A bidirectional relationship with SugarCRM allows you as the marketer to push and then pull data between the two systems, synchronizing the two databases. When using the SugarCRM integration you may use not only the SugarCRM standard fields for marketing and segmentation but all custom fields associated with leads and contacts as well.

When importing from SugarCRM you can pull your full list of leads or contacts into Act-On. Importing leads or contacts will create a list within Act-On that contains all of the individuals associated with that group so that you can send email campaigns to them, segment and manipulate the data, or add newly qualified leads to the list for creation in your SugarCRM account.

After you've connected your SugarCRM with Act-On, you can begin importing your SugarCRM lists. 

Import SugarCRM marketing lists:

1. Create a lead-level and contact-level field in SugarCRM that will accommodate the Act-On behavior score. You can call it 'Act-On Lead Score' or 'Behavior Score', for example.
2. From the Start page, click on Contacts, and choose Marketing Lists.
3. Click Import, and choose from the available lists.
4. Change the name of the list being imported to Act-On if necessary.
5. Click Next, and select any fields you wish to import from SugarCRM to Act-On.
   • The imported data can be used to make segments in Act-On, as well as personalize messages. Fields can be added and removed after the initial import. There are a couple of special fields:
     • Email – Act-on uses email as the key to track behavior, so this is important to include
     •  Score – This is a new custom field that was created in SugarCRM via the Act-On connector (see Step 1 above). It is meant to be used to contain the Act-On lead score. If you would like to see the Act-On lead score in SugarCRM, then select this field
6. Click Finish.
7. Repeat steps 2 to 6 above to import other lists.

Once your marketing lists are imported from SugarCRM, it is important to make sure your SugarCRM and Act-On lists are synchronized. The initial import is only a one-time event. If you wish to keep the list synchronized with SugarCRM, automated sync can be enabled. 

Synchronize SugarCRM lists with Act-On:

1. Hover over the SugarCRM marketing list you wish to sync, and click the drop-down arrow.
2. Choose Import/Export > SugarCRM Sync Setup.
3. Enable the option to push to and/or pull from SugarCRM.
   • Typically, Act-On users will push the Act-On lead score to SugarCRM and pull all of the other values. To enable this, click the Push to SugarCRM checkbox, the update checkbox under Push, and then click on the Select Push-Update Fields link and select Score.
   • After saving, click on Pull from SugarCRM. You can then choose to click the Add checkbox if you would like new contacts to be added to Act-On. Most customers do select this. Remove can be checked if you would like to remove contacts from Act-On that were removed in SugarCRM. Check the Update box under Pull and click on the Select Pull-Update Fields link and unselect Score.
4. Click Schedule to set when you would like the sync to occur.
5. Click Save.
6. Repeat these steps for the other SugarCRM marketing lists you would like to keep in sync.

Syncing Lead Scores to SugarCRM

If you are pushing the lead score back to SugarCRM, the Score column needs to be updated prior to doing the sync. This can be done with the help of a list maintenance program. 

1. Hover over the list to be updated and, and click the drop-down arrow.
2. Choose Maintenance, and Set up Maintenance Program.
3. Enter a name for the program, and click Add a Step.
4. Choose Change Field Value.
5. Enter a step name, choose the Act-On behavior score field as the update field, and then choose to set the value to the Behavioral Score.
6. Click Done and then click on the only when clicking the Now button link to set up the schedule.
7. Set the schedule to be earlier than the sync you set up. For example, if the sync was to be set to happen at midnight, make sure the behavior score update is finished prior to the sync.
8. Click Save, and then the Listing button to finish.
9. Repeat these steps on any other lists that include the lead score.

The list is now fully set up to sync, and its listing will show the SugarCRM icon on the left, the gear icon for the maintenance program, and the calendar for the scheduled sync on the right.

Target Lists

The Act-On Sugar import includes both Targets and Target Lists. A special column “Module Type” will be added when you import the list. It will allow you to tell if a contact in the Target List is a Lead, Contact, or Target. You can use this column to segment your target list.