Use case

Zylker, an IT solutions provider, uses Zoho CRM to manage all incoming leads. But not every new lead is ready for the Sales team right away. Not all leads need immediate follow-ups. For leads with a high Profit Score (80+), it usually means strong buying intent, but they may contain fake information.

Why does Zylker use Zoho CRM and send these leads to an external validation application?

Before Sales reaches out, Zylker wants to make sure these high-value leads have valid information. While CRM keeps the lead data organized, a specialized third-party validation systems check any fraudulent activities and confirm whether the email, phone number, or other details are real.

To do this quickly, Zylker uses Webhooks in Zoho CRM. The moment a lead crosses the 80+ score, Zoho CRM automatically sends the lead’s data to Zylker’s external validation system. This lets Zylker verify the lead in real time and send back a clean, accurate, sales-ready profile for the Sales team to follow up on.

From here, we will explain every part of Webhooks by showing how it looks in the Zoho CRM UI and how to do the same using the API. Each step will be shown side-by-side, so you can clearly see how the UI setup translates into the API request.

Configuring Webhooks for Zylker’s Use Case - UI Method

1. Go to Setup 
2. Navigate to Automation
3. Choose Actions -> Webhooks
4. Click Configure Webhook

You will see the window shown below.

Webhook - UI view

The following sections explain what each field means in three parts:

1. Basic fields to configure Webhook.
2. Configuring Headers 
3. Configuring Body

Keys explanation

1. name (mandatory): Name of your webhook.
2. description: Add a short note about what this webhook does.
3. module (mandatory): Select the module from where the external application listens the changes. In our case, select Leads module to push high-score leads.
4. url (mandatory):  Specify the external endpoint where CRM will send the data. This lets the external application see what CRM sends.
   
1. Note: In this post, we have used an endpoint from Webhook.site
   
5. authentication (mandatory): Specify authentication type for the webhook endpoint. 
6. Possible types:
1. general: The receiving system does not require OAuth. You can pass OAuth tokens manually in headers.
2. connections:
1. OAuth-based integrations: Systems that use Zoho’s Connections.
   
2. For our Zylker use case, we select General.
   

1. http_method (mandatory): Select a HTTP method that allows you to send structured data. 
   

Creating a Webhook with Headers, Body, and URL Parameters

When a webhook is triggered in Zoho CRM, the data is sent to the external application as part of the HTTP request.

The data can be sent in three places:

1. Headers
2. Body (Form-Data or Raw)
3. URL Parameters 

Each part serves a different purpose.

Configuring Headers 

UI - Configuration

Headers allow you to send extra information along with your webhook request. These help when the external app needs extra data like auth tokens or CRM field values.

1. API version
2. Tags like “zylker-crm”

Configuring the Body of a Webhook - form-data & raw formats

Form-Data Body: key-value 

1. When you switch the webhook method in the UI, Zoho CRM changes the options you can configure:
   

1. Only URL Parameters are available
2. Headers are hidden
3. Body is hidden
4.  Because GET requests always send data through the URL and cannot carry a body.

1. Headers are available
2. URL Parameters are available
3. Body is still not supported
4. DELETE requests can include headers, but Zoho CRM does not allow sending a body for DELETE webhooks.
   

1. Date-time format: