If you’re tired of chasing down scattered customer data between Salesforce and your CS platform, you’re not alone. This guide’s for admins, RevOps folks, and anyone who just wants Salesforce to play nice with Vitally without a tangle of spaghetti workflows. No hand-waving or “magical” integrations here—just a practical, step-by-step guide to get your data syncing reliably. Let’s get into it.
Why bother syncing Salesforce and Vitally?
Let’s be clear: not every business needs this. But if you use Salesforce as your source of truth (for accounts, contacts, deals) and Vitally for customer success or health scoring, manual exports don’t cut it. You want:
- Real-time (or close to it) customer data in Vitally for proactive CS work
- No more copy-paste errors or “who owns this account?” confusion
- Sales and CS teams actually looking at the same info
But—integrations can get messy. Custom fields, permissions, sandbox vs prod, API limits… it’s easy to get overwhelmed. This guide focuses on what works for 90% of companies. If your Salesforce is a Rube Goldberg machine, you’ll still want a consultant.
Step 1: Prep Your Salesforce Data
Don’t skip this. Garbage in, garbage out is extra true for integrations.
What to check:
- Are your Salesforce Account and Contact records actually clean? If you’ve got duplicates, or key info lives in weird custom fields, fix that first.
- Decide what you need in Vitally. Most teams want Account Name, Owner, Health Score, Stage, ARR, and maybe a handful of custom fields. Don’t try to sync everything—start small.
- Custom fields: List out any custom fields your CS team relies on. Make sure they have consistent data types and values (picklists, not free text, whenever possible).
Pro tip:
If your team can’t agree on what “Customer Health” means, figure that out before syncing. Otherwise, you’ll just be piping chaos from one tool to another.
Step 2: Get the Right Permissions
You’ll need admin rights in both Salesforce and Vitally. Don’t have them? Line up the right people now—nothing stalls an integration like waiting on access.
- Salesforce: You’ll want API access and the ability to create “Connected Apps.”
- Vitally: You’ll need admin access to set up integrations and map fields.
If you’re not sure, check with your Salesforce admin. They’re used to being asked for weird permissions.
Step 3: Connect Salesforce and Vitally
Most users will use Vitally’s built-in Salesforce integration. This is easier (and safer) than trying to DIY with middleware like Zapier or custom scripts.
3.1: In Vitally, start the Salesforce integration
- Go to Settings > Integrations in Vitally.
- Find Salesforce, and hit “Connect.”
- You’ll be prompted to sign in to Salesforce and approve Vitally’s access.
Heads up:
If your org uses Salesforce sandboxes, be sure you’re connecting to the right environment. Don’t accidentally sync test data to your production Vitally workspace.
3.2: Authorize the connection
- Salesforce will show you a list of permissions Vitally needs. These usually include:
- Access to Accounts, Contacts, Opportunities
- API access for reading records
- Approve the permissions and return to Vitally.
What if my Salesforce admin won’t approve?
Show them Vitally’s docs, and clarify that Vitally won’t write data—just read it. If you need write-back, that’s a whole different level of risk and complexity.
Step 4: Map Your Fields
Here’s where integrations usually go sideways. Be deliberate.
4.1: Default mappings
Vitally will suggest default Salesforce-to-Vitally mappings for common fields like:
- Account Name → Organization Name
- Account Owner → CSM/Owner in Vitally
- ARR or Opportunity Amount → Revenue field
Review these. They’re usually fine, but double-check custom fields or anything business-critical.
4.2: Custom fields
- Add mappings for any custom fields your CS team needs.
- Match data types—don’t try to put a Salesforce picklist into a Vitally text field.
- Set up calculated fields in Salesforce before syncing, if you need “blended” data.
What NOT to sync:
- Fields that change constantly and don’t matter for CS (e.g. “Last Marketing Email Opened”)
- Large text blobs or files
- Anything your team doesn’t actually use in workflows
Pro tip:
Fewer fields = less to debug later. You can always add more fields once you confirm the basics are working.
Step 5: Set Up Sync Schedules
- Decide if you want real-time sync (instant updates) or batch sync (e.g. once an hour).
- For most orgs: hourly is fine and less likely to hit Salesforce API limits.
- Set up error alerts if Vitally or Salesforce can’t sync (email or Slack).
Gotcha:
If you have a ton of records (tens of thousands), the first sync can take hours. Plan accordingly.
Step 6: Test With a Subset of Data
Don’t sync your whole org on day one.
- Use filters in Vitally (or Salesforce views) to sync just a segment—like accounts you personally own.
- Check:
- Do all mapped fields populate correctly?
- Does ownership (account managers/CSMs) line up?
- Are custom fields readable and accurate?
- Make updates in Salesforce and confirm they appear in Vitally (and vice versa if you’re doing two-way sync).
Common issues:
- Field type mismatches (picklist vs. text)
- Permissions errors
- Out-of-date field values
If things look off:
Double-check your mappings and make sure fields aren’t restricted or hidden in Salesforce.
Step 7: Roll Out to the Whole Team
Once your test data is syncing cleanly:
- Remove any filters to allow full org sync (if you want).
- Let your CS team know what’s now live—and what’s still syncing.
- Update your internal documentation or onboarding guides with the new workflow.
Pro tip:
Schedule a quick team training or record a Loom video showing how to find the synced fields in Vitally. Otherwise, half your team will still ask for Salesforce reports.
Step 8: Monitor and Maintain
Integrations aren’t “set and forget.” Here’s what to keep an eye on:
- Failed syncs: Both tools will flag errors, but only if someone’s watching. Set up notifications.
- Field changes: If you add or rename fields in Salesforce, update your mappings in Vitally.
- API updates: Salesforce loves to change things. Check Vitally’s release notes every so often.
- User feedback: Listen for “why isn’t this updating?” complaints—often a sign of a mapping or permissions hiccup.
Honest Takes and Pitfalls to Avoid
- Don’t sync everything: More fields = more bugs.
- Avoid two-way sync unless you really need it: It’s way riskier, especially if you have lots of custom logic in Salesforce. Read-only pulls are safer.
- Don’t ignore data hygiene: Integrations amplify bad data—they don’t fix it.
- Custom objects: If you use a lot of custom Salesforce objects, Vitally’s out-of-the-box integration might not cut it. You’ll need API work or middleware.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple
Getting Salesforce and Vitally talking isn’t rocket science, but the devil’s in the details. Start with the basics, test with a small group, and don’t try to sync every field you’ve ever created. If something’s not working, check your field types and permissions before pulling your hair out over “system errors.” Most of all, iterate—don’t aim for “perfect” on day one. Good luck, and keep it practical.