Step by step guide to integrating Crankwheel with Salesforce for better lead tracking

If you use Salesforce to track leads and you want to actually see which calls and screen shares turn into real sales, this one's for you. Integrating Crankwheel—which lets you show your screen instantly during sales calls—with Salesforce means you can finally tie demo activity right to your pipeline. No more flipping between apps or wondering if your team is actually following up.

But here's the thing: Salesforce and Crankwheel don't just magically talk to each other out of the box. There's some setup, a few gotchas, and a couple of choices to make depending on how fancy you want to get. This guide walks you through it, step by step, with zero fluff.

What You’ll Need Before You Start

Let’s get the basics out of the way. Here’s what you need:

  • A Salesforce account (ideally with admin access)
  • A Crankwheel account (admin access helps, but you can get by as a user for basic setups)
  • A zap or API tool (like Zapier, Make, or a custom integration—more on this below)
  • 10–30 minutes of clear calendar (seriously, block it out)
  • The patience to poke around in Salesforce settings (not always fun, but worth it)

Pro tip: If your organization is strict on user permissions, check with your Salesforce admin before you start connecting outside tools.

Step 1: Decide How Deep You Want the Integration

There are two main ways to link Crankwheel and Salesforce:

  1. Simple notifications/logging: Use a tool like Zapier to create/update records in Salesforce every time a Crankwheel session happens.
  2. Full-on automation: Use Crankwheel’s API and Salesforce’s developer tools to map specific data fields, tie sessions to custom objects, or trigger workflows.

Which to pick? - Go simple if you just want to log that a demo happened. - Go custom if you need to track session details, trigger automations, or report on demo-to-deal conversion.

For most teams, starting with Zapier or Make is plenty. You can always get fancy later.

Step 2: Set Up Crankwheel for Integration

First, make sure Crankwheel is ready to send data out.

  1. Log in to your Crankwheel dashboard.
  2. Go to Admin > Integrations.
  3. Look for “Webhooks” or “Zapier integration.” (If you don’t see integrations, your plan may not include it; time to talk to support or upgrade.)
  4. Copy your API key or webhook URL. You’ll need this for Zapier or any custom setup.

Heads up: Crankwheel’s integration features are sometimes hidden behind higher-tier plans. If you’re on the free plan, you may be out of luck for anything automated.

Step 3: Connect Crankwheel to Salesforce with Zapier

Zapier is the fastest way for most people, even if you don’t like paying for yet another tool.

Here’s how:

  1. Log in to Zapier (or Make, if that’s your thing).
  2. Click “Create a Zap.”
  3. Choose Crankwheel as the trigger app.
    • Trigger event: “New Screen Sharing Session” or similar.
    • Connect your Crankwheel account using the API key/webhook from earlier.
  4. Set Salesforce as the action app.
    • Action event: “Create Record” or “Update Record.”
    • Log into your Salesforce account and allow Zapier access.
  5. Map fields from Crankwheel to Salesforce.
    • Match up things like contact email, session date/time, and notes.
    • If you want, tie the session to an existing Lead or Opportunity using email or ID.
  6. Test your Zap.
    • Start a fake session in Crankwheel and make sure Zapier pushes it to Salesforce.
    • Double-check that the record appears where you expect.

What actually matters: Don’t try to map every possible field. Start with the basics: who, when, and what happened.

Step 4: Set Up Custom Fields and Views in Salesforce

If you want this integration to be actually useful—not just data dumped somewhere—take a few minutes to set up custom fields and views.

  1. Add a custom field to your Lead or Opportunity object.
    • Example field: “Last Crankwheel Demo Date” (Date/Time type)
    • Another good one: “Crankwheel Demo Count” (Number type)
  2. Update your Zapier action to fill in these fields.
    • Map the Crankwheel session date to “Last Crankwheel Demo Date.”
    • Use a formula or increment logic for “Demo Count” if you want to track repeats.
  3. Create a list view or report in Salesforce to show leads who’ve had a recent demo.

Why bother?

If you don’t do this, your team will never see the data, and you’ll end up back in spreadsheet hell.

Step 5: (Optional) Go Deeper with Custom Integration

If you have a dev on hand or want to get more granular, you can use Crankwheel’s API and Salesforce’s tools (like Flow, Apex, or Process Builder).

  1. Check out Crankwheel’s API docs (you might need to ask support for access).
  2. Set up a custom webhook in Crankwheel to hit a Salesforce endpoint.
  3. Build a small handler in Salesforce (using Apex or Flow) to process incoming data and map it exactly as you want.
  4. Test with sample payloads before going live.

Honest take: For 90% of sales teams, this is overkill. But if you need to trigger post-demo emails, auto-update deal stages, or sync with other systems, it’s doable.

Step 6: Train Your Team (and Yourself)

Once you’ve got things flowing, don’t just hope everyone notices. Tell your team:

  • Where demo data shows up in Salesforce
  • How to use the new fields/reports to prioritize follow-ups
  • Who to talk to if things break or data looks off

And, if you’re the admin, check in after a week or two to make sure the integration is actually being used.

Common Pitfalls and What to Ignore

  • Don’t overcomplicate: Resist the urge to track every tiny detail. Start with the basics: demo happened, when, who.
  • Watch out for duplicates: If your Zapier flow isn’t set up right, you might create duplicate leads or records. Test carefully.
  • Ignore “AI” add-ons: You’ll see offers to “enhance” your leads with AI scoring or similar nonsense. Focus on getting clean, reliable activity tracking first.
  • Be wary of free plans: Both Crankwheel and Zapier limit integration features on free tiers. Don’t waste hours only to hit a paywall.

Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate Later

You don’t need a 10-step automation plan to get value from this. Start with a basic integration—log demos, update a field or two, and make sure your team can see what’s going on. If you need more, you can always add complexity later.

Most importantly: don’t let “perfect” kill “done.” Half the battle is just making sure demo activity isn’t hiding in someone’s inbox or a spreadsheet. Get the basics working, see what’s useful, and only then think about adding bells and whistles. Happy selling.