If you’re tired of babysitting your Salesforce CRM, updating fields after every meeting, or chasing your team to fill in call notes, you’re not alone. Most folks know that a CRM is only as good as the info inside it—but getting that info in there is a pain. This guide is for sales teams, ops people, or anyone who wants real, low-maintenance automation between their meetings and Salesforce. We’ll walk step by step through how to use Avoma to take the grunt work out of CRM updates—no hand-waving, just what you need to know.
Why bother automating CRM updates?
Let’s be honest: nobody enjoys manual data entry. It’s repetitive, error-prone, and distracts from the real work—selling, coaching, or closing deals. Even if you’ve got “update Salesforce” on your checklist, it’s easy to forget or rush through. That’s how CRMs end up out of date, and why pipeline reviews turn into detective work.
Automation means: - Less time on admin, more time on actual work. - Fewer mistakes (like forgetting to update next steps or deal stage). - A single source of truth—finally.
But not every integration is worth your time. Some are clunky, break often, or dump so much data into Salesforce that it’s just noise. We’ll cut through that and focus on what’s actually helpful.
What Avoma actually does—and doesn’t do
Avoma isn’t magic, but it’s solid at what it does: it records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings, then can push notes, action items, and other details into Salesforce automatically. The best part is that it can do this without you having to touch a thing after the call.
What works: - Automatically logs meetings (and their notes) to the right Salesforce records. - Updates fields like next steps, call summaries, and follow-ups—if you set it up right. - Gives your team a searchable record of conversations, so you’re not digging through emails or scribbled notes.
What doesn’t: - It won’t magically know which account or opportunity to update if your calendar invites are a mess. Garbage in, garbage out. - Sometimes the AI summaries or action items need a quick review—don’t expect zero touch, but it’s way better than starting from scratch. - It won’t replace human judgment for complex updates or nuanced deal notes.
If you’re hoping for a robot that closes deals for you, keep dreaming. But if you want to get 80% of the admin work out of your way, read on.
Step-by-step: Automate Salesforce CRM updates with Avoma
Here’s how you get things running smoothly. I’ll call out what’s optional, what’s essential, and what you can skip if you’re just getting started.
1. Get your essentials in order
Before you even touch Avoma or Salesforce settings, check these basics:
- Calendar hygiene: Make sure your meetings have clear titles and invitees. Avoma maps meetings to Salesforce using names and emails—if your invites are cryptic or missing guests, things can get messy.
- Salesforce access: You’ll need admin rights (or at least “integration” privileges) to connect external apps.
- Avoma account: Get your Avoma login handy. If your team’s not signed up yet, you’ll need to start a trial or subscription.
Pro tip: If you’re rolling this out for a team, do a quick audit of how folks are scheduling meetings. Consistency saves headaches later.
2. Connect Avoma and Salesforce
This is where the magic starts. Avoma’s Salesforce integration is pretty straightforward, but don’t rush through it:
- Head to Avoma’s Integrations settings: Usually under “Settings” > “Integrations.”
- Find Salesforce and click “Connect.”
- Authenticate with your Salesforce account: You’ll be asked to log in and grant permissions. Make sure you’re using an account with enough access.
- Set sync preferences: Decide which objects you want Avoma to update—Leads, Contacts, Opportunities, etc.
What matters:
- Only connect to a sandbox if you’re testing—otherwise, use your production Salesforce.
- Don’t go wild and sync everything. Start with just Opportunities or Accounts unless you know exactly what you want.
If you’re worried about privacy, check what data Avoma can access. The integration is secure, but always worth a glance.
3. Map Avoma meeting data to Salesforce fields
This is the most important step. Out of the box, Avoma can sync things like meeting summaries, action items, and notes. But you decide where in Salesforce this info lands.
- Pick which fields get updated: For example, map “Next Steps” from Avoma to your Opportunity’s “Next Step” field.
- Choose what triggers a sync: After every meeting? Only if notes are edited? Decide what makes sense for your workflow.
- Avoid noise: Don’t map every possible field. Focus on what makes your pipeline reviews easier—usually next steps, meeting summaries, and key action items.
What to ignore:
- Don’t bother syncing raw transcripts into Salesforce. It just clutters the record and nobody reads it.
- If you have custom Salesforce fields, test with a dummy meeting first. Mismatches can cause sync errors.
Pro tip: Start simple. You can always add more fields later once you see what’s actually useful.
4. Set up meeting types and templates (optional, but smart)
If every call is logged as “Meeting,” you’ll quickly lose track of what’s important. Avoma lets you set up meeting types—like “Discovery Call,” “Demo,” or “Renewal”—and use templates for notes.
- Create templates for common meeting types: This helps standardize notes and ensures the right info gets captured.
- Map each meeting type to different Salesforce workflows, if needed: For example, only push action items from Demos, or summarize pain points from Discovery Calls.
Why bother:
- It cuts down on guesswork and keeps data clean.
- Helps with reporting—so you can actually see which meetings move deals forward.
5. Test with a real (but low-stakes) meeting
Don’t go live with your biggest customer call. Book a quick internal meeting, record it, and watch what happens in Salesforce.
- Check that notes, summaries, and next steps land where you expect.
- Look for duplicates or missing info.
- Ask a teammate to review—sometimes a fresh set of eyes catches what you miss.
If things don’t look right, go back to your mapping settings. It usually takes a tweak or two.
6. Roll out to the team (and set expectations)
Once it’s working for you, show the rest of your team how it works. Make it clear:
- What’s automated (and what isn’t).
- Where to find synced notes in Salesforce.
- How to flag errors or fix mismatched meetings.
Don’t oversell it. This isn’t “hands-free CRM,” but it’ll make everyone’s life easier if they know what to expect.
7. Maintain and improve—not set it and forget it
Automation’s great, but stuff changes. New sales stages, new fields, new team members—your setup needs a checkup now and then.
- Review your field mappings every few months.
- Ask the team if anything’s missing or annoying.
- Keep an eye on Avoma and Salesforce updates—they do change APIs and features from time to time.
If you notice junk piling up in Salesforce, dial back what you’re syncing. Less is often more.
Quick FAQ: What trips people up?
Q: Will Avoma sync meetings I had before I set this up?
A: No, it only syncs meetings from the point you connect onwards.
Q: What if Avoma can’t match a meeting to a Salesforce record?
A: It’ll usually park it in a general bucket or leave it unsynced. You may need to manually match it if your invites are inconsistent.
Q: Can I edit synced notes in Salesforce?
A: Yes, but those edits won’t sync back to Avoma. Edit at the source if you want both to match.
Keep it simple, tweak as you go
Automating Salesforce updates with Avoma isn’t rocket science, but it’s easy to overcomplicate. Start with just the essentials—meeting summaries and next steps—then see what actually helps your team. Ignore the hype about “fully automated sales.” The real win is having fewer manual tasks and more accurate data, without a bunch of noise. Iterate as you go. When in doubt, do less and see what breaks (it probably won’t).
Got the basics down? Good. Now go focus on the stuff that actually moves deals forward.