What This Workflow Does
For marketing and sales teams, a critical bottleneck is getting new leads from various sources into the CRM quickly and accurately. Manually copying data from spreadsheets, event lists, or form exports into SharpSpring is tedious, error-prone, and delays follow-up. This workflow solves that by creating a seamless, automated bridge between Google Sheets and SharpSpring.
Whenever a new row is added to your designated Google Sheet—whether it's from a form submission, a list purchase, or a team member's entry—this automation detects it, extracts the lead information, and instantly creates a corresponding lead record in your SharpSpring account. It runs on a schedule you set (like every 15 minutes), ensuring your sales team always has the freshest leads without lifting a finger.
Pro tip: Use this automation not just for contact forms, but also for importing webinar attendees, trade show leads, or referrals collected by partners in shared Sheets. It turns any spreadsheet into a powerful lead ingestion tool.
How It Works
The automation follows a simple, reliable sequence to transfer data securely and accurately.
Step 1: Scheduled Check for New Rows
A scheduler module triggers the workflow at your chosen interval (e.g., every 15 minutes). It acts as the automation's heartbeat, initiating the process without any manual intervention.
Step 2: Fetch Data from Google Sheets
The workflow connects to your specified Google Sheet and retrieves all rows. It intelligently identifies which rows are new since the last run by tracking a reference point, ensuring no lead is processed twice and none are missed.
Step 3: Map Data to SharpSpring Fields
For each new row, the automation maps the spreadsheet columns (like "Email," "First Name," "Company") to the corresponding field names in the SharpSpring lead creation API. This step transforms raw spreadsheet data into a structured format your CRM understands.
Step 4: Create the Lead in SharpSpring
The workflow sends the formatted lead data to SharpSpring via its API, creating a new lead record in your account. You can configure it to add leads to specific campaigns or assign tags automatically based on the data source.
Who This Is For
This automation is a game-changer for businesses that collect lead data in spreadsheets but use SharpSpring for marketing and sales execution. It's ideal for:
- Marketing Agencies: Managing multiple client lead sources from forms, ads, or events that dump data into Sheets before CRM import.
- Event & Webinar Organizers: Who collect registrant lists in Sheets and need to swiftly add attendees to nurture sequences in SharpSpring.
- Small Sales Teams: Where reps collect referrals or leads manually and need them in the shared CRM instantly for follow-up.
- Business Development Reps: Who purchase or compile prospect lists in Sheets and need an efficient way to upload them to the CRM for outreach.
What You'll Need
- A Make.com account (free tier available).
- A Google Sheets spreadsheet with your lead data. You can use the provided sample template or your own sheet with columns for key lead information.
- A SharpSpring account with API access enabled (admin permissions required for initial connection).
- Basic information like your SharpSpring Account ID and Secret Key for the API connection.
Quick Setup Guide
You can have this automation running in under 10 minutes.
- Get the Template: Click "Get This Workflow" to copy the template to your Make.com account.
- Connect Google Sheets: In the first module, authorize Make.com to access your Google account and select the specific spreadsheet and worksheet containing your leads.
- Connect SharpSpring: In the SharpSpring module, enter your Account ID and Secret Key to establish the secure API connection.
- Map Your Fields: Match the column headers from your Sheet (e.g., 'Email Address') to the correct SharpSpring field names (e.g., 'email'). The template provides a common mapping you can adjust.
- Set the Schedule: Configure the scheduler to run as often as you need—every 15 minutes, hourly, or daily.
- Test & Activate: Run the scenario once to test with a single new row. Verify the lead appears correctly in SharpSpring, then turn the scenario on.
Key Benefits
Eliminate 2–5 hours of manual data entry per week. This time can be reallocated to high-value sales activities or strategic marketing, directly improving team productivity and morale.
Reduce lead data entry errors to near zero. Automated mapping prevents typos, missed fields, and duplicate entries that commonly occur with manual copying, ensuring your CRM data is clean and reliable.
Speed up lead response time from hours to minutes. Instant CRM entry means leads can immediately enter automated nurture tracks or be assigned to sales reps, dramatically increasing the chance of conversion.
Create a scalable lead ingestion system. As your lead volume grows from tens to hundreds per week, this automation handles the increase effortlessly without requiring additional staff or creating bottlenecks.
Improve campaign attribution and reporting. With leads flowing directly into SharpSpring, you gain a complete, auditable trail from source to CRM, enabling accurate ROI measurement for all your lead generation activities.