Overview
When set up correctly, integrating Salesforce with Apollo allows you to access and keep your data synchronized within both platforms.
Before you integrate Salesforce with Apollo though, there are several important details to keep in mind. If you understand the key areas listed below, you can streamline the setup process and reduce the risk of unnecessary errors when integrating Salesforce.
Refer to the sections below for further information about how the Apollo <> Salesforce integration works in each of these key areas:
- Pulling from Salesforce
- Pushing to Salesforce
- Avoiding Duplicates
- Mapping Fields
- Viewing Errors
Salesforce Pull Settings
Pull settings relate to how Apollo pulls data from your Salesforce instance into the Apollo platform. It's important to remember that Apollo must always pull your leads, contacts, and accounts from Salesforce. This allows Apollo to remove any matches from the Apollo database. It also prevents your team from accidentally prospecting records in Apollo that already exist in Salesforce.
Please note, you cannot disable the automatic pull feature, but you can hide Salesforce leads, contacts, accounts, and opportunities from view in Apollo. For more information, please follow the steps in the "Configure Your Salesforce Pull Settings" article.
Whenever Apollo identifies a lead and a contact for the same person in your Salesforce instance, Apollo always pulls the contact into Apollo, and not the lead. This is the only form of deduplication that Apollo runs against your Salesforce instance.
Salesforce Push Settings
Push settings relate to how Apollo pushes data from the Apollo platform into your Salesforce instance. Unlike the pull settings, you can decide whether you enable or disable Salesforce push settings.
Therefore, you may or may not choose to sync all your Apollo-sourced records with Salesforce. However, as mentioned in the section above, Apollo always syncs all Salesforce-sourced records with the Apollo platform.
Please note, you can turn the push settings on or off at any time. Please refer to the "Configure Your Salesforce "Push" Settings" article for the steps to take to see the contacts, accounts, opportunities, activities, tasks, meetings, and notes that you create in Apollo from directly within Salesforce too.
Avoiding Duplicates
There are several key duplication rules to keep in mind before connecting Salesforce.
When you integrate Salesforce with Apollo, Apollo mirrors the data in your Salesforce instance. This means that if you have duplicate leads, contacts, or accounts in Salesforce, these same duplicates reflect in the Apollo platform too.
To avoid duplicate records post sync, you need to ensure that you clean and deduplicate your Salesforce instance before you integrate the 2 platforms. Fail to do so first and you end up with double the workload later, when you have to clean both Apollo and Salesforce instead of just Salesforce.
If Apollo pulls a duplicate from Salesforce, Apollo displays a "potential duplicate" message on the contact or account's profile page to notify you. You can also identify the record creation source from the activity log.
When this happens, you need to manually merge the duplicates. For more information on the steps to take, refer to the "Merge Duplicate Records to Consolidate Your Data" article. Once you merge a duplicate, Apollo will only continue to sync information of the remaining record with Salesforce.
Please note, if you pull duplicate records from Salesforce and then merge them in Apollo, Apollo does not merge them in Salesforce. You will need to manually delete or merge the duplicate in Salesforce to prevent the record from syncing again.
It is also important to note that when you manually create a duplicate record in Salesforce, Apollo automatically creates the same record in Apollo. Likewise, if you enable the Salesforce "push" settings and create a duplicate record in Apollo, Salesforce creates the same record within your Salesforce instance.
Please note, Apollo does not automatically delete or merge the duplicates that you manually create. If you decide to delete or merge any of these records, you must do so manually.
Mapping Fields
If you decide to enable "auto-fill" or "auto overwrite" for mapped fields, keep the following in mind:
When you select "Auto-fill," Apollo automatically uses information within the Apollo database to fill in the field from Salesforce. However, this is only possible if the field is empty and if Apollo has relevant information available.
On the other hand, when you select "Auto overwrite," Apollo automatically overwrites the existing information in the field from Salesforce with the information within Apollo. This is only possible if the information differs between the 2 platforms and if Apollo has relevant information available.
Please note, manual actions always take precedence. If you manually enrich a field from the CRM Enrichment page, Apollo pushes that update even if you have disabled the "auto-fill" or "auto overwrite" setting for the field.
To configure "auto-fill" or "auto overwrite," refer to the "Map Default Apollo Fields in Salesforce" article.
When you enable "auto-fill" or "auto-overwrite," please keep in mind that the feature only runs every time that Apollo pulls information from Salesforce.
Viewing Errors
You can leverage the Error Log in Apollo to view any sync errors that Apollo receives from your Salesforce instance. However, please remember that this log only displays any errors Apollo finds when attempting to push information from Apollo into Salesforce.
For more information about the Apollo Error Log, please refer to the Access the Salesforce Error Log in Apollo article.
If you are still unsure whether your data is syncing correctly, you can also gain a more granular view of error sync history at the contact or account level. To do so, follow the instructions in the "View Error Sync History for a Specific Contact or Account" section of this article.
Now that you know more about how the Salesforce integration works in Apollo, you are ready to set up the integration! Start by following the steps in the "Salesforce Credentials Overview" article.