⬇️ Inbound Connector (Push Data into Leadfwd)

Push data from your existing apps to Leadfwd using our no-code connector framework with Zapier.

Leadfwd leverages JSON powered webhooks to deliver and sync data with over 5,000 apps within the Zapier ecosystem. No coding is required to leverage Leadfwd <> Zapier and the integrations can be setup seamlessly through your browser, just point and click.

Inbound and Outbound Integrations

Our Zapier Connectors can be configured to send data to third-party apps via Zapier (outbound) or they can be configured to receive data from third-party apps via Zapier (inbound). This article is going to specifically focus on Inbound Connectors, which pull data via Zapier from third-party apps into Leadfwd. 

Data imported to Leadfwd via Zapier (and your apps!) must be in the form of a new contact or to update an existing contact.

Prerequisites:

• Leadfwd Admin Access to manage Integrations and Connectors
  • Integrations / Zapier / Outbound Connectors
  • Generate your Authorization Key + Secret
• Zapier Account and Plan (Starter or higher)
• Third-party app credentials (in our example we are connecting Hubspot to Leadfwd)
  • Most Zapier apps use the Oauth token framework that requires a login to connect your app, like Hubspot, to Zapier. Other apps may require API keys or tokens. Consult the Zapier app guide to figure out which you will need. Expect to need credentials as an Admin or Owner from your third-party app to successfully connect to Zapier.

Leadfwd connects to Zapier using our API v2 webhook functions. Zapier plans include access to their webhook action (learn more here), which can be used to enable Leadfwd to receive data from your apps and to enable Leadfwd to push data to your apps, all using Zapier.

 

Step 1. To begin, click on + Create Zap from Home

 

Step 2. Select an App event

In this example we're going to build a connector that pushes new contacts from our CRM, Hubspot, into Leadfwd and enrolls the contacts in a Sequence.

Step 3. Configure the App event

Our goal with this example is to seamlessly push new Contacts from Hubspot into Leadfwd and also enroll them in a specific outreach Sequence.

The first step in that process after we select Hubspot as our App event, is to then define the Event type and rules. Events will be unique for every app in the Zapier ecosystem and as you can see below, Hubspot's are customized around, well, Hubspot :)

To accomplish our goals, we are selecting New Contact, which triggers automatically from Hubspot to Zapier when a new contact is created and available.

 

Once you make your Event selection, click Continue

Step 4. Select or Authorize your Third-party app

Zapier maintains direct partnerships and API connections to thousands of applications. In order to pull data from your third-party app, you'll need to connect the app to Zapier. Like everything else, this process is designed by Zapier to be extremely simple. In most cases you'll only need a username and password to login to the app of your choosing or an API key in other cases. 

From the Choose account menu, you can select an existing app connection that you have established for a previous Zap or click on + Connect a new account -- then follow the step by step instructions.

 

Step 5. Select data fields or objects to sync from your app

Depending on the third-party app that you're connecting, there will be potentially a wide variety of data fields that are available to access via Zapier. In the case of Hubspot, Zapier will capture a group of default contact fields but also gives the user the option to select additional properties to further customize the data that will ultimately transmit to Leadfwd.

Once you verify and select any additional properties, click Continue.

 

Step 6. Test your App event with a live data request

The Test Trigger function will poll your app to look for a live data sample that can be used to validate the data properties that you've selected. This is a great final test to make sure that you've selected all of the data that you think you'll need to transmit to Leadfwd.

Once the test polling is complete, review the data received and when you're ready click Continue.

This will complete the App event portion of the Zap configuration and now we'll move to the Action Event, which will transmit your data to Leadfwd: Webhooks by Zapier

 

Step 7. Setup Webhooks by Zapier

The Event type for Webhooks by Zapier will be POST. Select and click Continue.

 

Step 8. Setup Webhooks by Zapier

The Event type for Webhooks by Zapier will be POST. Select and click Continue.

Create your Inbound Connector

To access your Zapier Connector in Leadfwd:

1. Navigate to Settings
2. Scroll down the Settings view and expand the Integrations menu
3. Click on Zapier or Available apps (then select Zapier from the Integration Collection)
4. Click on Inbound Connectors and then click Create Connector

Name your Connector

A simple and easily identifiable name that you and your team can recognize. Consider a naming convention to organize multiple connectors.

Save Inbound Contacts to...

Select a Leadfwd list object to create new contacts or to append existing contacts. If a POST is received with a contact that has a unique email address that already exists, we will maintain the existing record but update fields with any values received with the POST. We will not replace existing field values with a NULL value.

Rule: Create new, Update existing or Both

You can specify whether or not your inbound connector should have access to Create new contacts, Update existing contacts or both.

Contact options...

• Create new only
• Update existing only
• Create new and update existing

Updating existing contacts can also be limited:

• Overwrite any existing data field values
• Only overwrite data fields with an empty value

Whether or not a contact is new or existing is determined based on their email address. If an email address already exists in your Contact database it will be considered existing and will follow the update rules you define. If your inbound connector is configured to create new contacts only, then if an email address already exists the process will end and not records will be created or updated.

Click Save Connector

Then copy the Endpoint value (URL), switch tabs to Zapier and paste the URL into the action URL field:

Set Payload Type to json

Setup Data field mapping

Leadfwd list objects can maintain a vast number of custom data fields and each custom data field can be mapped to incoming data from Zapier. For example, Name, Email Address, Phone, etc.

The data fields that Zapier collected when we connected our app, are now available as options to push into Leadfwd. You can create new custom fields in Leadfwd to support mapping data from your app via Zapier and you're not limited on how many fields you write to with your Zap.

The side-by-side view below is an easy approach to copying / pasting the Field Name from your Leadfwd list to the Zapier action configuration.

The left column 'Data' in the Zapier interface represents the Field name value from Leadfwd. The right column represents a data field or field(s) from your app via Zapier. The selection in the right column will map/write to the corresponding Leadfwd field that you enter in the left column. Each row represents one data field that is being mapped from App -> Zapier -> Leadfwd.

The field name values are not case sensitive, but you must include spaces if the field name includes a space.

Helpful tip: Leadfwd provides a single 'name' field, so as shown below you should combine both First and Last name fields from your app. You should also add a space in between the fields as we did below, otherwise first and last name get combined into a single word.

Important: email is always required to successfully create or update a contact record in Leadfwd.

Sync HubSpot Record ID to Leadfwd hubspot_id data property

The Leadfwd Chrome Extension includes a plugin specifically built around HubSpot. It allows you to seamlessly access a Contact's Leadfwd profile from inside HubSpot, including their full engagement history. This functionality works by linking the Leadfwd record to the HubSpot record using our [hubspot_id] system field.

Simply select to map the 'ID' value to the Leadfwd data property hubspot_id to complete the integration.

 

Enroll Contacts in Sequences and Add Tags

Seamlessly apply tags to inbound contacts that are being pushed to Leadfwd or enroll contacts into Sequences.

Simply create new parameter entries in the Data column:

leadfwd_sequence_id
leadfwd_tags

 

In the left column text inputs, define the values for Sequences and Tags.

Sequences (leadfwd_sequence_id)

The value for this input is the ID for the Sequence that your contact will be enrolled. You can locate the ID by navigating to your Sequence and finding the numeric ID in the browser URL bar.

Add Tags (leadfwd_tags)

Create and assign tags to your contacts by simply entering comma separated labels. Tags are useful for organizing contacts or automatically enrolling contacts into Automation workflows and Sequences. The possibilities are near infinite.  

Authorization

In order to keep your Leadfwd account secure, all Inbound Connector requests are authenticated with a Key and Secret.

The Key and Secret are unique for every Leadfwd account and only a single pair can be generated. This process should be handled by the Leadfwd Account Owner or an authorized Administrator. The key and secret pair should be treated just like a password and never shared! If you suspect a breach has ever occurred or the pair have been compromised, immediately revoke the key and secret.

Upon generating a Key + Secret, the key will be sent securely to the account owner's email address and the secret will be available in your Zapier Connector settings view.

Combine the Authorization Key and Secret in the Zapier Basic Authentication input. You will need to separate the key and secret using a vertical | as shown below. Please note you will need replace $auth_key and $auth_secret with your own values.

Final review and Test action

 

Our example contact, John Doe, was successfully pushed to our Leadfwd list from Hubspot

Platform logs are a terrific place to monitor inbound API and webhook activity and can be extremely useful for troubleshooting any failures.

Step 9. Publish your Zap!