How we automated LinkedIn sync for Salesforce Partner Community license

Together with Olga Shvaibovich , we worked on the implementation of Salesforce Sales Cloud + Experience Cloud (Community).

The goal of the project was to create a user-friendly Experience Cloud while providing users with the ability to utilize tools for automation and synchronization of communication with leads.

Request

We received several requests for assistance from Experience Cloud end-users who were grappling with a significant time investment — approximately 5-15 hours per week — dedicated to filling out Salesforce leads and tasks. Recognizing the need for automation, they sought our expertise to streamline these processes.

Let me provide an overview of the factors we encountered:

• Salesforce Experience Cloud user with Partner Community license
• Outbound SDR process through LinkedIn
• Limited implementation time
• Limited resources
• Restricted budget for third-party tools

Search for a solution

In our search for the right solution, we carefully examined various LinkedIn and SFDC automation tools.

(We compared PhantomBuster , lemlist , Omni.us , Expandi.io , LinkedIn Sales Navigator Advanced Plus, LinkedFusion, Apollo io , and more)

After a thorough evaluation, we confidently determined that Recruiterbolt ?? was the best choice for our needs. Here's why:

1. Easy installation: SalesBolt seamlessly integrated with Salesforce, making the implementation process straightforward.
2. Reliable performance: We had precise control over synchronization settings, allowing us to customize the tool to fit our requirements and ensure smooth workflows.
3. Cost-effective: Compared to other options, SalesBolt offered a good balance between functionality and affordability, which suited our limited budget.

BUT there was no Experience Cloud compatibility.

Challenge #1 - How to use LinkedIn sync tool with Experience Cloud?

(under Partner Community license user)

The initial challenge we faced was logging in to Salesforce through Salesbolt login using the Partner Community license.

Upon clicking the "Login to Salesforce" button, a Salesforce login window appeared via login.salesforce.com. However, the Experience Cloud has its own separate login site, which led to some confusion.

The option to "Use custom domain" did not work. Therefore, we decided to attempt replacing the URL. After several unsuccessful tries, we finally managed to make it work!

Solution of Challenge# 1

Change

https://login.salesforce.com/?startURL=%2Fsetup%2Fsecur%2FRemoteAccessAuthorizationPage.apexp%3Fsource%

to

https://*your_domain*.my.site.com/sales/s/login/?ec=302&inst=7S&startURL=%2Fsales%2Fsetup%2Fsecur%2FRemoteAccessAuthorizationPage.apexp%3Fsource%

Hooray! We were able to log in, and the "Create Lead" and "Create Contact" buttons are functioning for us.

Challenge #2 - How to open Lead page in Salesforce from Salesbolt?

When you are on a LinkedIn contact's page, the Salesbolt Google Chrome extension prompts you if there is a corresponding lead or contact in Salesforce. This button leads to the Lead page in the regular Salesforce interface via login.salesforce.com and the LeadId. I believe you can guess how we solve this issue...

Solution of Challenge# 2

Change

https://*your_domain*.my.salesforce.com/?ec=302&startURL=%2F00

to

https://*your_domain*.my.site.com/sales/s/lead/00

Challenge #3 - Too many changes in URL - how to make it automated?

We encountered the need to modify the links to redirect them from the Salesforce page to the Experience Cloud page. To automate this process instead of doing it manually, Anastasia Posivets , our Salesforce Architect, suggested using the Google Chrome extension called Requestly . With its simple UI, the active flow automatically replaces parts of the links in your browser.

Solution of Challenge #3

Install the Requestly Google Chrome extension.

At some point, I thought that the most challenging task would be helping all end-users install two Google Chrome extensions (Salesbolt + Requestly), but it turned out that this wasn't the most difficult part.

Challenge #4 - How to sync LinkedIn communication back to Salesforce?

So, we figured out how to synchronize leads and open their pages directly from Salesbolt. It is time to test the synchronization of conversations in Salesforce tasks.

Imagine my disappointment when the link substitution didn't work in this case.

But I was assisted by Anastasia Posivets and Ivan Zubarevich . They came up with a brilliant idea of replacing the task page with a Salesforce Screen Flow. They helped us write a new URL link decoder that could separate the Lead's name and description, and populate the fields of the new Screen Flow with the data from the LinkedIn page for creating a task.

Here's the technical solution:

Create a Screen Flow.

Step 1: URL link decoder.

Step 2: Display the task creation with filled fields from the decoder for end-user verification.

Step 3: Create the task.

Step 4: Display a message indicating successful task creation or an error message.

Conclusion

So, in conclusion, here's what we needed to automate LinkedIn sync for Salesforce Partner Community license:

• Recruiterbolt ?? Chrome extension.
• Requestly Chrome extension.
• Salesforce Screen Flow.
• Apex class with a decoder.

If you have any questions or need assistance with Salesforce solutions, I'm here to help! Feel free to reach out to me directly through LinkedIn ( Ksenia M. ) or email at [email protected]. I would be delighted to provide guidance, share insights, or discuss any specific challenges you might be facing.