This article gives step-by-step setup instructions of Channeltivity’s Partner Sync integration with Salesforce. An overview of Channeltivity’s Partner Sync Salesforce Integration can be found in this article.


Set Up Salesforce Fields

  1. Log into Salesforce.com CRM as an Admin.
  2. Go to Setup > Object Manager > Accounts > Fields & Relationships > New. 
  3. Add a custom checkbox field to the Account Layout and call it "Sync with Channeltivity" (or anything you want). 
  4. There will also need to be a picklist field on the Salesforce Account to denote the Partner's status in Channeltivity (Active, Prospective, or Inactive). You can create a new picklist field and name it "Channeltivity Partner Status" by going to Setup > Object Manager > Accounts > Fields & Relationships and add the following values:  Active Partner, Prospective Partner, and Inactive Partner.

    Note: If using an existing picklist field (e.g., the built-in Account Type field), the field should only contain the three values listed above. This is because the field will be mapped to a system field in Channeltivity called "Status," and it only includes the three values listed above. (Channeltivity system fields cannot be modified, added to, or removed.)


Prep Salesforce Partner Data  

IMPORTANT:

To avoid duplicate records being created, it is of critical importance that all your Partner Accounts in Salesforce are properly categorized with the status (active, prospective, inactive) and have the sync flag set.
  1. Log into Salesforce CRM
  2. Go through any Partner Accounts that already exist in Salesforce and make sure each of them has the "Sync with Channeltivity" flag checked and the "Channeltivity Partner Status" field set to  Active, Prospective, or Inactive.
    You can change multiple records at once using the same technique outlined in this article. (There's no need to manually create any Partner Accounts in Salesforce because Channeltivity will create any missing Partners.)



Configure Channeltivity 

  1. Log into Channeltivity PRM as an Admin and go to Settings > Salesforce Integration
  2. If you haven't already done so, set your Salesforce Integration Credentials
  3. If your credentials are valid, the Partner Sync configuration section becomes available. Click on it:

  4. Set the Partner Sync to "Bi-Directional Sync":


5. By default, Channeltivity will sync Active Partners, but if you would like to also sync Prospective and Inactive Partners, you can do so by checking the checkboxes. You will also need to select the checkbox field that you created called, "Sync with Channeltivity" from the dropdown menu. The checkbox will be used to indicate which records should sync with Channeltivity.   


Note: If you use record types in Salesforce for Accounts and Contacts, you can specify which one to use below.



6. Scroll down to the field mappings configuration section to view the mappings. The mappings determine the two-way flow of data between Partner records in Channeltivity and Salesforce. The system will display all of the standard Partner and Contact fields in Channeltivity on the left and all of the standard Account and Contact fields in Salesforce on the right. You will need to map the built-in "Status" field to the picklist field that you created at the beginning of this article.  


        To map the Status field, click the plus sign and select the picklist field from the dropdown menu > Add.



You'll then map each picklist value to a corresponding value in the other system. You'll need to specify all three statuses even if you're not synchronizing Prospective or Inactive Partners. 


Note: All dropdown values are pulled directly from your Salesforce portal. If you change them in Salesforce, you'll need to refresh the page to have them appear.


7. When you are finished, you can update the data flow for existing mappings by clicking on the buttons between the mappings. You can also add additional field mappings by clicking the “Add Mapping” button. Learn more about this topic in this article: Salesforce Integration: Field Mapping Configuration.


8. Once all your mappings are complete, press the "Save" button at the very bottom of the page to finish the setup process. Depending on the details of your Salesforce configuration, the saving process can take up to 30 minutes. 


9. When the saving process completes, you will be redirected to the Partner matching wizard, which allows you to link existing Partners from both systems to prevent the creation of duplicate records. The wizard suggests Partners based on Partner/Account name and allows you to link each Partner in Channeltivity to an existing Partner Account in Salesforce or create a new Partner Account. Any Contacts/Users will be matched solely based on their email addresses.


10. During the matching process, Channeltivity will merge data from matched records and then update both systems with the merged data. Merging data is done field-by-field so that if one side has data but the other side doesn't, the side with data is selected to create the final data. The Master System determines which side is used if field data exists in both Channeltivity and Salesforce. Check the box to indicate that you've completed the preparation process and select the "Master System." Tip: You can change the Master System as you go along.


11. Press the "Continue" button to display a list of your Partners from Channeltivity along with suggested matches from Salesforce. In the screenshot below, you see Channeltivity Partners on the left and the suggested Salesforce Account matches on the right. You can now do one of the following:
  • Select the suggested Salesforce Account by pressing the "Link" button. 

  • Manually select a different Account using the "Select Other Account" dropdown and corresponding "Link" button.

  • Create a completely new Account in Salesforce by pressing the "Create New Account" button in the bottom right.


  • Permanently exclude the record from synchronization by pressing the "Do Not Sync" button on the left.

  • Tip: If you need to make changes on either side, make the changes and then hit the "Refresh Data" button at the top, which reloads all Partner data from both systems.


12. When you've matched all your Partners and the matching process is complete, a confirmation page is displayed, and Channeltivity will start syncing Partner records.


That's it, you've completed the Salesforce Partner Sync setup. Get a general overview of our Partner Sync integration with Salesforce or head to our website to read about our PRM integration with Salesforce.