Step by step guide to integrating Kixie with Salesforce for seamless lead management

Need to sync your calls and texts from Kixie into Salesforce, without babysitting the process? This guide is for real-world sales teams, admins, and anyone tired of leads falling through the cracks because their tools don’t talk. If you want a no-nonsense walkthrough to get Kixie and Salesforce working together (minus the fluff and headaches), you’re in the right place.

Let’s get you from zero to smooth lead management—step by step.

Why bother integrating Kixie with Salesforce?

First, a quick reality check. If you’re already using Kixie for calling and texting, and Salesforce for keeping your leads and deals organized, keeping these two in sync is a no-brainer. Here’s what you actually get:

  • Automatic call & SMS logging: No more “Did you log that call?” nagging.
  • Click-to-call & SMS in Salesforce: Save time and reduce misdials.
  • Better reporting: See the whole sales picture, not just pieces.
  • Real-time task and activity creation: Cut down on manual busywork.

But—full honesty—no integration is perfect. Expect some setup friction, and you’ll need to keep an eye on sync issues from time to time.

What you’ll need before you start

Don’t skip this. You’ll avoid lots of “Why isn’t this working?” headaches.

  • Salesforce account (Enterprise, Unlimited, Performance, or Professional with API access)
  • Kixie admin account
  • Kixie Chrome extension (for click-to-call)
  • Admin permissions in both systems
  • A modern browser (Chrome is safest)
  • A few test leads/contacts in Salesforce

Pro tip: Block off an hour when you’re not in back-to-back meetings. You’ll want to test things live.

Step 1: Connect Kixie to Salesforce

  1. Log into your Kixie dashboard as an admin.
  2. Go to Manage > Integrations.
  3. Find Salesforce in the list and click Connect.
  4. A Salesforce authentication window pops up. Log in with your Salesforce admin account.
  5. Authorize Kixie to access your Salesforce data. Don’t overthink the permissions—Kixie needs full access to write calls and texts to leads and contacts.
  6. Once connected, you’ll see a confirmation in Kixie.

What can go wrong? - Wrong Salesforce edition: If you’re on Professional without API access, you’re stuck. No workaround, unfortunately. - Popup blocked: If nothing happens when you click Connect, check your browser’s popup blocker.

Step 2: Set up call and SMS logging

By default, Kixie will try to log calls and texts as “Tasks” or “Activities” in Salesforce. Let’s check (and tweak) these settings so you don’t end up with a mess.

  1. In the Kixie dashboard, go to Integrations > Salesforce Settings.
  2. Decide what you want to log:
  3. Calls: Incoming, outgoing, missed, or all of the above?
  4. SMS: All texts, or just certain types?
  5. Choose which objects to sync with:
  6. Leads, Contacts, or both (most teams pick both).
  7. Decide if you want to auto-create new leads when Kixie can’t find a match in Salesforce. Turn this off if your team hates clutter.
  8. Hit Save Settings.

Pro tip: Start simple. Log everything for the first week. You can always dial it back if you’re drowning in activities.

Step 3: Install the Kixie Chrome extension

This is what powers click-to-call and click-to-text inside Salesforce.

  1. Install the Kixie PowerCall extension from the Chrome Web Store.
  2. Once installed, log in using your Kixie account.
  3. Go to Salesforce in your browser. You should now see phone icons next to numbers.

Troubleshooting: - If you don’t see the icons, refresh Salesforce, or restart Chrome. - Still nothing? Make sure your Salesforce page layouts actually include phone numbers (it sounds silly, but it happens).

Step 4: Test the integration

Before you roll this out to your whole team, run a few sanity checks.

  1. In Salesforce, find a test lead or contact.
  2. Click the phone icon to make a test call using Kixie.
  3. End the call, then refresh the lead’s activity timeline in Salesforce.
  4. You should see a new Task or Activity with call details (duration, outcome, notes).
  5. Send a test SMS from Kixie—does it show up in Salesforce? If yes, you’re on track.

If something’s off: - Double-check that Salesforce and Kixie are connected on the correct accounts. - Make sure your objects (Leads/Contacts) have valid phone numbers and aren’t marked as private. - Check your Kixie integration settings for any sync errors.

Step 5: Roll out to your team (without chaos)

Once you know it works, get your team set up:

  • Share a simple checklist: Chrome, Kixie extension, login, test call.
  • Run a quick demo: Show what a logged call looks like in Salesforce.
  • Set expectations: Let folks know what will (and won’t) sync. No, it won’t log WhatsApp messages.
  • Pick a point person: Someone to collect any issues or questions for the first week.

Honest take: There will be edge cases—duplicates, missed logs, weirdly formatted numbers. Don’t panic. Most of this can be ironed out with tweaks to page layouts or Kixie’s matching logic.

Step 6: Tweak and maintain

The first week will surface weirdness—trust me.

  • Duplicate records: If calls are logging to both Leads and Contacts, revisit your sync settings.
  • Missed logs: Check that users are logged into both Kixie and Salesforce at the same time.
  • Reporting headaches: Customize Salesforce reports to show the new Kixie activities, or create dashboards that actually help your team.
  • Keep the Kixie extension updated. Chrome will usually do this, but double-check every month or two.

What to ignore: Don’t overcomplicate with automation (like auto-closing tasks) until you see a real need. Start with the basics.

A few things to watch out for

  • API limits: Salesforce has daily API call limits. If you’re a big team, keep an eye on this—especially after a big import or during ramp-up.
  • Phone number formatting: Weird formats can block syncing. Stick to E.164 (+1 for US numbers, etc.) for best results.
  • User permissions: If some users can’t see logged calls, check their Salesforce permissions.
  • Data privacy: Kixie pulls in phone and SMS data. Make sure your team’s OK with this from a compliance standpoint.

Wrapping up: Keep it simple, iterate as you go

Integrating Kixie with Salesforce isn’t rocket science, but it does take a little planning. Start small, get the basics working, and don’t chase every “advanced” feature out of the gate. Once your calls and texts are logging reliably, you can start thinking about cool stuff like workflow automation or custom dashboards.

Most of all, keep your setup as simple as possible—at least until your team actually asks for more. That’s how you keep leads (and your sanity) from slipping through the cracks.