Step by step guide to integrating HubSpot Forms with Salesforce for seamless data sync

If you've ever had to copy form leads from HubSpot into Salesforce by hand, you know it's a pain — and a recipe for mistakes. This guide is for marketers, admins, and sales ops folks who want their HubSpot form fills to show up in Salesforce, reliably, every time. I'll walk you through exactly how to set up the integration, where things get tricky, and what to watch out for (so you don't end up cleaning up a data mess later).

What You Actually Need (Before You Start)

Let's not waste time. Here’s what you’ll need before you try connecting anything:

  • A HubSpot account (Marketing Hub Professional or above gets you the Salesforce integration).
  • A Salesforce account (Enterprise, Unlimited, or Professional with API access — no API, no dice).
  • Admin rights on both platforms. If you’re not an admin, find one who owes you a favor.
  • A clear idea of what data you want to sync (Leads? Contacts? Custom fields?).
  • About an hour (if you don’t hit snags).

Step 1: Install the HubSpot-Salesforce Integration

You can't sync anything until the two tools can talk. HubSpot’s Salesforce integration isn’t buried, but it’s not always obvious.

  1. Log into HubSpot.
  2. In the main navigation, click the settings gear.
  3. Go to Integrations > Connected Apps.
  4. Search for Salesforce, then click Connect an app.
  5. Follow the prompts. You’ll be asked to log into Salesforce and give permissions. Use a Salesforce admin account.
  6. Choose your sync direction (just HubSpot to Salesforce, or both ways). Start simple: HubSpot → Salesforce.
  7. HubSpot will install a managed package in Salesforce. Approve it. (It’s safe, but read what permissions you’re granting.)
  8. When you see “Connected,” you’re good — for now.

Pro tip: The integration sometimes gets stuck if your Salesforce instance has strict security settings or custom objects everywhere. If you get errors, check your Salesforce user permissions and API access first.

Step 2: Map Your Fields — Don’t Skip This

Here’s where most people get burned. HubSpot and Salesforce each have their own fields for things like First Name, Email, Company, etc. If you don’t map them right, your data ends up in the wrong place (or not at all).

  1. In HubSpot, go back to Settings > Integrations > Salesforce.
  2. Click the Field Mappings tab.
  3. Look at the defaults. HubSpot does a decent job guessing, but it won’t catch your custom fields.
  4. For every important field on your HubSpot Forms, make sure there’s a matching Salesforce field.
    • If you use custom questions (“How did you hear about us?”), you may need to make a custom field in Salesforce first.
    • Don’t map fields you don’t actually use. More isn’t better — it’s just more to debug.
  5. Save your mappings.

Don’t ignore this: If your mappings are wrong, you’ll get blank or misfiled leads. Fixing this later is a pain.

Step 3: Decide What Gets Synced — And When

By default, every new contact from a HubSpot form can go to Salesforce. Sometimes that’s what you want. Sometimes it’s not (like when you get spam, or someone fills out a newsletter signup that shouldn’t go to sales).

  1. In the Salesforce integration settings in HubSpot, find Sync Settings.
  2. Decide if you want all contacts to sync, or just some. You can filter by:
    • List membership (e.g., only contacts from a certain campaign)
    • Lifecycle stage
    • Other properties (like “Contact Owner”)
  3. Don’t overthink this at first. Start broad, but keep an eye on junk data in Salesforce.

Pro tip: If you get a ton of spam or irrelevant leads, add a simple rule so only contacts with a real company name or business email sync over.

Step 4: Set Up Your HubSpot Forms for Salesforce Sync

Not every form needs to push data into Salesforce. Figure out which forms matter for sales, and which should stay in HubSpot (think: event registrations, content downloads, customer support).

  1. In HubSpot, open the form you want to sync.
  2. Make sure every field you want to send to Salesforce is mapped to a HubSpot property that’s also mapped to Salesforce (see Step 2).
  3. Save and publish the form.
  4. Test the form yourself. Fill it out with a test email and see if you show up in Salesforce.
  5. If you don’t see the test lead in Salesforce, check:
    • Sync errors in HubSpot (Settings > Integrations > Salesforce > Sync Health)
    • Field mapping (sometimes required fields in Salesforce block the sync)
    • If your filter rules are too strict

Honest take: Testing with real data beats guessing every single time. Do this before you roll out to your team.

Step 5: Tweak Lead Assignment in Salesforce

By default, all synced leads go to the Salesforce user who authorized the integration. That’s probably not what you want.

  1. In Salesforce, set up Lead Assignment Rules (Setup > Lead Assignment Rules).
  2. Create rules so new leads from HubSpot go to the right rep, queue, or territory.
    • You can route by geography, product interest, whatever makes sense for your team.
  3. Test again. Make sure your test lead from Step 4 lands with the right owner.

Heads up: If you skip this, your sales team will get cranky — or worse, ignore leads because they think they’re “not mine.”

Step 6: Monitor and Maintain the Integration

Integrations break. APIs change. Fields get renamed. Assume you’ll need to check in on this setup now and then.

  • Check sync health weekly. HubSpot will flag errors, but you have to look for them.
  • Audit field mappings quarterly. As your forms or Salesforce fields change, update mappings.
  • Watch for duplicates. If your Salesforce deduplication rules are loose, you’ll get repeat records. Tighten up matching rules if needed.
  • Train your team. Make sure folks know which forms sync to Salesforce and which don’t.

Pro tip: If things go sideways, disconnecting and reconnecting the integration can fix weird issues — but it’s a last resort. Don’t do it unless you have to, and always back up your mappings.

What to Ignore (For Now)

  • Custom object sync: Unless you know exactly why you need this, skip it. Stick to Leads and Contacts.
  • Bi-directional sync: Start with one-way (HubSpot → Salesforce) unless you’re already advanced. Two-way sync creates more problems than it solves for most teams.
  • Fancy automation: Get the basics working first. You can always add workflows later.

Honest Pros and Cons

What works well:

  • Basic contact/lead info syncs reliably once set up.
  • Salesforce assignment rules give you control.
  • HubSpot’s integration UI is better than most.

What doesn’t:

  • Custom fields can be a nightmare if you’re not organized.
  • Sync errors aren’t always obvious — you have to check.
  • If your sales team ignores HubSpot fields, they’ll miss context.

What to watch for:

  • Lead deduplication between HubSpot and Salesforce is only as good as your rules.
  • API limits in Salesforce (if you’re a high-volume org, you can hit them).
  • Permissions — changing a user’s access can break the sync.

Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple and Iterate

You don’t need to build the perfect integration on day one. Get your main HubSpot Forms flowing into Salesforce, double-check your field mappings, and test with actual data. Once the basics work, tweak filters and assignment rules. If something breaks, don’t panic — fix, test, and move on. Simple, reliable sync beats “fully automated” but broken, every time.

If you hit weird issues, search HubSpot’s and Salesforce’s help docs — or ask someone who’s done it before. And remember: Less is often more when it comes to integrations.