Salesforce Slack Integration: How to Get 338% in 3-year ROI

Based on stats found on Businessofapps.com, Slack has 12 million daily active users, and 156,000 organizations have subscribed to the app, which almost equals the total number of Salesforce’s clients.

Among the top Slack customers are such industry giants as IBM, Amazon, PayPal, Moody’s, E-Trade, and Airbnb. No wonder it is one of the most requested tools for Salesforce integration.

And the shared history of Salesforce and Slack began in January 2021 when Slack was acquired by Salesforce for an incredible $27.7 billion.

So, what is Slack, and how does Salesforce Slack integration work?

What is Slack?

 

Slack is a business messaging application for secure and integrated collaboration that was first publicly released in 2013 and acquired by Salesforce in 2021. It is available both in free and paid versions. Slack pricing starts at $6.67 per user per month.

Why Salesforce Slack Integration: 10 Benefits

 

Both Salesforce and Slack are powerful business technologies on their own. Salesforce is the global No. 1 CRM, integration, and analytics platform. Slack is the world’s cutting-edge communications tool.

Based on Forrester’s The Total Economic Impact Study, Slack Salesforce integration can bring sales teams $2.6M gained from faster deal closing, 338% in 3-year ROI, and $2.6M saved on service tickets.

Besides that, there are other significant Salesforce Slack integration benefits:

1. Simplified search for objects in Salesforce from Slack via a set of simple commands
2. Improvement of engagement and alignment of business processes across your organization that leads to increased productivity
3. Centralized access to essential information, ability to quickly update records in Salesforce, and add notes and references to them.
4. Unified sharing of a Salesforce record in indirect messages or channels in Slack
5. Consolidated and secure collaborative space for improved communication and collaboration
6. In-time automated notifications and alerts on important events and processes milestones both in Slack and Salesforce
7. Removal of traditional data silos and work barriers
8. Seamless integration with all your favorite business apps and technology without the risk of disrupting the system connectivity
9. Ability to build custom apps on our platform with low-code and no-code functionalities
10. Access to the combined ecosystem of more than 8,000 apps compatible with Salesforce and Slack.

 

How to Integrate Salesforce and Slack: Our 13 Best Practices

 

You have three main options to perform Slack and Salesforce integration:

• Buy directly in a Salesforce Customer 360 product package
• Integrate Slack with Salesforce via third-party solutions
• Integrate Salesforce with Slack by installing an app on AppExchange and the app from Slack App Directory.

If you choose to integrate Salesforce with Slack via a Slack AppExchange app, your plan will look like this.

 

1.  SFDC Slack Integration via Third-Party Integrations

 

You can execute Salesforce and Slack integration via three independent integration solutions:

• Zapier
• Automate.io
• Workauto

The main advantage of these three tools is that they are quite powerful for integrating multiple systems through robust filters and rules. They offer out-of-the-box integrations for nearly every solution on the market, so you can synchronize apps seamlessly within Salesforce.

The key disadvantages are that these connectors are not free so you will have to pay not only for the system you are going to connect to but for the third-party integrator as well.

Besides that, Salesforce claims that they haven’t vetted integrations via these solutions, so you need to be careful when deploying them.

 

2. How to Integrate Slack with CRM via the Native Integrations and APIs

 

Both Salesforce App for Slack and Slack App for Salesforce are free prebuilt integrators allowing users to unify communication and data management on both ends in Salesforce in Slack.

They are available both on the Salesforce Lightning and Classic platform versions and for all editions (except for Essentials) and support Sales Cloud and Service Cloud.

There are two apps that connect Slack to Salesforce. Each app provides different functionality:

 

The Slack App for Salesforce

 

• Is available in Salesforce AppExchange
• Enables viewing Slack messages associated with a record
• Allows sending Salesforce records to Slack
• Enables set up of record alerts in Slack channels

 

The Salesforce App for Slack

 

Available in the Slack App Directory

• Enables viewing Salesforce records for standard objects and any configured custom objects
• Provides routing of relevant alerts to channels
• Allows adding Slack messages to Salesforce records

To make CRM integration with Slack a two-way process you need to download these two apps. After successful Salesforce Slack synchronization, you’ll be able to leverage real-time notifications about Salesforce records changes directly in Slack and know when records are assigned to you from Slack, and get in-app Salesforce notifications or emails.

However, the Salesforce Slack integration doesn’t end up with the installation because both platforms require certain configurations to ensure complete success.

If you need assistance with the configuration or customization of Salesforce org or Slack, our team of consultants and developers are ready to answer all your questions and build your individual optimization roadmap.

3. How to Set up Chatter

 

To activate it in Salesforce, you need to follow the path Setup > Feature Settings > Chatter > Chatter Settings OR you can search for “Chatter Settings” in the setup menu search panel.

• Сlick “Edit”
• Сheck the box for enabling Chatter
• Ensure that the checkbox for “Actions in the Publisher” is checked
• Click “Save” to finish Chatter activation.

 

4. How to Setup a Custom Domain for Slack Lightning Component

 

You also require a custom domain to enable the Slack Lightning component.

To create a domain for the org, click on the gear icon and then move through Setup > Company Settings > My Domain

• Check for the availability of a domain and register it
• Once the domain has been registered, refresh the page
• Click on the “Log In” button and reenter the credentials to continue the process
• After logging in, deploy to users.

 

5. How to Install the Slack AppExchange App in Salesforce

 

If you are on the AppExchange app page, click the “Get it now” button and log in to your Salesforce org/sandbox.

If you are already logged in, follow this procedure:

• Search for “AppExchange Marketplace” in the Salesforce Setup Menu
• Look for the Slack app and launch an installation process
• Reenter your credentials
• “Install for All Users “if you want to enable Slack access to/from Salesforce for every user in your org
• Approve that you want to allow third-party access to your org.

Once installed, you will be notified via an email and then you’ll be redirected to the “Installed Packages” page in Salesforce Setup.

 

6. How to Install the Salesforce App in Slack

 

Prior to process initiation, make sure you select the right workspace in the workspace switcher (dropdown) at the top of the screen.

• Click on “Apps” in the left sidebar OR if you can’t see it, click “More”.
• Search for the Salesforce App on the Slack App Directory
• Add the integration for your team
• Use an install link on the Slack App Directory page as soon as you select the correct team
• Log in to your Slack account
• Copy-paste the install URL for the Salesforce App into your URL bar.

Note: Approve how Slack can see/use Salesforce data.

 

7. How to Authenticate Your Salesforce Account from Slack

 

Complete a two-step OAuth process:

• Sign in to Salesforce from Slack
• Sign in to Slack from Salesforce
• Access Slack authentication by clicking on “Manage” in the upper right corner
• Click on the Salesforce app
• Authenticate your Salesforce account once you are on the settings page for the Salesforce app
• Allow Slack to access your org.

 

8. How to Add a Slack Component on a Lightning Page

 

For the Slack Salesforce integration, the “Chatter” and “Slack” Lightning components should be added to the page layout for each object where integration should be enabled.

Among supported objects are:

• Account,
• Contact,
• Opportunity,
• Lead,
• Case.

However, the component may work for other objects.

To activate a Slack component on a Lightning Page do the following:

• Navigate to a record page
• Click on the object on the navigation bar and then a specific record
• Click on that record
• Navigating to the record page,
• Click on the gear in the upper right and
• Select “Edit Page”
• Drag and drop components onto the page and edit individual tabs/elements.
• Save and activate the changes you have made.

 

9. How to Authenticate Your Slack Account from Salesforce

 

To authenticate a Slack account in Salesforce through the Slack Lightning component you need to:

• Click ‘Sign in to Slack’
• Click ‘Continue’ when the Salesforce alert appears
• Log in if necessary in the new tab
• Choose the Slack team that you want to connect to your Salesforce org (if the default is not correct)
• Authorize Salesforce to connect to your Slack team
• Get a success message afterward
• Refresh your Salesforce record page to see the effects

 

10. How to Set Up Users, Permissions, & Multiple Users in Slack

 

After the package is installed and the org is completely adjusted, assign the packaged “Slack Permissions” Permission Set to users so that they can use the Salesforce Slack integration features.

The packaged “Slack Permissions” permission set has the following characteristics:

• Create, Read, Edit, Delete, View All, Modify All for the “Slack Relationships” custom object
• The object exists as a junction object to identify which Slack channels it belongs to, thus, all users need full access to create, link, and unlink channels.

To set up user permissions, go to Setup > Users > Permission Sets > Slack Permissions and get to the Permission Set menu

• From that menu, click on ‘Manage Assignments’
• Click ‘Add Assignments’
• Assign the permission set to the group of users and save your changes.

 

11. How to Connect your CRM and Slack Accounts

 

Once both apps have been installed, synchronize your Salesforce and Slack accounts.

From the Slack desktop app, click Apps at the top of your left sidebar OR click “More” to find it:

• Search for and choose Salesforce.
• Click Connect Account From the app’s Home tab.
• After Slack and Salesforce are connected, click Open Slack to return to Slack.

 

12. How to Configure Slack Setup for Integration with SFDC

 

Slack Setup configuration is a necessary step to unlock the full power of Slack within Salesforce. To start the process:

• Search for “Slack Setup” from the Salesforce App Launcher.
• Set up System Connections
• Enable Custom Objects, Custom Alerts to send to Slack, Org Configuration (how and where Slack lives in your org), and Automation Configuration like Message Destinations (an invocable method in Flow/Process Builder to enable the “Send to Slack” function).

 

13. How to Use Salesforce Custom Objects with Slack

 

• Select your object,
• Add Subscribed Fields.

By doing this, you can enable the “view record” button in Slack for users. They can navigate straight to the Salesforce record by clicking on the hyperlinked record name.

You can add up to nine Subscribed Fields, so this really is created as more of a highlights view.

 

5 Tips on How to Configure Salesforce Slack Integration

 

1. Configure Salesforce Org

 

Decide on how the Salesforce Org will sync with Slack

 

Via Slack Actions

 

To enable them you need to:

• Add the Quick Actions “Send to Slack” and “Slack Alerts” to page layouts
• Click the “Add Actions to Layouts” button to add both Actions.
• Use the Global Actions Manager in Salesforce Setup, if you need to add/remove Slack actions

 

Via Slack Message Viewer Component

 

To enable it you need to:

 

• Add a Lightning component to Lightning Pages.
• Click the “Add Component to Pages” button.

 

2. Automation Configuration

 

Message Destination is an automation configuration that is used together with the “Send to Slack” invocable method in Process Builder/Flow.

It tells Flow/Process Builder where to post the message in Slack. This automation configuration allows for Creating New Message Destination, Choosing Its Name, Slack Workspace, and Slack Channel or a Person.

Each Message Destination has its own unique auto-generated ID. If you plan to create automation (Flow/Process Builder now), click on the Copy icon.

 

3. How to Search and Share Salesforce Records in Slack

 

By default, the Salesforce app will return search results for six standard Salesforce objects:

• Account
• Case
• Contact
• Lead
• Opportunity
• Task

But you may search for custom objects as well if you have permission for this.

To search for and share a Salesforce record in Slack, follow the steps below:

 

• Click the plus icon next to the message field.
• Search for and select Find and share a record from the menu.
• Below Search records, enter the name of the record you’re looking for (or select it from the drop-down menu).
• Click View record.
• Click Share.
• Choose a conversation from the drop-down menu and click Share.
• Click Done.

 

If you want to improve your search experience within Salesforce, be able to search and filter records by multiple criteria at a time, search in radius or any geometric shape on the map, and save and share your searches with your colleagues, then Ascendix Search will be your best problem-solver. Request a Demo to see all Ascendix Search features in action.

 

4. How to Enable Salesforce Alerts in Slack

 

There are three types of Salesforce alerts you can activate in your Slack workspace:

 

• My Alerts will notify you when records that are assigned to you change.
• Channel Alerts notify a channel when a single record or object you’ve chosen changes.
• Bulk Alerts notify a channel when a specific record type you’ve chosen changes.

 

How to Enable My Alerts

 

Salesforce app notifies users when a record is assigned to them in Salesforce by default.

To enable other alerts for standard and custom object record changes in Slack, you have to follow the steps below:

 

• From your desktop, click Apps at the top of your left sidebar Or Click More to find it.
• Choose the Salesforce app.
• Ensure you’re on the Home tab.
• Click Set Up My Alerts.
• Check the box next to each alert you’d like to get.
• Click Save.

 

How to Manage Channel Alerts

 

To notify about Salesforce record changes in a channel in Slack, you can enable a channel alert:

 

• Click the plus icon next to the message field.
• Choose Add/edit alerts for a channel from the menu.
• Select a channel from the drop-down menu.
• Click Add a record.
• Select a record from the drop-down menu below Search records.
• Click View record.
• Click Add to [Channel Name].
• Check the box next to each alert you’d like to post to the channel.
• Click Save.

 

How to Enable Bulk Alerts

 

With bulk alerts, you can notify a channel about all record updates of a particular type. To set them up you need to:

• From your desktop, click Apps at the top of your left sidebar OR click More to find it
• Choose Salesforce app
• Ensure you’re on the Home tab
• Click Add Bulk Alert
• Select a channel from the drop-down menu
• Click Next
• Choose a record type
• Click Next
• Click Add to [Channel Name]
• Uncheck the box next to any changes you don’t want to post to the channel
• Click Save.

 

How to Configure Custom Alerts

 

Once you’ve chosen the object, you need to decide whether this alert will be applied at the:

Object-level: An alert will be sent when any record of the chosen object type satisfies the specified criteria.

Record level: An alert will be sent when an individual record of the selected object type satisfies the specified criteria.

Prior to setting up a custom alert, you should apply Slack permission set “Slack Standard User”.

 

 

• Enable Custom Objects if you have to apply any notifications and you can set up a custom alert. For example, if you want to create a Demo alert, you can select any Object like Account, Case, Contact or Lead.
• Select an alert type: Object Level or Record Level
• If you select a Record Level, select a Field (like Description, Amount, Probability %)
• Select when you want to set the notification. For example, when a Probability% is greater than 50%

 

 

• Set up Org Configuration.
• You can add buttons, for example, to the Lead layout.
• You can also apply Slack Messages Viewer to the Record Pages.

 

 

There are two buttons: Send to Slack and Slack Alerts

Send to Slack button enables manual sending of the Salesforce Lead information to Slack.

You can select to which Workspace and which channel you want to send this Lead.

And thanks to the Slack Alerts button you can automate alerts management and choose from available alert types.

 

 

In Salesforce, you can go to a Process Builder and set it up for Slack Leads.

 

 

There you can run Apex Class, for example, to Post a Message in Slack.

You also need to set up Apex Variables like Message Destination ID, Record ID, and Message that you want to see.

Thanks to this you’ll see the Alert Message together with the Lead record.

If you want, you can subscribe to this record by clicking Manage Alerts. You can select default alerts or create custom alerts like in our example “Hot Leads”.

 

 

In another Slack channel, #opportunities you can apply search, there you can subscribe to some channels, you can set alerts for a record or add bulk alerts (for example, to subscribe to all records).

In turn, you’ll be able to see related Slack messages on the Opportunity record in Salesforce.

Adding messages is a two-way process, you can make them visible in Salesforce in the Related Slack Messages block.

If Salesforce alerts don’t work, you can try disconnecting and reconnecting your Salesforce account from Slack. Then you need to reauthorize your connection to Slack in Salesforce and reconfigure your channel alerts.

 

5. How to Post Messages to Salesforce or Slack

 

Thanks to Salesforce Slack integration you can easily exchange information between the systems.

 

How to Send Slack Messages to Salesforce

 

To connect a Slack message with the Related Slack Messages component of any record in Salesforce, you need to apply the Add to Salesforce message shortcut. To enable it, you need to:

Search for the Slack message you’d like to send to Salesforce.

• Click the three dots icon
• Click Add to Salesforce.
• Search for a record and pick it from the drop-down menu.
• Click Add.

 

How to Send Salesforce Records to Slack

 

To send records from Salesforce to Slack you need to use the Send to Slack action:

• Find the record you’d like to send to Slack.
• Click the Send to Slack button at the top of the page.
• Select a workspace, then select the channel or person you want to send the record to.
• Click Send to Slack.

 

Bottom Line

 

Salesforce and Slack are long-term established leaders in their market niches and by joining them you can multiply their benefits almost infinitely. To unlock their full potential you need to integrate, configure and manage them effectively.  

 As a trusted Salesforce consulting and AppExchange partner, we can lead you through IT system integration challenges to absolute success. Facing difficulties with optimizing your Salesforce org or needing custom integration approaches, reach out to us.