So you want to automatically get leads from your website experiments into Salesforce—without spending hours in documentation hell or chasing down your dev team for favors. You’re the type who likes things to work, and you want to see value fast. This guide is for you.
We’ll walk through how to hook up Intellimize—the website personalization and experimentation platform—to Salesforce, so your leads flow in reliably. We’ll call out what matters, what doesn’t, and where you’re likely to hit snags (so you can avoid them). This isn’t a marketing blog post. It’s the guide I wish I’d had.
Before You Start: What You Actually Need
Don’t skip this checklist. It’ll save you frustration later.
- Salesforce admin access. You need to be able to create or edit objects and fields. If you’re not the admin, get them on speed dial.
- Intellimize account (obviously). Make sure you have access to the experiments or forms you want to connect.
- A form or event in Intellimize that collects lead info—at a minimum, email addresses.
- A clear idea of where you want the data to go in Salesforce. Are you creating Leads? Contacts? Updating something else?
Pro tip: Map out your fields before you start clicking around. Salesforce field names are rarely as readable as you think.
Step 1: Decide What Data Should Flow Into Salesforce
You can send everything, but you probably shouldn’t. Extra noise means more clean-up down the line.
- Start with the basics: Name, email, company, and whatever else your sales team actually uses.
- Custom fields? Make sure they exist in Salesforce first.
- Ignore vanity metrics or "nice-to-have" data for now. You can always add them later.
Honest take: The more fields you sync, the more stuff can break. Keep it simple at first. You’ll thank yourself.
Step 2: Prepare Salesforce to Accept Intellimize Data
If you try to send data to Salesforce without matching the fields, it’ll just bounce—or worse, go missing.
2.1. Create or Confirm Fields
- In Salesforce, go to the Lead (or Contact) object.
- Make sure every field you want to send from Intellimize already exists here.
- If you’re missing anything, create new custom fields now.
- Double-check field types (text, picklist, etc.)—mismatches cause errors.
2.2. Get the Salesforce API Details
- You’ll need your Salesforce instance URL.
- Create a connected app in Salesforce for API access (unless your org already has one).
- Collect:
- Client ID
- Client Secret
- Username & Password (usually an integration user, not your personal account)
- Security Token
Pro tip: Don’t use your own login for integrations. If you leave the company, things break.
Step 3: Set Up Intellimize for Outbound Lead Data
Now, let’s get Intellimize ready to push leads to Salesforce.
3.1. Find Your Form/Event in Intellimize
- Log in to Intellimize.
- Go to the experiment or landing page with your lead form.
- Find the settings or integrations section. (If it’s not obvious, check their help docs or ask support.)
3.2. Map Form Fields to Salesforce Fields
- In the integration setup, you’ll be prompted to map your form fields to Salesforce fields.
- Use the exact API names from Salesforce (not the labels you see in the UI).
- Don’t map fields you don’t need.
- If you’re not sure about a mapping, skip it for now and test with the basics.
Annoying reality: You’ll almost always have to look up the API names in Salesforce Setup > Object Manager > [Object] > Fields & Relationships.
Step 4: Connect Intellimize to Salesforce
This is the part everyone overcomplicates. Here’s the real process.
4.1. Enter Salesforce Credentials in Intellimize
- Go to the Salesforce integration section in Intellimize.
- Enter the Salesforce instance URL, Client ID, Client Secret, Username, Password, and Security Token.
- Save and test the connection. If it fails, check your credentials. Typos are the #1 cause of headaches here.
4.2. Decide on Lead Assignment Rules (Optional)
- If you want all leads to go to a queue or specific owner, set this in Salesforce ahead of time.
- Some Intellimize integrations let you specify an owner or queue—use this if you know what you’re doing.
4.3. Set Trigger Conditions
- Decide if you want every form fill to become a lead, or only those that meet certain criteria (e.g., business email, not a competitor).
- Set up filters in Intellimize if available, or use Salesforce validation rules as a backup.
Step 5: Test the Integration (Don’t Skip This)
This is where most integrations go sideways. Test with real data, not just the “Test Connection” button.
5.1. Submit a Test Lead
- Fill out your Intellimize-connected form with a test email (use a real domain, not @test.com—Salesforce sometimes blocks these).
- Check Salesforce for the new lead/contact.
- Make sure all fields came through as expected. Watch for missing or mismapped data.
5.2. Check for Duplicates
- Submit the form again with the same email.
- Does Salesforce create a duplicate, update the existing lead, or throw an error?
- Adjust your duplicate rules in Salesforce if needed.
5.3. Test Edge Cases
- Try leaving out a required field. Does the integration fail gracefully?
- Submit with weird characters or long inputs. Better to find out now.
Pro tip: Keep a log of your test cases and results. If something breaks down the line, you’ll know where to start.
Step 6: Roll Out (But Monitor Closely)
Once testing looks good, you can open the floodgates. But don’t walk away just yet.
- Monitor new leads in Salesforce for the first few days.
- Check for oddities—missing fields, wrong owners, weird formatting.
- Get feedback from your sales team. If they’re annoyed, you’ll hear about it.
What works: Start small. Roll out to one form or segment first. Fix issues before scaling.
What doesn’t: Turning on everything at once and hoping for the best. You’ll spend more time cleaning up than you saved.
Troubleshooting: Common Issues (and How to Actually Fix Them)
- Fields not mapping? Double-check API names and field types.
- Nothing shows up in Salesforce? Check credentials, user permissions, and integration user access.
- Duplicate leads? Adjust Salesforce duplicate rules or set up matching logic in Intellimize.
- Weird characters or formatting? Watch out for picklists and data validation rules. Simplify where possible.
If you’re stuck, don’t be afraid to reach out to Intellimize or Salesforce support—but bring specifics (test data, screenshots, error messages).
Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Don’t Overthink It
Integrating Intellimize with Salesforce isn’t rocket science, but it does reward a “less is more” approach. Start with just what you need. Get feedback. Add complexity only when you have to. And remember: most integration issues come from mismatched fields or bad test data, not from anything fancy.
Keep your setup lean, document what you did, and improve as you go. That’s how you get seamless lead management—without losing your mind.