Pardot Sync Errors: Diagnosing, Solving, and Preventing Them

 

This session, led by Pardot Pro Laura Black, provides a critical guide for Pardot administrators on understanding, resolving, and proactively preventing sync errors between Pardot and Salesforce. These errors are severe because they entirely halt the two-way data flow for affected prospects.

Key Takeaways

 

• Zero is the Goal: Sync errors mean the prospect is not syncing at all with Salesforce, halting all data updates in both directions. The goal is to keep this number as close to zero as possible.

• Salesforce is the Master: All sync errors originate from Salesforce. The error message displayed in Pardot is the exact error Salesforce returned when Pardot attempted a sync.

• Merge, Don’t Delete: Never delete records in Salesforce to fix duplicates; always merge them. Deleting causes long-term, difficult-to-fix problems with the “CRM Deleted” flag.

• Proactive Prevention: Use automation rules to prevent bad or junk data from ever syncing with Salesforce, saving database space and protecting email reputation.

1. Locating and Understanding Sync Errors

 

Where to Find Errors

 

Sync errors are found on the Salesforce connector page. Navigate to Pardot Settings > Connectors, find the Salesforce Connector, click the Gear Icon, and select Sync Errors.

Why Sync Errors Matter

 

If a prospect is in the sync error queue, changes in either system are blocked:

• Pardot Changes: A prospect filling out a form or meeting a high score cannot sync to Salesforce.

• Salesforce Changes: A closed opportunity or a status change to “Customer” cannot sync back to Pardot. This leads to major problems like prospects failing to hit suppression lists or receiving incorrect emails.

2. Common Sync Error Types and Solutions

 

Error Type 1: Bad Data Validation

 

This occurs when a Salesforce Validation Rule or Field Integrity setting is violated.

• Examples: Invalid picklist value (e.g., “England” instead of “United Kingdom”), an input field being too long, or a required field missing a value (e.g., State missing when Country is “United States”).

• Solution: Correct the data. Export the sync error table as a CSV, manually fill in or correct the problematic fields (e.g., adding “Georgia” to the State column), and re-import the CSV. Re-importing places the corrected records back in the sync queue for a successful sync.

Error Type 2: Duplicates Found

 

This happens when Pardot tries to create a Lead/Contact, but a duplicate already exists in Salesforce (e.g., two Contacts, or a Lead and a Contact).

• Problem: Duplicates are problematic because suppressions are ID specific. A suppression applied to the Contact will not affect the duplicate Lead, which may continue to receive marketing emails.

• Solution (The Rule): Go into Salesforce and merge the records. Do not delete. If a Lead and a Contact exist, convert the Lead and merge it into the existing Contact. Pardot will automatically follow the merge action and clean up its own records.

Error Type 3: Flow Error / Cannot Execute Flow Trigger

 

This typically happens after mass imports or large trade show uploads when Pardot “shoves too many things at Salesforce,” overwhelming the automation rules (flows) and causing Salesforce to choke.

• Solution (The Easy Fix): Go to the sync error prospect table, select the affected prospects, and use the table action Resync Prospects. This clears the temporary Salesforce error, and the prospects should sync successfully within a few minutes.

3. Dealing with the “CRM Deleted” Problem (A Non-Sync Error)

 

This is a major issue caused when a sales rep deletes a Lead or Contact from Salesforce instead of marking them as disqualified.

• Problem: When a record is deleted in Salesforce, Pardot flags the prospect as CRM Deleted. If that individual later fills out a form, Pardot cannot create a new Lead/Contact for them because the flag prevents syncing. The lead is lost.

• Long-Term Prevention: Tell the sales team never to delete records. Consider removing the delete button from the Lead/Contact page layout in Salesforce.

• Solution (The Magic Rule): A special automation rule is required to clear the flag and allow the prospect to sync again:

  1. Rule Line 1 (Condition): Prospect CRM Status is deleted

  2. Rule Line 2 (Condition – Optional but Recommended): Prospect time :: Last activity days ago is less than 1 (This ensures you only target prospects who were recently active, preventing old, cold, deleted leads from being dumped on sales).

  3. Action: Allow deleted CRM lead or contact to recreate from Pardot

4. Proactively Preventing Bad Data

 

Use automation rules to prevent known junk or bad records from ever syncing and counting against your database limits.

• Action 1: Identify Junk: Manually tag obvious junk entries with the tag “Junk.”

• Action 2: Create Automation Rule:

  • Rule Line 1: Prospect tag is Junk (use “Match Any” if adding more criteria).

  • Rule Line 2 (Automatic Detection): Use the semicolon trick to create “OR” conditions (e.g., Prospect default field :: Email :: ends with :: @mailinator.com; @tenminuteemail.com).

  • Action 1 (Stop Sync): Do not sync with CRM

  • Action 2 (Stop Emailing): Change prospect default field :: Do not email :: to Do not email

• Real-Time Execution: For this specific rule, click Execute in Real Time. This tells the form to check this rule immediately upon submission. If the email is junk, the prospect is marked unmailable and hard-bounced before the content delivery email is even sent, preventing wasted sends.

• Safety Check: Always run the Automation Rule Preview before activating to ensure the rule is only hitting junk records, not large segments of your database.