If you’re tired of leads falling through the cracks between your form tool and your CRM, you’re not alone. This guide is for folks who want to connect Formsort with Salesforce—and actually trust the integration to work. Whether you’re a marketer, ops lead, or just the person stuck gluing things together, here’s how to do it right, without the fluff.
Why Bother Integrating Formsort and Salesforce?
Here’s the deal: Formsort collects leads and Salesforce manages them. If the two don’t talk, you end up with manual exports, missed follow-ups, and annoyed sales teams. Connecting them means:
- Leads go straight to Salesforce, no email CSVs or copy-paste.
- You can trigger automations and workflows the minute someone hits “submit.”
- Data’s in one place, making reporting and follow-up way simpler.
But, fair warning: not every integration is created equal. We’ll be honest about where things get tricky—and what to skip if you just want leads to show up reliably.
What You’ll Need Before You Start
- A Formsort account. (Duh.)
- A Salesforce account with permission to create or update Leads, and access to the Salesforce API.
- Admin rights (or someone who can grant them) for both platforms.
- A clear idea of which form fields map to which Salesforce fields. If your Salesforce Lead object is customized, get those field names handy.
- A Zapier, Workato, or similar integration tool account (optional, but sometimes necessary).
Step 1: Decide on Your Integration Method
You’ve got a few options for connecting Formsort and Salesforce. Here’s the honest rundown:
1. Formsort’s Native Salesforce Integration (if available)
Some plans let you plug Salesforce in directly. This is the smoothest option, but it might cost extra or have limits.
- Pros: Fewer moving parts, built-in support.
- Cons: Limited to what Formsort’s integration supports; can get pricey.
2. Use a Middleware Tool (Zapier, Workato, Make, etc.)
If native support isn’t there (or isn’t flexible enough), use a connector platform.
- Pros: Flexible, point-and-click setup, decent error handling.
- Cons: Another monthly fee, can get messy with lots of Zaps or scenarios.
3. Custom Webhook to Salesforce
For the technically inclined: send data from Formsort to a webhook endpoint that pushes to Salesforce.
- Pros: Ultimate flexibility, no vendor lock-in.
- Cons: You need to write and host code, handle auth, and maintain it.
Pro Tip: Unless you have a dev team or love debugging, start with the native or middleware route.
Step 2: Prep Salesforce for New Leads
Before you plug anything in, tidy up your Salesforce Lead setup.
- Standardize fields: Make sure your Lead object has all the fields your Formsort form collects. Double-check picklists, required fields, and data types.
- API access: Note your Salesforce instance URL and set up an API user or connected app for integrations. You’ll need the Client ID, Client Secret, and a security token.
- Clean up duplicates: If your forms might submit the same lead twice, think through how Salesforce will handle that. Consider deduplication rules or upsert logic.
Step 3: Set Up the Integration
Option 1: Using Formsort’s Native Salesforce Integration
- Log into Formsort.
- Go to your form’s “Destinations” or “Integrations” settings.
- Select Salesforce and authenticate using your Salesforce account.
- Map your form fields to the correct Salesforce fields.
- Watch out for picklists and required fields—if the data doesn’t match, the integration will fail.
- Save and test the connection.
- Submit a test lead and see if it lands in Salesforce.
- Check for errors in the Formsort dashboard.
If it’s not working:
- Double-check field mappings and API permissions.
- Look for error messages—Formsort usually surfaces these, but sometimes they’re cryptic. Don’t be afraid to reach out to support.
Option 2: Using Zapier (or Similar)
- Set up a Zapier account (or whatever tool you prefer).
- Create a new Zap:
- Trigger: New submission in Formsort (or webhook received, if Formsort only supports outbound webhooks).
- Action: Create Lead in Salesforce.
- Connect your Formsort form:
- If native, you’ll log in and select your form.
- If webhook, grab the Zapier webhook URL and paste it into Formsort’s webhook destination.
- Map fields: Match Formsort fields to Salesforce Lead fields.
- Zapier will show you which fields are required.
- Test the Zap: Send test data from Formsort and make sure it shows up in Salesforce.
- Turn on the Zap once you’re happy.
Watch out for: - Rate limits: Free or low-tier Zapier plans can throttle submissions. - Complex Salesforce setups: If you use custom objects or want to update existing leads, things get tricky fast. Sometimes you’ll need Zapier’s “Find or Create” actions.
Option 3: Custom Webhook
If you go this route, you’ll need someone who can write a small web server/app.
- Set Formsort to POST submissions to your custom endpoint.
- In your endpoint, authenticate to Salesforce using OAuth.
- Transform incoming form data to the format Salesforce expects.
- POST the data to Salesforce’s Lead API.
- Handle errors and respond so Formsort knows the submission worked.
Honestly:
Unless you have very specific needs, this is usually more work than it’s worth. Only pursue if you need full control.
Step 4: Test, Test, Test
Don’t assume one successful submission means you’re done. Run through a bunch of scenarios:
- Submitting with all required fields
- Omitting optional fields
- Using strange characters or edge-case data
- Duplicate email addresses
Check Salesforce each time. Are records created without errors? Are all fields mapped correctly? It’s boring, but it’ll save you headaches.
Pro Tip:
If you can, set up a Salesforce sandbox for testing. That way, you won’t clutter your real CRM with test leads.
Step 5: Set Up Notifications and Error Monitoring
Integrations fail. APIs change. Don’t wait for your sales team to tell you leads are missing.
- Enable alerts: If Formsort or your middleware supports failed integration notifications, turn them on.
- Check logs regularly: Most tools have a logs section—make it a weekly habit.
- Create a fallback: If a submission fails, where does it go? Consider setting up an email alert or a Google Sheet backup.
Step 6: Maintain and Improve
This isn’t a “set and forget” deal.
- Update field mappings if your form or Salesforce changes.
- Review integration performance every few months. Look for errors, dropped leads, or duplicate entries.
- Ask for feedback from sales/ops. Are they seeing what they expect in Salesforce? Anything missing or annoying?
- Document your setup so the next person can figure out what you did. (Future-you will thank you.)
What to Ignore (Unless You Have a Real Use Case)
- Overly complex automations: Don’t get sucked into building 12-step workflows unless you actually need them. Start simple.
- Integrating every field: Only map what you actually use in Salesforce. Extra clutter just creates more room for errors.
- Exotic middleware: Stick to mainstream tools unless you have a strong reason. Niche platforms often break or get abandoned.
Honest Pros and Cons
What works well: - Direct integrations (native or via major middleware) handle basic lead flows smoothly. - Mapping standard fields is easy if you keep things simple.
What’s painful: - Custom Salesforce fields and picklists often trip up integrations. - Anything custom (like deduplication or updating existing leads) gets complicated fast. - Debugging integration errors can be a slog, especially if logs are vague.
Keep It Simple and Iterate
Don’t overthink it. Get the basics working—new leads from Formsort to Salesforce—before layering on fancy stuff. Spend a little extra time on testing and monitoring, and you’ll save yourself a lot of pain down the road. And remember: integrations break. When they do, it’s the boring documentation and monitoring that keep everyone sane.
Good luck, and keep things as boring and reliable as you can.