Slack Salesforce Integration: Step-by-Step Guide

The Slack Salesforce integration offers one connected workspace where your team can share real-time updates on deals, collaborate on sales strategies, and receive instant notifications on key Salesforce events. Instead of switching between platforms and dealing with fragmented communication, you get a unified view of your sales pipeline and improve team communication.

Setting this up isn’t complicated. In this article, we’ll walk you step-by-step through the process of integrating Slack with Salesforce, cover practical use cases, and share some advanced features to help you get the most out of it.

Table of contents

• Key features of Salesforce and Slack integration 
• Benefits of using Slack with Salesforce
• Setting up Slack and Salesforce integration
• Advanced features and use cases
• Conclusion

Key features of Salesforce and Slack integration 

The core Salesforce Slack features include everything your team needs to manage customer data and team updates within your Slack workspace. Here are some of the main functionalities:

• Real-time notifications (e.g., changes in opportunity status, or close dates.)
• Direct access to Salesforce records, so you can create and share new entries right from Slack.
• Automated updates in relevant Slack channels, ensuring your team stays informed about new leads, tasks, or data quality issues.
• Customizable alerts based on specific criteria, such as high-value opportunities or data discrepancies.
• Unified Salesforce analytics (e.g., visualize sales trends with Tableau or analyze key drivers of deal closures with CRM Analytics from Slack)
• Rapid teamwork on urgent issues through dedicated Slack channels.

Benefits of using Slack with Salesforce

Now, don’t think you’re getting just notifications or simple record access. Other benefits of connecting Salesforce to Slack include:

• Enhanced communication between team members, as well as between sales, data, and project teams.
• Improved workflow efficiency through automated updates and streamlined processes.
• Faster response times to customer inquiries, leading to better service and engagement.
• Simplified record sharing, making it easy to access and discuss important information in team meetings.
• Enhanced project management, helping teams stay organized and aligned on tasks and deadlines.
• Convenient mobile access via the Slack mobile app.

Setting up Slack and Salesforce integration

The standard Salesforce Slack setup requires you to download and install the Salesforce for Slack app from the Slack App Directory. However, if you need to do more than the basics (like handle tons of data or create complex workflows) you’ll want to be able to work directly with the data.

ODBC drivers let you connect directly to Salesforce data and can be used with Slack’s API, giving you the flexibility to build exactly what you need. In this guide, we’ll be using Devart’s Slack and Salesforce ODBC drivers to show you how to integrate both platforms. 

They work with many popular tools like Excel and Tableau, and they support all the Salesforce and Slack data types and APIs, which makes building custom integrations easier. Plus, they offer free trials, so you can try them out before committing.

Step-by-step installation guide 

There are a few things to consider before you start the installation process:

• Check you have admin rights in both Salesforce and Slack to perform the installation and configuration steps.
• Ensure you have access to the Salesforce API, which is available with Professional, Enterprise, Unlimited, and Developer Editions, as well as the Slack API.
• Set up valid OAuth tokens in Slack and Salesforce so that both platforms can access each other’s resources.
• Map your Salesforce fields to the corresponding Slack data types to ensure data integrity and avoid errors during integration.
• For Devart’s ODBC drivers, install only one version of the driver and make sure you have  .NET Framework 4.5 or later installed.

Once you’ve taken care of these prerequisites, check the installation steps below.

Step 1: Install the ODBC drivers

• Download the Devart ODBC Driver for Salesforce and the ODBC Driver for Slack. 
• Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the setup. 

• If you’re using the trial version, select Trial in the License Information dialog box. Otherwise, select Activation Key and then paste or load it.

Step 2: Configure Salesforce connection

• Open the ODBC Data Source Administrator on your system.
• Next, choose between creating a User DSN or a System DSN and click Add.
• In the Create New Data Source dialog, find Devart ODBC Driver for ODBC Driver for Salesforce and click the Finish button.

• After that, fill out the connection details. You can use a refresh token or your Salesforce credentials (username, password, and security token).

• Once you’re done, click Test Connection to make sure everything is working smoothly, then hit OK to finish. 

Step 3: Configure Slack connection

• Back to the Create New Data Source window, select Devart ODBC Driver for Slack and click Finish to access the driver setup dialog.

• Enter your Slack Access token in the corresponding field.
• Test the connection, and once everything checks out, click OK to save your Slack DSN.

Step 4: Implement the integration

How you build your Slack Salesforce integration depends on what you need to achieve. The good news is that Devart’s ODBC drivers work with both 32-bit and 64-bit applications on various platforms, so compatibility won’t be a problem.

Plus, you can use extended SQL syntax and DML operations to interact with your data, which means you can run complex queries, filter results, and update records just like you would in a regular SQL database.

For instance, let’s say you want to share new sales opportunities from Salesforce in Slack. First, you have to write a SQL query to get the records, like:

SELECT Id, Name, Amount FROM Opportunity WHERE StageName = 'Open'

Then, you can format them into a neat message for Slack and use the Slack API to post it in a designated channel. Here’s an example using Python:

import requests

slack_url = 'https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage'
headers = {'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_SLACK_API_TOKEN'}
payload = {
    'channel': '#sales-alerts',
    'text': 'New Open Opportunities:\n- Opportunity ID: 12345, Name: Opportunity A, Amount: $10,000\n- Opportunity ID: 67890, Name: Opportunity B, Amount: $15,000'
}
response = requests.post(slack_url, headers=headers, json=payload)

Now, suppose you want to set up an alert in Slack for Salesforce events. The process is a  bit different. Here’s what you need to do:

• Go to the Slack API website and create a new app.
• Configure the necessary permissions for your app, such as chat:write and chat:read.
• After configuring your app, install it to your workspace to generate an OAuth Access Token. You’ll use it for authentication in your API calls.
• Use Salesforce’s Process Builder or Apex triggers to create a trigger that activates when a new lead is created or when an opportunity is updated. 
• Write a script that runs based on the trigger. For example, if using Python:

def new_lead_alert(lead_id):
    lead_data = get_lead_data(lead_id)  # Function to fetch lead details
    message = f"New Lead Alert:\n- Name: {lead_data['Name']}\n- Company: {lead_data['Company']}"
    send_to_slack(message)  

In the send_to_slack function, implement the logic to post messages using the Slack API:

def send_to_slack(message):
    slack_url = 'https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage'
    headers = {'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_SLACK_API_TOKEN'}
    payload = {
        'channel': '#sales-alerts',
        'text': message
    }
    response = requests.post(slack_url, headers=headers, json=payload)
    if response.status_code != 200:
        print(f"Error sending message: {response.text}")

Configuring permissions and settings

While the ODBC drivers simplify data access, you still need to double-check the permissions setup in both Salesforce and Slack. Within Salesforce, define the object and field-level permissions for the Integration User account, like API Enabled, Read, and View All.

On the Slack side, the admin needs access to the Slack API to set up integration settings. Also, make sure your team can see the channels where notifications will be sent and adjust channel settings to keep things secure — for example, control who can post or share files.

Advanced features and use cases

Slack typically connects to Salesforce via third-party APIs, allowing you to integrate it with a wide range of Salesforce products. Think Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Commerce Cloud, Marketing Cloud Intelligence, Account Engagement, and Partner Relationship Management (PRM). 

This means you can customize how both platforms work together to fit your exact needs and how your team operates. Here are a few advanced integration features and use cases for integrating Slack with Salesforce:

• Set up alerts to notify your team in Slack whenever KPIs change in Salesforce. For instance, if sales drop below a certain threshold, you can send an automated message to the #data-analysis channel to prompt immediate investigation.
• Schedule automated reports that summarize weekly performance metrics and post them in relevant channels for quick review.
• Create interactive dashboards that pull real-time data from Salesforce right into Slack. For example, a daily sales performance dashboard that’s shared in the #sales-performance channel every morning. 
• Use Salesforce’s AI, Einstein, to generate summaries of customer interactions and recommend next steps during team discussions.

Automating workflows with Slack and Salesforce

The best part of the Slack integration with Salesforce is the time it saves. For example, you can set up a workflow to automatically send new Salesforce leads to your #lead-management Slack channel, complete with details and assigned tasks.

This kind of workflow automation is useful for everyone, from healthcare appointment reminders and retail inventory alerts to finance transaction approvals. Small businesses can automate order notifications or customer feedback, while large enterprises can customize complex workflows for things like compliance updates or project deadlines.

Enhancing customer relationship management

The Slack integration in Salesforce also helps you build stronger customer relationships. Your team can quickly access customer info (past interactions, purchase history, support cases) right in Slack, leading to more informed and personalized responses. Plus, you can set up Slack alerts for critical customer issues in your #customer-support channel, enabling faster resolution and preventing churn.

Conclusion

Slack Salesforce integration breaks down communication silos and enables real-time collaboration. However, customizing the integration often means complex configurations.

Try the Devart ODBC Driver for Salesforce and the ODBC Driver for Slack for a simpler approach. You can connect to both platforms directly from your ODBC-aware applications via HTTPS and use SQL to query Salesforce objects and Slack data, just like you would with a regular database. 

Need to update information or automate tasks? You can do that too, all through SQL. They’re also fully compatible with Salesforce and Slack APIs and have native support for their data types, so integrating your data becomes much easier.