How to integrate SAS Flex with Zoho CRM

Zoho is an online business software solution that offers a suite of capabilities, such as CRM, sales and marketing tools, email, and accounting software, among others. If your business uses this software, integrating your account with the Zoho app in the SAS Flex portal will automatically push data from your calls into your Zoho application. This eliminates the need for you to do double the work, converting messages into new leads.

Connect Zoho with Your SAS Account

In the SAS Flex portal, click Integrations from the left side menu.

From the Apps screen, click the Install button next to the Zoho logo.

On the next screen, click Connect to my account. Then, in the pop-up window, click Accept.

Setting Contact Data Parameters

Now that Zoho is connected to the app, click Add configuration to begin the setup.

On the next page, name your configuration. This is how your Zoho integration will be displayed within your SAS Flex portal.

Now, you'll need to tell the system how to manage the caller's details. In the Workflow section, select the aspect of your Zoho integration where we'll send the caller's data. Subsequent data options may change depending on which of these you select.

Support > create and manage Contacts & Cases

Selecting this option will update existing CRM contacts, create new contacts, and create new cases based on the information that the caller provides.

Support > create and manage Accounts & Cases

Selecting this option will update your CRM accounts and create new cases based on the information that the caller provides.

Sales > create and manage Leads

Selecting this option will update existing leads in your CRM, or create new leads, based on the information that the caller provides. If this workflow is selected, you can configure the app to either search for a contact if no lead is found, or add the lead to a specific Zoho campaign.

Add Email

For all 3 workflow options, you'll have two options under the Add Email section:

Select Populate Zoho with email provided by the caller. to populate new entries with the email address our operators collect. If the caller does not provide an email address, no email will be logged in Zoho.
Use the Populate static email address: option to enter an address that will be displayed in all entries from SAS.

Now, you'll need to decide whether you'd like the system to Update or Overwrite existing data. Depending on which workflow option you select, this section may update or overwrite Contacts, Accounts or Leads.

If   Don't update existing contacts. Create new ones. is chosen, SAS will look for an email match in your Zoho installation. If there is no match, it will create a new case and a new contact. If there is an email match, it will just create a new case.

If   Update contacts by overwriting any data with details from SAS. is chosen, SAS will look for an email match in your Zoho installation. If there is a match, it will overwrite any existing customer data with data we've received from the caller.

If   Update contacts by appending details from SAS without overwriting existing data. is chosen, SAS will look for an email match in your Zoho installation. If there is a match, it won't overwrite data but will add any new details received.

When you are finished, click Save.

Zoho Custom Mappings (Optional)

Once the data section is complete, you can map your call data directly to specific Zoho fields by adding Custom mappings.

Under the Mappings tab, click Add Mapping.

In the first dropdown box, select either Collector or Text.

Collector will allow you to use specific SAS script variables to populate existing Zoho fields. If you select Collector, the second column will allow you to select a script variable.

Text gives you the option to type your own data rather than using SAS variables. If you select Text, the second column will be a blank box where you can type specific information.

After you've completed the second column, you will set the Object, Type and Mapping.

If you've selected the Support - Contacts & Cases workflow, the Object dropdown will give you options for Case or Contact. For Sales, the Object is Leads. In Zoho, Case, Contact and Leads all have their own default fields. The Object determines which default fields will be available.

The Type dropdown gives you options for Standard or Custom. Selecting Standard will bring up the default fields for the Object you selected. Setting it to Custom will bring up any custom fields that you have built into your Zoho setup.

The last dropdown will display the Standard or Custom fields within your Zoho setup.

If you select the Support - Accounts & Cases workflow, you will need to locate a corresponding variable from SAS that will identify the account name (e.g., CompanyName), as the dropdown values will default to Account, Standard, and Account Name. Once that is completed, you can add subsequent mappings.

Repeat the steps 1-3 until you've completed the custom mappings.

If you want to remove any mapping, hover over the section you want removed and click Delete.

When you are finished, click Save.

Back on the main Zoho page, you can Disable, Edit or Delete your configuration by clicking on the 3-dot icon adjacent to your configuration.

Integrate Zoho into Your Script

When all of your integration settings are complete, contact SAS at service@specialtyansweringservice.net to add the integration into the appropriate block in your SAS script, or follow these instructions to integrate the app yourself.

If you've disconnected and reconnected your configuration at any point, you'll need to re-integrate it into your script.