If you work in customer onboarding or customer success, you probably know the pain of wrangling data between different tools. Salesforce is your source of truth (whether you love it or not), but your onboarding tasks live somewhere else—maybe in Arrows, a platform for managing onboarding plans with customers. If you’re tired of copy-pasting updates, missing steps, or just want your tools to talk to each other, this guide is for you.
Below, I'll cut through the noise and show you exactly how to get Arrows and Salesforce working together, honestly point out where things can trip you up, and show you how to avoid common headaches.
Step 1: Know What Arrows and Salesforce Can (and Can’t) Do Together
Let’s get real for a second—before you even touch a settings page, it helps to know what “integration” means here.
What works: - Syncing customer data (names, emails, company info) from Salesforce into Arrows automatically. - Updating Salesforce records based on onboarding progress in Arrows (like marking a deal as “Onboarded” when a plan is completed). - Triggering onboarding plans in Arrows when a Salesforce Opportunity hits a certain stage.
What doesn’t (at least out of the box): - Real-time, two-way sync of every field between the two tools. You’ll get event-based updates, not live editing. - Deeply custom logic or field mapping, unless you build it with middleware (like Zapier or custom code).
What to ignore: - Over-complicating things. Start simple—a basic “push-pull” setup covers most real-world use cases. You can always get fancier later.
Step 2: Prep Your Salesforce (and Yourself) for Integration
Salesforce is famously picky about who and what can touch its data. Here’s how to avoid the usual traps:
Check your Salesforce edition:
You’ll need Salesforce API access. If you’re on Professional Edition, you might need to pay extra. If in doubt, check with your admin.
Create an Integration User (strongly recommended): - Don’t use your personal login. Create a dedicated user, give it only the permissions needed, and use it for the integration. - This way, if someone leaves the company or gets locked out, your integration doesn’t break.
Decide what you actually want to sync: - Figure out which Salesforce objects you care about (Leads, Accounts, Opportunities, Contacts). - Decide which fields matter to your onboarding flow. More fields = more chances for things to break, so start lean.
Pro tip:
Clean up your Salesforce data first. Garbage in, garbage out. If your Salesforce is a mess, your Arrows plans will be too.
Step 3: Set Up Your Arrows Account and Connect to Salesforce
If you haven’t already, sign up for Arrows.
The connection to Salesforce is only available on certain Arrows plans, so double-check you’re on the right tier. Arrows’ support is responsive—ask them if you’re not sure.
Connecting the two: 1. Go to Arrows Settings → Integrations. 2. Find the Salesforce option and click “Connect.” 3. Authorize Arrows to access your Salesforce account. (Use that integration user you set up.) 4. Grant only the permissions you need. Don’t just click “Allow All”—that’s how you end up with security problems.
Test the connection:
Arrows should show a “connected” status. If you get an error, double-check your Salesforce user permissions and API access.
Heads up:
If your company uses Single Sign On (SSO) or IP restrictions, you may need your IT team to help with this part. Don’t bang your head on the wall—just ask.
Step 4: Map Salesforce Fields to Arrows
This step is where most people overcomplicate things and regret it later. Here’s how to keep it simple:
Start with the basics: - Map only the fields you absolutely need for onboarding (e.g., Account Name, Contact Email, Opportunity Stage). - Ignore fields you “might want someday.” You can always add more later.
How field mapping works: - In Arrows, you’ll see a UI for mapping Salesforce fields to Arrows fields. - For each Arrows field (like “Customer Name”), pick the corresponding Salesforce field. - Save your mappings.
Watch out for: - Field types. Text → text, date → date, etc. If you mismatch types, things get weird. - Required fields. Don’t map an optional Arrows field to a required Salesforce field, or vice versa—you’ll end up with errors.
Pro tip:
Write down your field mappings somewhere outside of Arrows—in a Google Doc or Notion. This makes troubleshooting way easier later.
Step 5: Set Up Automation Triggers
This is where the real magic happens, but don’t get too carried away.
The two most common triggers: 1. Kick off an onboarding plan in Arrows when a Salesforce Opportunity hits a certain stage. 2. Update Salesforce (like marking a custom field or updating a status) when onboarding is completed in Arrows.
How to do it: - In Arrows, look for “Automation” or “Workflows.” - Choose your trigger (e.g., “Opportunity moves to Closed Won”). - Set the action (e.g., “Create onboarding plan for Account X”).
For pushing updates back to Salesforce: - Set up Arrows to update a specific field (like “Onboarding Status”) when a plan is marked complete. - Make sure that field exists in Salesforce and is visible to your integration user.
Don’t overdo it: - Start with one or two triggers. More triggers = more debugging down the line. - Test each trigger with a dummy record before rolling out to real customers.
Step 6: Test, Test, and Test Again
You’d be surprised how often integrations “look” right but don’t actually work.
How to test: - Create a test Account or Opportunity in Salesforce. - Move it through your intended workflow—does the onboarding plan show up in Arrows? Does the data match? - Mark onboarding as complete in Arrows. Check if the right data updates back in Salesforce.
What to check for: - Data accuracy: Are names, emails, and custom fields correct? - Timing: Is there a delay, or are updates missing altogether? - Edge cases: What happens if you update a field in Salesforce after the plan is created? Does it sync?
If something’s broken: - Go back to your field mappings and permissions first. 90% of problems are there. - Check Arrows’ logs or integration error messages—they’re usually more useful than Salesforce’s cryptic errors. - Don’t be afraid to reach out to Arrows support. They’re used to seeing weird Salesforce issues.
Step 7: Roll Out to Real Customers (But Watch Closely)
Go slow:
Turn on the integration for a subset of records or a specific pipeline. Don’t blast it out to every customer at once.
Train your team:
Show your onboarding or success reps what will happen, what’s automated, and what still needs a human touch. Don’t let automation be a black box.
Monitor for a week or two: - Are onboarding plans being created for the right people? - Are Salesforce records staying in sync? - Is anyone on your team confused or blocked?
Be ready to adjust:
Even the best-planned integrations miss something. Keep your setup flexible.
Honest Advice: What to Watch Out For
- Don’t expect perfection. Data syncs can be flaky, especially if Salesforce is slow or overloaded.
- Field mismatches are the #1 cause of headaches. Check your field types and required/optional status.
- Salesforce admins are your friends. You’ll need them for permissions, custom fields, and troubleshooting.
- Don’t sync everything. More data = more problems. Only sync what you’ll actually use.
- Document your setup. You’ll thank yourself (or your replacement) in six months.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate as You Go
You don’t need a six-month project plan or a team of consultants to get Arrows and Salesforce working together. Start with a simple integration, get your core workflow up and running, and expand from there if you really need to. When in doubt, sync less and keep your data clean.
A little setup now can save your team hours of grunt work later—and spare you a lot of copy-paste induced rage. Good luck, and don’t be afraid to ask for help if you hit a wall.