Pushing Contact Data to Salesforce: Steps for Data Integrity

Salesforce: data integrity I am trying to create or update leads and contacts in Salesforce. My first step is to get a list of contacts from an external source and enrich as required. To then add this to salesforce I have multiple columns: 1: check if a contact exists already 2: check if a lead exists already 3: decide the action: update contact iif they exist / update lead if they exist / create a new lead 4: update the contact (if decided in col 3) 5: update the lead (if decided in col 3) 6: create a lead (if decided in col 3 This all works great but if I then update a row where a new lead has been created, it doesn't rerun col 1 and 2 to see if a lead has been created already, instead it creates a new lead every time. If i edit a column or add more, this can create more and more duplicate records. Am i over complicating this? Can i do anything to make this better?

12 comments

Channeled
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To push contacts from Clay to Salesforce while maintaining data integrity: 1. Use the "Create Record" action in Clay to add new contacts to Salesforce. 2. For each contact, you'll need to: • Select "Contact" as the Object • Fill in required fields (First Name, Last Name, Email) • Map your Clay columns to the appropriate Salesforce fields 3. Test your workflow before automating by turning off auto-update initially and manually testing a few rows. 4. Consider using "Remove Blank Values" option to avoid overwriting existing data with empty fields. 5. For updating existing contacts, use the "Update Record" action with the Contact's Record ID. The output will include Record IDs and success indicators to verify your data was properly transferred.
Sources: Salesforce Integration Guide Salesforce integration overview | Documentation | Clay University Salesforce integration overview | Documentation | Clay University
Bo (.
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Hey, You’re not overcomplicating it — this is a common workflow, but there’s one key thing to adjust. Right now, once a lead is created, columns 1 and 2 aren’t rerunning to re-check if that lead or contact now exists. That’s why duplicates are being created when a row is edited later. To fix this, try making columns 1 and 2 dynamic by referencing up-to-date fields (like the lead/contact ID returned from Salesforce) or using a run conditions on those rows. That way, when something changes in the row, it’ll re-check those lookups before deciding on the next action (as long as the auto-update is on) Also, make sure the logic in column 3 is reactive — it should always use the latest values from columns 1 and 2 to choose the right path. Let me know if you’d like help restructuring those steps.
VinnieH
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Hi Bo (.. Can you please give me some additional help on this? Everything i've tried gives me an 'infinite loop' error message. 02 Support
Bo (.
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Hey George, Thanks for following up. That “infinite loop” error usually means a column is being triggered by a value that’s itself being updated as part of the same flow—so it keeps firing endlessly. In your setup, double-check if columns like 1 and 2 are depending on values created later (like from columns 4, 5, or 6). That’s often where loops sneak in. To break that cycle:
Make sure your lookups in columns 1 and 2 are only referencing fields or confirmed outputs that aren't from the same colunns.
If you can record a quick video walking through the column dependencies, we’ll be able to spot the issue fast and walk you through how to fix it. Let me know if you have more questions.
VinnieH
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Please see my video here showing the issue.
LuisArturo
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Hey there Vincent thanks for sharing this, do you mind sending the link (url) to the table so we can take a look?
(52 kB)
VinnieH
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Hi LuisArturo please see the table here: https://app.clay.com/workspaces/494769/workbooks/wb_0sx0mfejJKZoWcJWXYT/tables/t_0sx0mfhC5XikY5S2Qs8/views/gv_0sx0mfiTRnT5kdSqgud Whatever i do i cannot get the Salesforce Lookup fields to re-run automatically once a lead is created.
Channeled
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Hey hey! Created this video for you. It outlines the two approaches you could take to workaround this. Do let me know if either of them work. Always here to help if it does not! :)
VinnieH
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Thanks for this but maybe i am missing something but it doesn't solve new leads being created every time the row is updated - if i use these checkbox fields on the column that is creating the lead, it creates an infinite loop error again. I've also tried using it in the formular field which created the 'salesforce action' but an infinite loop is created again. I can get the Lead Lookup to re-run so the new lead record can be kept updated - this bit now works.
LuisArturo
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Hey there Vincent, quick question here about the workflow, are there reasons that each row should be updated after the Salesforce columns run here? What you could do here to get it so that Create Record does not run again is to use a conditional formula where it checks to see if the first Salesforce Lookup found anything. If there are no records then this would the trigger for the integration to create a record, if a results is found it knows not to run.
VinnieH
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Hi LuisArturo I can get it to create the lead when no lead of contact is found, that works perfectly. The issue occurs after a lead is created. There are times where we want to edit the row, maybe add a new column or change it in some way, each time this happens, a new duplicate record is created in Salesforce. I need a way to stop the 'create lead' row triggering once a lead is created without creating an infinite loop.
Bo (.
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Hey, You can turn off auto-update for the Create Lead column in its settings. That way, it won’t run every time the row is edited. You can manually trigger it only when needed, which will prevent duplicates and avoid reruns. Let me know if you have more questions.

Pushing Contact Data to Salesforce: Steps for Data Integrity | Clay