How to Send Zoho CRM Leads to Slack with Zapier

zapier.com > Dashboard > Create Zap

Create a new Zap

Log into your Zapier account at zapier.com. Click the orange 'Create Zap' button in the top-left sidebar. This opens the Zap editor, which shows a two-panel layout: the left panel lists your steps, and the right panel shows the configuration for the currently selected step. You'll start with the trigger step already selected.

1. 1Go to zapier.com and sign in
2. 2Click 'Create Zap' in the left sidebar
3. 3Confirm the editor opens with 'Trigger' as Step 1 on the left panel

Zap Editor > Trigger > App & Event

Set Zoho CRM as the trigger app

In the right panel, type 'Zoho CRM' into the app search box. Click the Zoho CRM logo when it appears — it shows an orange icon with a 'Z'. Zapier will then show you a list of available trigger events for Zoho CRM. You need to pick the event that fires when a new lead record is created.

1. 1Type 'Zoho CRM' in the 'Search for apps' field
2. 2Click the Zoho CRM option with the orange icon
3. 3Under 'Trigger Event', select 'New Lead'
4. 4Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Trigger > Account > Sign in to Zoho CRM

Connect your Zoho CRM account

Click 'Sign in to Zoho CRM'. A popup window opens asking for your Zoho credentials. After you log in, Zoho will show an OAuth permissions screen listing what Zapier is requesting access to — this includes reading CRM records. Click 'Accept' to grant access. The popup closes and Zapier shows your connected account in a dropdown.

1. 1Click 'Sign in to Zoho CRM'
2. 2Enter your Zoho email and password in the popup
3. 3Click 'Accept' on the Zoho OAuth permissions screen
4. 4Select your newly connected account from the dropdown
5. 5Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Trigger > Configure

Configure the Zoho CRM trigger

The 'Configure' tab for the Zoho CRM trigger may offer optional filter fields like 'Lead Source'. For most teams, leave these blank — Zapier will fire on every new lead regardless of source. If you only want to notify on leads from a specific source (e.g., 'Web Form'), enter that value here. Click 'Continue' when done.

1. 1Leave 'Lead Source' blank to capture all new leads, or type a specific source to filter
2. 2Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Trigger > Test

Test the Zoho CRM trigger

Click 'Test trigger'. Zapier polls your Zoho CRM account and pulls the three most recently created leads. You'll see a list of records in the right panel, each showing fields like First Name, Last Name, Company, Email, Phone, and Lead Source. Click on any record to expand and verify the data looks correct. Select the record you want to use as your test sample.

1. 1Click 'Test trigger'
2. 2Wait 5-10 seconds for Zapier to pull records from Zoho CRM
3. 3Click on a returned lead record to expand its fields
4. 4Confirm fields like 'Last Name', 'Company', 'Email', and 'Phone' contain real data
5. 5Click 'Continue with selected record'

Zap Editor > Action > App & Event

Add a Slack action step

Click the '+' button below the trigger step in the left panel to add an action. In the right panel, search for 'Slack' and click the Slack app with the multicolor hashtag icon. You'll then choose the action event — what Zapier does in Slack when the trigger fires. For channel notifications, you want 'Send Channel Message'.

1. 1Click the '+' icon below Step 1 in the left panel
2. 2Type 'Slack' in the app search box
3. 3Click the Slack app with the multicolor icon
4. 4Under 'Action Event', select 'Send Channel Message'
5. 5Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Action > Account > Sign in to Slack

Connect your Slack workspace

Click 'Sign in to Slack'. A popup opens where you select your Slack workspace from a dropdown or type your workspace URL. After selecting the workspace, click 'Allow' to grant Zapier permission to post messages. You need to be a Slack member with permission to add apps — workspace owners may need to approve this in Slack's App Directory settings.

1. 1Click 'Sign in to Slack'
2. 2Select your workspace from the dropdown or enter your workspace URL
3. 3Click 'Allow' on the Slack permissions screen
4. 4Select your connected workspace from the account dropdown
5. 5Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Action > Configure > Channel + Message Text

Configure the Slack message

In the 'Configure' tab, set the Channel field to the Slack channel where lead alerts should post — type '#' and the channel name (e.g., #new-leads) or select it from the dropdown. In the 'Message Text' field, compose your notification using dynamic fields from the Zoho CRM trigger. Click the purple lightning bolt icon inside any text field to insert a dynamic value from the lead record. Build a message that includes the lead's name, company, phone, email, and source.

1. 1Click the 'Channel' field and select your target channel (e.g., #new-leads)
2. 2Click inside the 'Message Text' field
3. 3Type '🔔 New Lead: ' then click the lightning bolt icon and select 'First Name' from Zoho CRM
4. 4Continue building: add 'Last Name', 'Company', 'Email', 'Phone', and 'Lead Source' on separate lines
5. 5Optionally set 'Bot Name' to 'Lead Alerts' and upload a custom icon emoji like ':bell:'

📬 New entry: {{1.name}}
Email: {{1.email}}
Details: {{1.description}}

Zap Editor > Action > Configure > Advanced Options

Set message formatting options

Scroll down in the Configure tab to find optional fields. Set 'Send as Bot' to 'Yes' so the message appears from your named bot rather than your personal Slack account. You can also enable 'Link Names' to make @mentions clickable and set 'Markdown' to 'Yes' if you want to use bold or italic formatting in your message text. These are optional but make the Slack notification easier to read at a glance.

1. 1Set 'Send as Bot' to 'Yes'
2. 2Set 'Bot Name' to 'Lead Alerts' or your preferred label
3. 3Set 'Markdown' to 'Yes' if your message uses *bold* or _italic_ formatting
4. 4Click 'Continue'

📬 New entry: {{1.name}}
Email: {{1.email}}
Details: {{1.description}}

Zap Editor > Action > Test

Test the Slack action

Click 'Test action'. Zapier sends a real message to your chosen Slack channel using the sample lead data pulled in Step 5. Open Slack immediately and navigate to the channel — you should see the test notification posted within 10-15 seconds. Verify all the fields display correctly: name, company, email, phone, and source. If anything looks wrong (wrong channel, missing field, raw ID instead of a name), go back to Step 8 and fix the configuration.

1. 1Click 'Test action'
2. 2Open Slack and navigate to your target channel
3. 3Confirm the test message appears with correct lead data
4. 4If the message looks correct, click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Publish Zap > Name your Zap

Turn on the Zap

Click 'Publish Zap' in the top-right corner of the editor. Zapier will ask you to name the Zap — use something descriptive like 'Zoho CRM New Lead → Slack #new-leads'. Once published, the Zap status toggles to 'On' (shown as a green switch). Zapier will now poll your Zoho CRM account every 1-15 minutes depending on your plan, and post a Slack message for each new lead it finds.

1. 1Click 'Publish Zap' in the top-right corner
2. 2Enter a descriptive name: 'Zoho CRM New Lead → Slack #new-leads'
3. 3Confirm the Zap status shows a green 'On' toggle
4. 4Navigate to My Zaps to confirm it appears in your active Zaps list

This Code by Zapier step formats the Zoho CRM lead record into a Slack Block Kit message — structured cards with bold labels, clickable email links, and a direct CRM link — instead of a plain text wall. Add a 'Code by Zapier' action between the trigger and Slack action, select 'Run JavaScript', paste this code, then use the output fields in your Slack 'Send Channel Message' action's 'Blocks' field instead of 'Message Text'.

// Code by Zapier — Run JavaScript
// Input data from Zoho CRM trigger (set these in the Input Data section above the code)
// inputData keys: firstName, lastName, company, email, phone, leadSource, ownerName, createdTime, leadId

// Code by Zapier — Run JavaScript
// Input data from Zoho CRM trigger (set these in the Input Data section above the code)
// inputData keys: firstName, lastName, company, email, phone, leadSource, ownerName, createdTime, leadId

const firstName = inputData.firstName || '';
const lastName = inputData.lastName || 'Unknown';
const company = inputData.company || 'No company';
const email = inputData.email || '';
const phone = inputData.phone || 'Not provided';
const leadSource = inputData.leadSource || 'Unknown';
const ownerName = inputData.ownerName || 'Unassigned';
const leadId = inputData.leadId || '';
const createdTime = inputData.createdTime ? new Date(inputData.createdTime).toLocaleString('en-US', {dateStyle:'medium', timeStyle:'short'}) : 'Unknown';

// Build Zoho CRM direct link
const crmLink = leadId ? `https://crm.zoho.com/crm/org/leads/${leadId}` : null;

// Slack Block Kit payload
const blocks = [
  {
    type: 'header',
    text: { type: 'plain_text', text: `\uD83D\uDD14 New Lead: ${firstName} ${lastName}`, emoji: true }
  },
  {
    type: 'section',
    fields: [
      { type: 'mrkdwn', text: `*Company:*\n${company}` },
      { type: 'mrkdwn', text: `*Source:*\n${leadSource}` },
      { type: 'mrkdwn', text: `*Email:*\n<mailto:${email}|${email}>` },
      { type: 'mrkdwn', text: `*Phone:*\n${phone}` },
      { type: 'mrkdwn', text: `*Owner:*\n${ownerName}` },
      { type: 'mrkdwn', text: `*Created:*\n${createdTime}` }
    ]
  },
  crmLink ? {
    type: 'actions',
    elements: [{
      type: 'button',
      text: { type: 'plain_text', text: 'View in Zoho CRM', emoji: true },
      url: crmLink,
      style: 'primary'
    }]
  } : null
].filter(Boolean);

output = [{ blocksJson: JSON.stringify(blocks) }];