If you’re using Arcade to capture leads but still copy-pasting info into your CRM, you’re wasting time and probably missing deals. This guide is for marketers, sales ops folks, and anyone tired of duct-taping their lead gen together. We're talking about how to make Arcade work with your CRM, not against it—so you can spend less time on busywork and more time closing.
Let’s cut the fluff and get into how to actually optimize your lead generation workflows in Arcade with a CRM integration that works.
Why Integrate Arcade with Your CRM?
Here’s the honest truth: Arcade is great for interactive demos and capturing interest, but the leads don’t manage themselves. If you’re not pushing leads straight into your CRM, you’re either working harder than you need to or letting good prospects slip through the cracks.
Good integrations mean: - Leads show up instantly where your sales team lives (no manual imports). - No more “who owns this lead?” confusion. - You can trigger follow-ups, automations, or scoring as soon as someone bites. - Reporting is way easier—no data silos.
But beware: Not all integrations are equal. Some are clunky, some break, and some just dump raw data that’s a mess to work with. You want clean, actionable leads—nothing more, nothing less.
Step 1: Get Clear on Your Lead Flow
Before you even touch an integration, map out how you want leads to flow. If you skip this, you’ll end up with a Franken-system that nobody trusts.
Ask yourself: - What info do you really need from Arcade demos or forms? - Who needs to see new leads first—marketing, SDRs, AEs? - Do you want every lead sent to your CRM, or just qualified ones? - What happens after a lead hits the CRM? (e.g., auto-assign, nurture, notify)
Pro tip: Start simple. It’s easy to add complexity later, but a tangled workflow will just create headaches.
Step 2: Choose the Right CRM and Integration Path
Arcade supports integrations with big names like Salesforce, HubSpot, and a handful of others. How you connect them matters.
Direct integrations vs. middleware
- Direct integration: If Arcade natively connects to your CRM, use it. Fewer moving parts, less to break.
- Zapier/Make or other middleware: Useful if your CRM isn’t supported, but adds another layer that can (and will) break. Good for custom logic, but needs maintenance.
- Custom API work: Only worth it if you have unique needs and developer resources. Most teams shouldn’t bother.
What actually works: - For 90% of use cases, the built-in integration or Zapier is enough. - Avoid custom scripts unless you love debugging random failures at midnight.
Step 3: Set Up the Integration (The Right Way)
Let’s walk through a typical setup. Details will depend on your CRM, but the basics are the same.
1. Connect Arcade to Your CRM
- Go to your Arcade settings and look for “Integrations.”
- Select your CRM (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot).
- Authenticate your account (you’ll probably need admin rights).
- Map Arcade lead form fields to CRM fields. Don’t just use the defaults—make sure the right data goes to the right place.
What to watch out for: - Field mismatches are the #1 source of junk data. Double-check your mapping. - Some CRMs require you to create custom fields for new data points. - Test with fake data before going live.
2. Decide When and How Leads Sync
Don’t just dump every Arcade interaction into your CRM. That’s how you end up with a bloated database full of tire-kickers.
- Set rules: Only sync leads who fill out the full form, or who complete a demo, or meet some qualifying criteria.
- Use tags or properties in Arcade to control what gets sent.
- If using middleware, set up filters so you’re not spamming your CRM with every click.
3. Test End to End
- Submit a test lead through an Arcade demo or form.
- Make sure it lands in the right place in your CRM, with correct data.
- Check ownership, assignment rules, and notifications—do they work?
- If anything breaks, fix it now, not after you launch.
Step 4: Automate Follow-up (But Don’t Overdo It)
Getting leads into your CRM is step one. Step two is making sure they actually get worked.
- Set up automated notifications to the right rep or team.
- Trigger nurture sequences or auto-responders if appropriate.
- Assign leads based on territory, product interest, or other criteria.
Caution: Don’t go overboard with automation—generic auto-emails are easy to spot and easy to ignore. Focus on getting leads to the right human, fast.
Step 5: Measure and Clean Up
You’re not done just because data is flowing. Bad data or ignored leads will kill your results.
What to track: - How many Arcade leads turn into real opportunities? - Are leads getting stuck in “new” status? - Is anyone following up within a reasonable time? - Are you collecting any data you never use? (If so, cut it.)
Regular housekeeping: - Review field mappings every quarter—your forms and CRM will change. - Purge junk or incomplete leads before they pile up. - Get feedback from sales: Are Arcade leads any good? If not, tweak your forms or qualifying questions.
What Works (and What Doesn’t)
What works: - Keeping your lead forms short and focused. - Syncing only qualified or engaged leads. - Involving sales in the workflow design—they’ll spot problems you won’t.
What doesn’t: - Collecting every possible data point “just in case.” - Automating so much that the process feels robotic. - Ignoring integration errors because “we’ll fix it later.”
What to ignore: - Wild claims about AI-powered lead scoring unless you actually have enough data to make it useful. - Overcomplicated “journeys” or branching logic if you’re just starting out.
Pro Tips
- Use hidden fields in Arcade to pass source or campaign info into your CRM. Makes reporting way easier down the line.
- Set up alerts for integration failures. A broken connection can go unnoticed for weeks otherwise.
- Document your process (yes, really). If you leave, someone else can pick up where you left off.
Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
You don’t need a perfect system from day one. Start with a basic integration, make sure leads don’t get lost, and build from there. Every extra field, rule, or automation is another thing that can break. So keep it simple, review often, and tweak as you go.
The best lead gen workflow is the one you actually use—and that your sales team trusts. Keep your eye on that, and you’ll be miles ahead of most teams still wrestling with spreadsheets.