Custom fields require extra care—field names must match exactly, and picklists need valid options.
  3. If you’re unsure, export a test lead from Salesforce so you can see real field names.

Heads up: Dates, picklists, and multi-select fields are common pain points. Test these early.

Step 4: Build Your First Workflow

With the connection and mapping done, it’s time to actually automate something.

4.1 Example: Auto-Create Salesforce Lead from Airship Form

Here’s a basic workflow:

  1. Trigger: New form submission in Airship (e.g., a contact form on your site).
  2. Action: Create a new Lead in Salesforce with the mapped fields.
  3. Optional: Send a Slack/email notification to the sales team.

4.2 Example: Update Lead Status When a Deal Moves

Another useful one:

  1. Trigger: Status changes in Airship (say, a lead books a demo).
  2. Action: Update the lead’s status in Salesforce.
  3. Optional: Add a note in Salesforce with context (“Booked via Airship”).

4.3 Testing and QA

  • Run a test with dummy data.
  • Check Salesforce to confirm the record shows up as expected.
  • Check for data mismatches or missing fields. Fix mapping as needed.

Don’t skip testing. If your sales team suddenly gets 50 bad leads, you’ll hear about it.

Step 5: Set Up Error Handling and Alerts

Even the best-made automations break. Set up alerts so you don’t find out three weeks too late.

5.1 Use Airship's Built-In Notifications

  • Most platforms let you send alerts to Slack, email, or SMS if a workflow fails.
  • Set up error alerts for any Salesforce step, especially data syncs.

5.2 Log Everything

  • Use Airship's logging features to track successful and failed runs.
  • Review logs weekly—spot issues before they become disasters.

Step 6: Clean Up and Document

Don’t just set it and forget it.

  • Document your workflows: Write down what each integration does. Future you (or a new hire) will thank you.
  • Review permissions: Make sure you’re not giving Airship more access than it needs.
  • Turn off unused automations: Old workflows can create duplicate records or bad data.

What Actually Works—and What’s Overhyped

What Works

  • Automating repetitive lead entry and follow-ups: This alone saves hours.
  • Real-time alerts: Sales doesn’t miss hot leads.
  • Simple two-way syncs: Updating statuses or notes is easy and reliable.

What’s Overhyped

  • “Seamless” integration: There’s always some manual mapping and testing.
  • Complex routing or scoring logic: If your qualification rules change often, keep them out of automations. It gets messy fast.
  • One-size-fits-all templates: Your sales process is unique. Start simple and build up.

Final Thoughts: Keep It Simple, Iterate Often

Integrating Airship and Salesforce can make life a lot easier for B2B teams—if you keep things simple and ruthlessly test. Start with one or two high-impact automations. Don’t try to automate every edge case on day one. As your team gets used to the new setup, you’ll spot more opportunities to automate (and avoid headaches).

Keep your workflows tidy, document what you build, and don’t be afraid to turn off anything that’s more trouble than it’s worth. The goal isn’t a perfect automated utopia—it’s just less busywork and more time actually selling.