When customer data travels between tools without clear rules, a growing team can end up debating which record to trust. Evaluate the CRM API and the people around it before adding another automated handoff.
Explore CRM workflowsStart with one customer journey, not a long integration wish list. Use these stages to expose the requirements that matter when comparing CRM software.
A prospect requests a conversation. Decide where that event starts, which CRM record should receive it, and who needs to act next.
Evaluate: Which objects and fields can the API read and write? Can the event be delivered through a webhook, or would the integration need to poll for changes?
A developer needs enough access to build the connection without giving every process unrestricted control of customer records.
Evaluate: Ask about authentication, permission scopes, plan-dependent API access, rate limits, and any restrictions on custom fields or bulk operations. Confirm the current limits in the provider’s documentation.
A write can fail or arrive twice. Agree on who notices, how a failed handoff is retried, and how the team avoids creating duplicate records.
Evaluate: Review error responses, event delivery behavior, logging options, and test environment availability. Check whether the integration can safely identify repeated events.
A rule can move information without being the right person to make a decision. Set an approval point where an incorrect action would be difficult to undo.
Automatic assignment may be appropriate when territory and ownership rules are agreed. Give someone a way to review records that match no rule or more than one rule.
Flag likely duplicates automatically, then ask a record owner to confirm the merge. Similar names or shared domains do not always mean the same customer.
Product activity can prompt a review, but a meaningful sales or retention decision may need context from the person managing the relationship.
Write down the decisions below with the people who create and use the data. Revisit them when a new workflow changes who owns the next action.
Decide which system owns a contact’s email, account owner, and status. Define what happens when two systems disagree.
Agree on identifiers for people and accounts. Route uncertain matches for review instead of silently overwriting a record.
Map only the fields needed for the workflow. Document field meanings and check how the API handles missing or invalid values.
Pick an owner for failed syncs and stale records. Decide how issues are surfaced and when they should be revisited.
Ask a prospective CRM provider to walk through one event from source to record, including permissions, limits, failure handling, and the person responsible for exceptions. The details of that conversation are more useful than a generic integration checklist alone.
Revisit the API questions