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IntegrationsHow-To5 min readUpdated 2026-03-10

How to connect Salesforce to Referral Factory

Connecting Salesforce lets you automatically send referred leads to Salesforce, sync Salesforce contacts into your campaign as referrers, and qualify referrals.

Read this page as a quick path: scan the headings, use the step blocks, and escalate if the expected result does not happen.
Connecting Salesforce lets you automatically send referred leads to Salesforce, sync Salesforce contacts into your campaign as referrers, and qualify referrals based on changes in your CRM.

Step 1: Open the CRM integration tab

Go to Campaign Settings β†’ Integrations and API β†’ CRM tab. You will see tiles for each available CRM integration, including Salesforce.

Step 2: Connect your Salesforce account

Click Connect on the Salesforce tile. A modal appears asking you to choose a connection mode:
Connect Salesforce modal showing Live Mode and Test Mode options
Connect Salesforce modal showing Live Mode and Test Mode options
Select your mode and click Connect Salesforce. You will be redirected to Salesforce's OAuth authorisation page, which lists the permissions Referral Factory needs (access the identity URL service, manage user data via APIs, and perform requests). Click Allow to grant access.
Once authorised, you are returned to the integration settings with Salesforce showing a green Connected badge.
  • Connect Live Mode β€” connects to your production Salesforce environment
  • Connect Test Mode β€” connects to a Salesforce sandbox for testing before going live

Step 3: Configure the Leads tab

The Leads tab controls what happens when a new referred user (lead) joins your campaign. Use the When lead joins campaign dropdown to choose an action:
Leads tab showing the action dropdown with Nothing to action, Create New Lead, and Create New Contact options
Leads tab showing the action dropdown with Nothing to action, Create New Lead, and Create New Contact options
  • Nothing to action β€” no record is created in Salesforce
  • Create New Lead in Salesforce β€” creates a Lead object
  • Create New Contact in Salesforce β€” creates a Contact object

Map your fields

After selecting an action, map the fields from Referral Factory to the corresponding Salesforce fields. Each row has three columns:
Click + Add More Fields to add additional field mappings.
Required fields depend on the Salesforce object type:
A yellow Setup Required warning appears if required fields are not yet mapped.
Completed field mapping for Leads showing Last Name, Company, First Name, and Email mapped to their Salesforce counterparts
Completed field mapping for Leads showing Last Name, Company, First Name, and Email mapped to their Salesforce counterparts
  • Data Type β€” choose Dynamic Value (pulled from the referral), Fixed Value (same for all), or Manual Input (same for all)
  • From Referral Factory β€” the Referral Factory field (e.g. First Name, Email, Company, Campaign Name, Referral Code, Source, Referral Link)
  • To (Salesforce) β€” the corresponding Salesforce field
  • Lead: Last Name and Company are required
  • Contact: Last Name is required

Handle duplicate users

Choose how to handle cases where a Lead or Contact already exists in Salesforce:
  • Do nothing, do not update the Lead/Contact in Salesforce β€” the referral will never qualify via this integration. In other words, if the lead already existed inside Salesforce, they won’t be considered a successful referral.
  • Update the Lead/Contact that already exists in Salesforce to mark them as referred β€” the referral can still become qualified
  • Create a new Lead/Contact with the same email in Salesforce β€” the referred user would only qualify if they become a customer on the new profile

Set qualification rules

Qualification rules let you auto-qualify referrals based on actions in Salesforce. See How to qualify leads automatically via Salesforce for full details on each method.
Click Save Changes when you are done configuring.

Step 4: Configure the Referrers tab

The Referrers tab controls what happens when a new direct user (referrer) joins your campaign. This sends referrer data out to Salesforce each time someone joins as a referrer.
Use the When referrer joins campaign dropdown to choose an action:
Map the referrer fields (e.g. Last Name, First Name, Email, Referral Link) the same way as the Leads tab, and configure duplicate handling.
Referrers tab with Create New Contact selected, showing field mappings and the update existing option for duplicates
Referrers tab with Create New Contact selected, showing field mappings and the update existing option for duplicates
  • Nothing to action β€” no record is created
  • Create New Lead in Salesforce
  • Create New Contact in Salesforce

Disconnecting Salesforce

To disconnect, click the Disconnect button in the top-right corner of the Salesforce integration panel. This stops all syncing but does not delete any records already created in Salesforce.
Related strategy reading

Go deeper with Learn

This help article explains the setup. These Learn guides explain the bigger strategy, planning, and real-world use of referral programs.

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