If you’ve ever felt like Salesforce is great for storing leads but lousy at telling you when your old contacts move to new companies, you’re not alone. That’s where Usergems comes in—it’s a tool designed to spot those job changes so you can reach out at the right time. This guide is for anyone who’s tired of stale data and wants to make the most of their CRM, without getting lost in a sea of buzzwords or empty promises.
Below, you’ll find the unvarnished steps to set up Usergems with Salesforce, what to watch out for, and how to actually turn it into something useful for your team. No wasted time—just the stuff that matters.
Step 1: Get Your Ducks in a Row
Before you dive in, check that you have:
- Salesforce admin rights. If you can’t install packages, you’ll need someone who can.
- A Usergems account with access to integration features. (Not all plans include this—double-check what you’ve bought.)
- A clear idea of your lead process. Usergems can surface a lot of data. If your team isn’t ready to act on it, you’ll end up with noise instead of value.
Pro tip: If you’re just “testing,” set up a Salesforce sandbox first. You don’t want to flood your real CRM with demo data.
Step 2: Install the Usergems Salesforce Package
This is where most people start, but don’t just click through. Slow down and read the prompts.
- Log in to Salesforce (as an admin).
- Get the Usergems managed package link. This should come from your Usergems rep or onboarding email.
- Install for “Admins Only” at first. You can always open it up later.
- Follow the post-install steps: Usually, you’ll need to add some fields to your Lead, Contact, or Account layouts. Don’t skip this—otherwise, you won’t see Usergems data where you expect it.
Watch out for:
- Permission errors. If someone else installed, you might not see new fields. Double-check your own profile.
- Field limits. Salesforce has strict field limits per object. If you’re running into errors, clean up old unused fields first.
Step 3: Connect Usergems to Salesforce
Now you need to actually connect the two systems. Most of this is handled in the Usergems app.
- Log in to Usergems.
- Go to Settings > Integrations > Salesforce.
- Click “Connect” and follow the OAuth prompts. You’ll grant Usergems permission to read and write certain fields.
Don’t just blindly accept all permissions. Read what you’re agreeing to. You want to give Usergems access to the right objects (usually Leads, Contacts, Accounts, Opportunities) and nothing extra.
Common hiccups: - Multi-factor authentication (MFA) can trip up the connection. Make sure your Salesforce security settings allow integrations. - Some companies lock down API access. If you get blocked, you’ll need your Salesforce admin to adjust settings.
Step 4: Configure Field Mappings
Usergems tries to match its data to your Salesforce fields, but it’s not always perfect. Take the time to review the mappings.
- Default fields: Name, Email, Job Title, Company, LinkedIn URL.
- Custom fields: If you track something specific (e.g., “Last Usergems Touch”), create those fields in Salesforce first.
- De-duplication settings: Decide if Usergems should create new Leads, update existing Contacts, or both.
Best practice:
Set up a custom Lead Source value (like “Usergems”) so you can track what’s working. Otherwise, you’ll never know if Usergems is actually driving results.
Step 5: Set Up Automation (Optional, but Worth It)
Here’s where things can go off the rails. Usergems can create Leads or Tasks automatically whenever it finds a job change. That sounds great—until you end up with hundreds of new records and no one follows up.
Options: - Create Leads automatically. Good if you have a dedicated team to work them. - Create Tasks for owners. Safer—let reps decide what’s worth pursuing. - Just send alerts/emails. Easiest, but relies on people actually reading notifications.
What works?
Start slow. Maybe just create Tasks for a small group and see if they actually act on them. If not, adjust before rolling out to everyone.
Step 6: Train Your Team (Seriously, Don’t Skip This)
No, you can't just turn it on and expect magic. If reps don’t know what Usergems is or why these new Leads are popping up, they’ll ignore them—or worse, mark them as junk and mess up your data.
- Give them the “why.” “These are former customers or contacts who just changed jobs. They’re more likely to respond.”
- Show them where to find Usergems fields in Salesforce.
- Spell out next steps. Should they email right away? Wait for marketing to nurture? Make it clear.
If you skip this:
Expect confusion, complaints, and a lot of ignored records.
Step 7: Measure, Adjust, Repeat
Don’t just set it and forget it. Check in after a week, a month, and a quarter.
- Are reps actually working Usergems leads? If not, why?
- Is Salesforce getting cluttered? Too many low-quality leads? Tweak your filters.
- Are you seeing real results? (Meetings booked, deals started, etc.)
If it’s not working, don’t be afraid to turn off automation or make the process manual until you’re sure it’s helping, not hurting.
What to Ignore (And What to Watch Out For)
- Ignore “set it and forget it” promises. No tool will fix your process by itself.
- Don’t chase every shiny metric. Focus on meetings booked or deals won, not “leads created.”
- Integrate only what you’ll use. If your team hates tasks, don’t create them—just send alerts.
Biggest pitfalls:
- Overloading reps with noise.
- Not tracking results.
- Forgetting to clean up your Salesforce after testing.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple and Iterate
Integrating Usergems with Salesforce isn’t rocket science, but the devil’s in the details. Take your time, start small, and focus on what actually helps your team close more deals—not just what looks good in a dashboard. Once you see real results, then expand.
Remember: more data isn’t always better. The best integrations are the ones your team actually uses. If you keep things simple and keep tweaking as you go, you’ll get far more value than just flipping a switch and hoping for the best.