Sell smarter and faster with the new Salesforce Lightning for Outlook add-in
Modern sales reps rely on two tools above all others—Customer Relational Management (CRM) to manage sales opportunities and email to communicate with contacts. Yet, CRM and email have traditionally been disconnected tools, and sales reps have had to spend valuable time toggling between these apps. Whether it’s manually adding contacts or calendar events from email to CRM or having to move back and forth between email and CRM when looking up and updating a CRM entry based on an email thread, a lot of precious time and effort is spent on these administrative activities.
The new Lightning for Outlook add-in is designed to help reduce this pain by giving you the ability to search, view and update all Salesforce CRM entries associated with your email contacts right from Outlook, increasing productivity and helping you save time, so you can focus on the selling. Using Lightning Sync, you can automatically sync contacts and calendar events from your email to your CRM, so you don’t have spend your time manually adding them. Soon you will also be able to add custom sales apps directly into Outlook, creating permanent shortcuts for tasks like updating a price quote using SteelBrick. The Salesforce Lightning for Outlook add-in and capabilities are available to Outlook users across Windows, Mac and the web and is coming soon to Outlook Mobile.
Microsoft and Salesforce are committed to bringing joint solutions to help people and organizations achieve more. Customers like Accenture, BMC Software and Unilever are already leveraging some of these solutions to stay more productive than ever. Learn more about how the Salesforce and Microsoft partnership can help your business at the Salesforce blog.
Frequently asked questions
Q. What versions of Outlook and Exchange are required to access the Salesforce Lightning for Outlook add-in? Do I require a Salesforce subscription to use the add-in?
A. To access the Salesforce Lightning for Outlook add-in, you will need Outlook 2013 for Windows, Outlook 2016 for Windows, Outlook 2016 for Mac or Outlook on the web with either Office 365, Exchange 2013 or Exchange 2016 mailboxes. It is coming soon to Outlook Mobile.
You also require a Salesforce subscription to use the add-in. Detailed availability as per below:
- Lightning for Outlook is generally available today via the Office Store at no additional cost to Sales Cloud users.
- Lightning Sync is generally available today at no additional cost to users with a Sales Cloud Lightning Enterprise edition and up.
- Lightning Components Framework in Outlook will be generally available in Fall 2016. Pricing will be announced at that time.
Q. Is Lightning for Outlook available worldwide?
A. Yes, the add-in is available worldwide to all Salesforce customers with the necessary licenses.
Q. How do I install the Salesforce Lightning for Outlook add-in?
A. If you have a valid Salesforce subscription, you can install and access the add-in using the steps below:
- In Outlook 2013 or Outlook 2016 for Windows, click Store from the Home tab on the ribbon. In Outlook on the web, click the gear icon (top right) and select Manage Add-ins. (Outlook 2016 for Mac users should install via Outlook on the web.)
- In the search bar on the top right, type Salesforce.
- When the search returns the Salesforce Lightning for Outlook add-in, set the toggle to On to install the add-in. The add-in will appear in the Command bar ribbon on the top.
Note: Some users in Outlook 2013 may not see the new in-client store UI above. For these users, follow the steps below:
- Click Salesforce Lightning for Outlook from the Home tab on the ribbon and then click Manage Add-ins.
- In the Manage Add-ins page, click the + sign and then select the Salesforce for Outlook add-in from the Office Store.
- Click the Add button to begin installation.
Q. Is the new Lightning Experience required to access Lightning for Outlook?
A. No, you do not need Lightning Experience to access the Lightning for Outlook add-in.
