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How to connect Anchor to SurveyMonkey using Zapier [BETA]

Learn how to use SurveyMonkey with Anchor to automate client intake

Written by Yair Zirulnik

You can use Zapier to connect Anchor with SurveyMonkey in a few different ways, from creating contacts automatically to drafting and sending proposals based on a client's response. We currently offer two Zap templates for SurveyMonkey, described below.

πŸ“£ Note: These integrations are in beta. If you run into any issues or have questions, reach out to us at [email protected].

Template 1: Create a new contact in Anchor from a SurveyMonkey response

What this Zap does

Whenever a client submits a response to a SurveyMonkey survey you choose, this Zap automatically creates a matching contact in Anchor using the information they provided, no manual data entry needed.

First, open the Zap template here and follow the steps along. You can refer to this article for guidance.

Before you start

Your SurveyMonkey survey needs to collect the information Anchor uses to create a contact: first name, last name, business name, and email. You can add or rename any other fields on your survey, as long as these are included.

Setting up the Zap

1. Getting started

Name your Zap and select which folder to save it to. Then, click, "Next" to continue setting up your Zap.

2. Connect your apps

  • SurveyMonkey β€” connect your account, or select an existing connection if you already have one.

  • Anchor β€” click Select and select your account if you've connected Anchor to Zapier already. If you haven't, click Connect a new account. You'll be asked for:

    • API Key β€” generate this from Integrations > API keys in your Anchor account.

    • Email β€” the email of an Anchor team member with admin or owner permissions.

3. Fields

  • Under New Response Notification with Answers, select the survey your clients will fill out.

  • Under both Create Contact in Anchor steps, you'll see placeholder text. Leave these as they are for now.

Important note: The template can't show your survey's real fields until it has an actual response to work with. You'll map the placeholders after publishing.

4. Review and publish

Once Zapier confirms all steps are set up correctly, click Publish. Once published, the Zap runs automatically the next time your survey gets a response.

5. Map your form fields

Now that the Zap is live, fill out and submit a test response on your survey. Open the Zap and click "Edit".

Click the New Response Notification with Answers trigger and select "Find new records/Test trigger", this loads the real fields from your survey, along with the test response you just submitted. Click the new record and select "Continue with selected record".

Second, click the Create Contact step. Replace the placeholder text in each field with the matching field from your survey:

  • First Name β†’ the field on your survey where clients enter their first name

  • Last Name β†’ the field on your survey where clients enter their last name

  • Email β†’ the field on your survey where clients enter their email

  • Company Name β†’ the field on your survey where clients enter their business name

Test the step. A contact should be created matching the information from the survey. You can then publish the Zap and, from here on, every new survey response will automatically create a matching contact in Anchor.

Important note: Anchor won't create a duplicate contact. If a contact with the same information already exists, the Zap will fail instead of creating a second copy. Additionally, the way SurveyMonkey formats phone numbers can sometimes cause issues with creating contacts in Anchor. If you find the "Create contact" step is failing, try keeping the "Phone number" field empty and triggering the Zap again.

Template 2: Create and send a proposal from new SurveyMonkey responses

πŸ“£ Note: This template requires a paid SurveyMonkey plan. The trigger it uses, "New Response Notification with Answers," is not available on SurveyMonkey's free plan.

What this Zap does

This Zap finds or creates a client contact from a SurveyMonkey response, then automatically drafts and sends a proposal based on the service package the client selected in the survey. You can include all of your service packages as options for the client to choose from, and the Zap will draft the proposal from the matching Anchor template depending on their selection. If you'd rather review proposals before they go out, you can remove the final "Publish Proposal" step so the Zap only creates drafts, leaving them ready for you to send manually. You can embed the survey on your website or in an introduction email to automatically turn intake into onboarding.

First, open the Zap template here and follow the steps along. You can refer to this article for guidance.

Before you start

In SurveyMonkey: Create your intake survey with the following fields, matching Anchor's contact structure: client first name, last name, business name, and email address. The survey should also include a single dropdown or choice field listing your service packages, add one option per package and name them clearly, since this is what tells the Zap which proposal template to use.

Important note: The way SurveyMonkey formats phone numbers can cause issues, leading Anchor to be unable to create a contact. It is suggested to keep the phone number out of the workflow.

In Anchor: Create a proposal template for each service package you offer. Draft a proposal matching each package offering, then select Save as template. These templates are what the Zap will use as a base when drafting proposals for your clients. You can learn more about templates in this article.

Setting up the Zap

1. Getting started

Name your Zap and choose which folder you wish to save it in. Click Next to move through the guided setup.

2. Connect your apps

  • SurveyMonkey β€” connect your account, or select an existing connection.

  • Anchor β€” click Select, then Connect. You'll be asked for:

    • API Key β€” generate this from Integrations > API keys in your Anchor account.

    • Email β€” the email of an Anchor team member with admin access.

3. Fields

This template is built as a series of paths (branches) that route the Zap depending on whether the client is new or already exists in Anchor, and which package they chose. Here's how it's structured:

  • Step 1, New Response Notification with Answers, select the survey you created.

  • Step 2, List Contacts in Anchor, this searches your existing Anchor contacts.

  • Step 3, Split into paths, the Zap branches into two paths depending on whether a matching contact is found:

    • Path A (no match found) creates a new contact, then branches again by package to draft and publish a proposal.

    • Path B (match found) uses the existing contact, then branches again by package to draft and publish a proposal.

Follow the instructions shown within each step of the template. Map the survey you created where prompted, and keep every other placeholder exactly as it is for now. The rest of the mapping can only be done after publishing, once the Zap has real survey data to work with.

4. Review and publish

Once Zapier confirms all steps are set up, click Publish.

5. Map your survey fields

Now that the Zap is live, fill out and submit a test response on your survey, then open the Zap to edit it.

  1. Click the New Response Notification with Answers trigger and select "Test trigger/Find new records", this loads the real fields from your survey, along with the test response you just submitted. Click the new record and select "Continue with selected record".

  2. Click into Path A's path conditions (step 4) and map the first item to the business name field on your survey. This tells the Zap to search for an existing contact using that value.

    If the survey fields aren't showing, click "Test run" at the top and select the record for your test response. The workflow will run. Refresh the page and it will show the fields.

  3. Click into Path B's path conditions (step 13) and map the same business name field there as well, since this path uses the same matching logic in reverse.

  4. Click the Run Javascript in Code by Zapier step (under Path B) and map targetName to the business name field on your survey. Keep everything else as-is. This will output the ID of the existing contact to use for sending the proposal.

  5. For each package path (the branches under both Path A and Path B), click into its Path conditions step:

    • Map the first item to the package/service field on your survey.

    • In the second item, type the name of the package exactly as it appears as an option in your survey, a different one for each path.

  6. Still within each package branch, click into the Create Proposal Draft From Template in Anchor step and select the Anchor template that matches that package. For example, if the path condition checks for "Bookkeeping monthly," map that step to your Anchor "Bookkeeping" template.

    Test each step. If everything is mapped correctly, a new or existing contact will get a proposal drafted and sent from the matching template.

Important note: If a client selects a package from the field that isn't mapped to one of your path conditions, the Zap won't create a proposal for that entry, nothing will happen on that branch.

Adding more packages

If you offer more than two service packages, duplicate the path structure for each additional package under both Path A and Path B, so new and existing contacts can both get proposals for every package you offer. Copy the existing path's structure into the new one, then update the package name and proposal template to match the new package.


Still have questions? Email us at [email protected].

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