Salesforce and Microsoft Outlook are two important tools that are used simultaneously in several workplaces. If these two are indispensable parts of your daily work routine, you can actually sync them together to make your workflow more productive and easier.
Salesforce for Outlook: The Tool You’ll Need
Salesforce for Outlook is an application used to sync the two powerful systems together. Here’s what you can do in this program:
- Synced tasks, contacts, and events between Salesforce and Outlook
- Leads and contacts in Salesforce are automatically related to your incoming Outlook emails
This sync program is available in all Salesforce Editions and can be used in both Lightning and Salesforce Classic.
Installing Salesforce for Outlook
You must check how your Salesforce administrator customizes your Outlook configuration first before attempting to install Salesforce for Outlook To do this;
- Log in to Salesforce
- Go to My Settings
- Type Salesforce for Outlook in the Quick Find Box
- Click View My Configuration
You should see a blue download button for Salesforce for Outlook. If not, ask your administrator to assign configurations for you.
Don’t close the configuration page yet. You’ll start the installation process from here. Close your Microsoft Outlook first, then come back to Salesforce and click on the blue Salesforce for Outlook download button. Download the file and save.
Now you’re ready to start setting up the program. Follow these steps:
- Open the downloaded installation file and complete the installation wizard.
- Open Microsoft Outlook. The Salesforce for Outlook wizard will now appear.
- Enter your Salesforce username and password.
- Allow Access will now appear. Click on Approve. This creates a secured connection between the two platforms and lets you remain automatically logged in the system. Click Next.
- Review your sync settings between Contacts, Events, and Tasks. Click on Change Folder if you want to sync Outlook items to various folders. Click Next once done.
- Determine if you want all Outlook items to sync to Salesforce or not. It is recommended to use the default option Sync Only the Outlook Items I Select. Click Next.
- Syncing Private Items will appear. Select the private items you want to be synced.
- Click Save.
Your system tray will display the Salesforce for Outlook logo and a welcome message will now appear. The log spins every time a sync is performed.
Summary
Salesforce for Outlook is an easy way to synchronize items between Microsoft Outlook and Salesforce. It requires one-time installation and runs automatically once you open either Salesforce or Outlook. The program will help you become more productive at work, as you can easily access and perform related tasks simultaneously on the two platforms in one sitting.