So your sales team wants real-time leaderboards. You use Salesforce, and your manager just asked if you can “make it more fun.” Enter Hoopla: it pulls sales data out of Salesforce and blasts out live rankings, contests, and cheers to TVs or browsers. But the integration isn’t always plug-and-play, and the setup can go sideways if you don’t know what to expect.
This guide is for Salesforce admins, ops folks, and team leads who want leaderboards without creating a mess or babysitting dashboards. Here’s how to get Hoopla and Salesforce talking—and what to watch out for.
Step 1: Know What You’re Getting Into
Before you start clicking around, get clear on a few basics:
- Hoopla is not free. You need a paid Hoopla account, and pricing isn’t always transparent. Budget for it.
- Salesforce permissions matter. You’ll need Salesforce admin rights or at least a custom integration user with API access.
- Data hygiene is everything. If your Salesforce data is messy, your leaderboards will be too. Garbage in, garbage out.
Pro tip: If you’re not sure your Salesforce instance is clean enough, check your Opportunities and Activities objects. If reps aren’t updating them, Hoopla’s leaderboard will just embarrass everyone.
Step 2: Prep Salesforce for Integration
This is where most headaches start. Hoopla pulls data via the Salesforce API, so your integration will only be as good as your fields and permissions.
What you need:
- A Salesforce user with “API Enabled” permissions. Most folks use a dedicated integration user—don’t use your own login.
- Clear naming and picklists for fields you want to track (e.g., Opportunity Stage, Closed Won Date, Amount).
Steps:
- Create or identify your integration user.
- Go to Salesforce Setup > Users > New User.
- Give this user a strong password, API access, and read permissions on the objects you want Hoopla to see. (Usually Opportunities, Leads, Accounts, Activities.)
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Don’t give more permissions than necessary. This user doesn’t need to edit—just read.
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Clean your data fields.
- Standardize picklist values. No “Closed Won”/“closed won”/“CW” chaos.
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Check that your reps are actually updating the fields you want to track. No point in rewarding phantom activity.
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Note your Salesforce instance details.
- You’ll need your Salesforce domain (e.g.,
mycompany.my.salesforce.com) and know if you’re using Classic or Lightning. Hoopla works with both, but the screens look different.
Step 3: Set Up the Salesforce-Hoopla Connection
Now you’re ready to actually connect the two systems. Hoopla uses Salesforce’s OAuth for secure API access. Here’s how to do it:
- Log into Hoopla.
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Use your admin account. If you don’t have one, ask your Hoopla account rep to set you up.
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Navigate to Integrations.
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In Hoopla’s sidebar, find “Integrations” or “Connections.” Look for “Salesforce.”
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Start the Salesforce connection wizard.
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Click “Connect Salesforce.” You’ll be redirected to a Salesforce login page.
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Log in with the integration user account.
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This is where you enter the credentials you set up earlier. Don’t use your day-to-day login.
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Approve the permissions.
- Salesforce will show a list of permissions Hoopla is requesting (usually read access to Opportunities, Leads, Users, etc.). Approve only if you’re comfortable.
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If you’re paranoid about security, double-check that Hoopla doesn’t get “modify all data” unless you intend it.
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Wait for confirmation.
- Hoopla should show a “Connected” or “Success” message. If it fails, check the user’s permissions and Salesforce’s API access limits.
Heads up: If your Salesforce org has tight IP restrictions, whitelist Hoopla’s integration IPs (ask their support for the current list). Otherwise, the API calls will get blocked.
Step 4: Choose What Data Flows In
Hoopla can pull in a lot of Salesforce data, but you don’t want all of it. Pick only the objects and fields that actually matter for your team’s competitions.
Typical choices:
- Opportunities: Track deals closed, revenue, or deal count.
- Leads: For SDR teams, you might want “Leads converted.”
- Activities: Calls made, emails sent, meetings held.
How to select:
- In Hoopla’s integration settings, pick the objects.
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There’s usually a checklist or dropdown. Select only what you need.
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Map the fields.
- For example, tell Hoopla that “Opportunity Close Date” in Salesforce maps to “Deal Won Date” in Hoopla.
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If you use custom fields (like “Booked Revenue” instead of standard “Amount”), map those explicitly.
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Set any filters.
- Want only US deals? Filter by Region.
- Only want deals over $10K? Set a field filter.
What to ignore: Don’t bother pulling in every field. The more you sync, the more likely something breaks. Start with one or two metrics—add more later if the team actually cares.
Step 5: Build Your First Leaderboard
This is the fun part, but it’s also where people overcomplicate things.
Recommended approach:
- Pick one simple metric.
- Example: “Closed Won Opportunities this month.”
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Keep it basic. If you try to gamify 10 things at once, nobody will care.
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Use Hoopla’s leaderboard builder.
- Add a new leaderboard.
- Choose your metric and time frame (e.g., “This Month,” “Quarter to Date”).
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Select which users or teams participate. You can filter by Salesforce roles or custom fields.
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Test with dummy data.
- Hoopla lets you preview the leaderboard with sample numbers.
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Check that names and numbers match what’s actually in Salesforce.
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Set up notifications.
- Decide if you want to blast updates to TV screens, browsers, or Slack. Go easy at first—constant noise = alert fatigue.
Pitfall to avoid: Don’t let reps self-select into leaderboards. Tie it to Salesforce user records so you’re tracking the right people.
Step 6: Go Live (But Start Small)
Time to launch. But don’t flip the switch for the whole company yet.
- Pilot with one team.
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Roll out to a single sales pod or region. Watch what breaks.
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Watch for data mismatches.
- Compare Hoopla’s numbers to manual Salesforce reports. If they’re off, the mapping or filters are wrong.
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Push reps to flag weird results—they’ll spot errors faster than you will.
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Collect feedback.
- Is the leaderboard motivating? Or are people gaming it? (E.g., logging fake calls.)
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Tweak filters and fields as needed.
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Iterate.
- Add more metrics only if the first one actually gets used.
Step 7: Maintain and Adjust
Integrations aren’t “set and forget.” Keep an eye on these common snags:
- API limits: If you’ve got lots of integrations, you might hit Salesforce API call limits. Spread out data pulls if needed.
- User changes: New reps in Salesforce won’t auto-sync to Hoopla unless your mapping is set up right. Check quarterly.
- Data drift: If sales processes change (new fields, new stages), update your mapping in Hoopla or things will break.
- Over-gamification: If you start seeing weird behaviors (suspicious spikes in activities), revisit what you’re rewarding.
Pro tip: Schedule a 15-minute check-in every month to make sure the leaderboard matches reality. A little maintenance beats a leaderboard nobody trusts.
Keep It Simple and Iterate
Automated leaderboards can boost energy—or turn into a data nightmare. Start with the basics, keep your fields clean, and don’t chase every shiny metric. If something’s not working, cut it. The best setups are the ones you barely notice, because they just work.