Automate Salesforce reporting in Excel (no manual exports)

Salesforce is one of the most powerful sales tools on the market today, but it can become very complex very quickly, especially around:

• Deep-dive analysis
• Custom modelling

This is why so many of us still instinctively reach for Excel. It’s a tool we know and understand, one that’s flexible enough to bend to our whims, with built-in data capabilities that let us visualise many different scenarios.

So, if Salesforce is the data pool and Excel is the mechanism for understanding that data, there needs to be an export. You might have been relying on a manual export from Salesforce to Excel up to this point. Download to CSV, manually clean up the formatting, then copy and paste it into your master sheet.

It’s a productivity killer, and the last thing you want to do on a Friday afternoon. Not to mention, it gives you out-of-date data almost all the time, because the data itself is not actually live.

To get over that hump, you need transparency and speed. That means moving away from static files and into something more dynamic: an Excel Salesforce integration. We’ve built one for you right here at SyncHub, and today we’re going to take you through how to use it.

How to Automate with a Salesforce Connector

We’ve replaced the manual export button with a persistent, cloud-based sync. So, instead of Excel asking you for a file, your Excel sheet becomes a live document that is constantly being refreshed by our Salesforce connector. This is the power of an Excel-Salesforce integration.

But how do we get it up and running? Simple.

Connect your data

Using an SFDC Excel connector through SyncHub means you don't need to write a single line of code. You simply authorise SyncHub to talk to your Salesforce account. We then pull your Objects (Leads, Opportunities, Accounts, etc.) into a relational database.

Set your ideal sync frequency

Now that you’ve connected your data, just pick a sync frequency. This is essentially deciding how often you want the Excel sheet to update with new data, and you can set those refresh intervals as often or as infrequently as you’d like.

Some teams choose daily snapshots to maintain a semi-constant pulse on their sales pipeline, while others opt for near-real-time updates to ensure the data is as recent as possible.

Point Excel at the source data

Finally, you just need to point Excel at your source data. The Salesforce Excel plugin makes this simple, so you just use Excel’s Get Data feature to point it at your SyncHub endpoint. The data is already structured properly thanks to the SFDC Excel connector, so you don’t have to spend any time cleaning it up. Just point, and your raw Salesforce data will be waiting for you in the sheet.

Once you’ve got all the data set up, you can implement some best practices around transparent Salesforce reporting that takes advantage of the superior modelling available through Excel.

Best Practices for Salesforce Reporting

We would recommend three golden rules to keep in mind as you build your reporting engine. Take it from a team that has spent years developing the perfect Excel-Salesforce integration: taking the time to get it right at the beginning saves you a lot of headaches down the line.

Have a single source of truth that you trust

If everyone is looking at the same numbers, then everyone is operating from the same understanding of your sales pipeline’s health. This way, you can set clear goals that progress your company, rather than disparate goals based on data from different points in time. This is why an Excel-Salesforce integration is so important if you are using Excel as your analysis platform.

Focus on your leading indicators

You might be tempted to focus on your lagging indicators, but tracking leading indicators like New Leads This Week or Average Time in Stage can help you pinpoint the spots in your pipeline that need a boost, weeks before the changes affect your revenue.

Salesforce hygiene is your best friend

Finally, we are a company all about data, so we have to say: an automated report is only as good as the data you put into it. Using a Salesforce connector is incredibly valuable for interpreting the data, but if your sales team isn’t updating Salesforce correctly then your Excel forecast will quite simply be wrong.

Use the transparency of your new dashboard to get your team on board with updates, so you can quickly close any gaps that emerge in your data. Nothing motivates a rep to update their CRM quite like seeing their name at the bottom of the sales leaderboard.

Using an SFDC Excel connector saves you time, of course. But more importantly, it frees you of all the mistakes that can occur during a manual export. The human error and time-gap is not worth the hassle, especially if it’s stealing your time away from finding the next growth lever for your business.