How to Send Zoho CRM Leads to Slack with n8n

n8n Dashboard > + New Workflow

Create a new workflow in n8n

Log into your n8n instance and click the orange '+' button in the top left of the canvas to create a new workflow. Name it something descriptive like 'Zoho CRM → Slack New Lead Alert'. You'll see an empty canvas with a 'Click to add first step' prompt in the center. All configuration happens here on this canvas view.

1. 1Click the orange '+' button in the top left of the n8n dashboard
2. 2Select 'Blank Workflow' from the options
3. 3Click the pencil icon next to 'My Workflow' and rename it to 'Zoho CRM → Slack New Lead Alert'
4. 4Click 'Save' in the top right

Canvas > + Add Node > Webhook

Add a Webhook trigger node

Click the '+' icon on the canvas to add your first node. Search for 'Webhook' and select it — this is the built-in n8n node, not a third-party one. Set the HTTP Method to POST and note the webhook URL that n8n generates. You'll paste this URL into Zoho CRM in the next step. Keep Authentication set to 'None' for initial testing; you can add header auth later.

1. 1Click the '+' node icon on the empty canvas
2. 2Type 'Webhook' in the search bar and click the Webhook node
3. 3Set HTTP Method to 'POST'
4. 4Copy the 'Webhook URL' shown in the node panel — you'll need this in the next step
5. 5Click 'Save' on the node

Zoho CRM > Setup > Automation > Actions > Webhooks > + New Webhook

Configure Zoho CRM webhook to fire on new leads

Log into Zoho CRM and navigate to Setup > Automation > Actions > Webhooks. Click '+New Webhook'. Give it a name like 'n8n New Lead Alert'. Paste your n8n webhook URL into the URL to Notify field. Set Module to 'Leads' and leave the method as POST. Under Parameters, map the lead fields you want n8n to receive — at minimum: First Name, Last Name, Email, Phone, Lead Source, Lead Owner, and Company.

1. 1In Zoho CRM, click the gear icon (Setup) in the top right
2. 2Navigate to Automation > Actions > Webhooks
3. 3Click '+ New Webhook'
4. 4Paste your n8n Test Webhook URL into the 'URL to Notify' field
5. 5Under 'Parameters', add fields: First Name, Last Name, Email, Phone, Lead Source, Lead Owner, Company
6. 6Click 'Save'

Zoho CRM > Setup > Automation > Workflow Rules > + Create Rule

Create a Zoho Workflow Rule to trigger on lead creation

Still in Zoho CRM Setup, go to Automation > Workflow Rules and click '+ Create Rule'. Set Module to 'Leads' and choose trigger 'On a record action' > 'Create'. Skip conditions unless you want to filter by lead source or region. Under Actions, click '+' next to Webhooks and select the webhook you just created. Save and activate the rule.

1. 1Go to Setup > Automation > Workflow Rules
2. 2Click '+ Create Rule'
3. 3Set Module to 'Leads'
4. 4Set trigger to 'On a record action' and check 'Create'
5. 5Under Actions section, click '+' next to 'Webhooks'
6. 6Select the webhook you created in Step 3
7. 7Click 'Save & Activate'

n8n Canvas > Webhook Node > Listen for Test Event

Test the webhook and inspect the incoming payload

Back in n8n, click 'Listen for Test Event' on your Webhook node. Then create a test lead in Zoho CRM — use a real-looking name like 'Jane Doe' at 'Acme Corp'. Within 30 seconds you should see the webhook payload appear in n8n's output panel on the right. Expand the JSON to confirm all your mapped fields are present. This data shape is what all downstream nodes will reference.

1. 1Click on your Webhook node in n8n
2. 2Click the 'Listen for Test Event' button in the node panel
3. 3Switch to Zoho CRM and create a new Lead with full details (name, email, phone, company, lead source)
4. 4Return to n8n — you should see the payload appear within 30 seconds
5. 5Click through the JSON output to confirm all expected fields are present

Canvas > + Add Node > Edit Fields (Set)

Add a Set node to extract and format lead fields

Click '+' after the Webhook node and add a 'Edit Fields (Set)' node. This is where you extract the raw Zoho payload into clean variables for the Slack message. Map each field explicitly: set leadName as {{$json.body.First_Name}} + ' ' + {{$json.body.Last_Name}}, set email as {{$json.body.Email}}, set phone as {{$json.body.Phone}}, set company as {{$json.body.Company}}, set leadSource as {{$json.body.Lead_Source}}, and set ownerName as {{$json.body.Lead_Owner.name}}. Using a Set node here makes the Slack node much easier to read and maintain.

1. 1Click '+' after the Webhook node on the canvas
2. 2Search for 'Edit Fields' and select the 'Edit Fields (Set)' node
3. 3Click '+ Add Field' and set Name: leadName, Value: {{$json.body.First_Name + ' ' + $json.body.Last_Name}}
4. 4Add field: email = {{$json.body.Email}}
5. 5Add field: phone = {{$json.body.Phone}}
6. 6Add field: company = {{$json.body.Company}}
7. 7Add field: leadSource = {{$json.body.Lead_Source}}
8. 8Add field: ownerName = {{$json.body.Lead_Owner.name}}

Canvas > + Add Node > Slack > Credential > + Add Credential

Connect your Slack credential in n8n

Click '+' after the Set node and add a Slack node. In the node's Credential dropdown, click '+ Add Credential'. n8n will prompt you to create a Slack OAuth2 app or use a Bot Token. The easiest method for most teams is a Slack Bot Token: go to api.slack.com/apps, create a new app, add the chat:write and chat:write.public OAuth scopes, install it to your workspace, and copy the Bot User OAuth Token. Paste it into n8n's credential field.

1. 1Click '+' after the Set node
2. 2Search 'Slack' and select the Slack node
3. 3Set Resource to 'Message' and Operation to 'Send'
4. 4Click the Credential dropdown and select '+ Add Credential'
5. 5Open api.slack.com/apps in a new tab and create a new app
6. 6Under OAuth & Permissions, add scopes: chat:write and chat:write.public
7. 7Click 'Install to Workspace', then copy the Bot User OAuth Token
8. 8Paste the token into n8n's Slack credential field and click 'Save'

Canvas > Slack Node > Channel / Text fields

Configure the Slack message content

With the Slack node open, set Channel to the exact channel name or ID (e.g. #inbound-leads). Set the Text field to your notification message using the Set node's output variables. Use Slack's mrkdwn format for readability. A good format: '*New Lead:* {{$json.leadName}}\n*Company:* {{$json.company}}\n*Email:* {{$json.email}}\n*Phone:* {{$json.phone}}\n*Source:* {{$json.leadSource}}\n*Owner:* {{$json.ownerName}}'. You can also switch to Block Kit for richer formatting using the JSON/Blocks option in the Slack node.

1. 1In the Slack node, set Channel to '#inbound-leads' (or your target channel)
2. 2In the Text field, paste your formatted message template using {{$json.fieldName}} references
3. 3Optionally toggle 'Blocks' on and paste Block Kit JSON for button-style formatting
4. 4Set 'As User' to your bot name so messages look clean in channel

Canvas > Slack Node > (right-click) > Add Error Output

Add an error handler node for failed deliveries

Click the three dots on your Slack node and select 'Add Error Workflow' — or better, add a second branch using the error output pin. Connect the error output to a second Slack node that posts to a #workflow-errors channel (or sends you a direct message) with the error details. This catches Slack API failures, rate limit hits, or malformed payloads without silently dropping lead notifications. Use {{$json.message}} to surface the actual error text.

1. 1Right-click the Slack node on the canvas
2. 2Select 'Add Error Output' — a red error pin appears on the node
3. 3Click '+' on the red error pin and add another Slack node
4. 4Set this second Slack node to post to '#workflow-errors' or your own DM
5. 5Set the text to: 'Lead notification failed: {{$json.message}} | Lead: {{$node["Edit Fields"].json.leadName}}'

n8n Canvas > Active Toggle (top right) | Zoho CRM > Setup > Automation > Actions > Webhooks

Activate the workflow and switch Zoho to the production webhook URL

Click the 'Active' toggle in the top right of the n8n canvas to activate your workflow. n8n will switch from the test webhook URL to the production webhook URL automatically. Go back to your Zoho CRM Webhook configuration (Setup > Automation > Actions > Webhooks) and replace the Test URL with the Production URL from your n8n Webhook node. The production URL format looks identical but uses /webhook/ instead of /webhook-test/ in the path.

1. 1In n8n, click the 'Inactive' toggle in the top right — it turns green and reads 'Active'
2. 2Copy the Production Webhook URL from the Webhook node (click the node to see it)
3. 3In Zoho CRM, go to Setup > Automation > Actions > Webhooks
4. 4Edit your webhook and replace the old URL with the Production URL
5. 5Save the Zoho webhook
6. 6Create one more test lead in Zoho CRM to confirm the live flow works end-to-end

This Code node replaces both the Set node and the Slack message formatting step. Paste it as a single Code node between your Webhook and Slack nodes. It handles the Lead Owner nested object, falls back gracefully if optional fields are missing, and builds a Slack Block Kit payload for a richer notification with a 'View in Zoho' button — assuming you store the Zoho Lead ID in your webhook parameters.

// n8n Code Node: Format Zoho Lead → Slack Block Kit message
// Place this between your Webhook node and Slack node
// Requires: Zoho webhook params include Id, First_Name, Last_Name, Email,

// n8n Code Node: Format Zoho Lead → Slack Block Kit message
// Place this between your Webhook node and Slack node
// Requires: Zoho webhook params include Id, First_Name, Last_Name, Email,
//           Phone, Company, Lead_Source, Lead_Owner (object), Lead_Status

const items = $input.all();
const results = [];

for (const item of items) {
  const body = item.json.body || item.json;

  // Safely extract nested Lead Owner name
  const ownerName =
    typeof body.Lead_Owner === 'object' && body.Lead_Owner !== null
      ? body.Lead_Owner.name || 'Unassigned'
      : body.Lead_Owner || 'Unassigned';

  const fullName = [body.First_Name, body.Last_Name].filter(Boolean).join(' ') || 'Unknown Lead';
  const company   = body.Company      || 'No company';
  const email     = body.Email        || 'No email';
  const phone     = body.Phone        || 'No phone';
  const source    = body.Lead_Source  || 'Unknown source';
  const status    = body.Lead_Status  || 'Not Contacted';
  const leadId    = body.Id           || '';

  // Build Zoho CRM deep link (update YOUR_ZOHO_DOMAIN)
  const zohoUrl = leadId
    ? `https://crm.zoho.com/crm/org/tab/Leads/${leadId}`
    : 'https://crm.zoho.com';

  // Slack Block Kit payload
  const blocks = [
    {
      type: 'header',
      text: {
        type: 'plain_text',
        text: `🟢 New Lead: ${fullName}`,
        emoji: true
      }
    },
    {
      type: 'section',
      fields: [
        { type: 'mrkdwn', text: `*Company:*\n${company}` },
        { type: 'mrkdwn', text: `*Source:*\n${source}` },
        { type: 'mrkdwn', text: `*Email:*\n${email}` },
        { type: 'mrkdwn', text: `*Phone:*\n${phone}` },
        { type: 'mrkdwn', text: `*Owner:*\n${ownerName}` },
        { type: 'mrkdwn', text: `*Status:*\n${status}` }
      ]
    },
    {
      type: 'actions',
      elements: [
        {
          type: 'button',
          text: { type: 'plain_text', text: 'View in Zoho CRM', emoji: true },
          url: zohoUrl,
          action_id: 'view_lead'
        }
      ]
    }
  ];

  results.push({
    json: {
      blocks: JSON.stringify(blocks),
      fallbackText: `New Lead: ${fullName} from ${company} | ${email} | Owner: ${ownerName}`
    }
  });
}

return results;