Resolving the Salesforce "DUPLICATES_DETECTED" Error

Overview

When Soapbox sends data to Salesforce, you may encounter an error similar to:

DUPLICATES_DETECTED: Use one of these records?

This error occurs when an active Salesforce Duplicate Rule identifies a potential duplicate Lead or Contact and is configured to alert when a duplicate is found. The alert prevents the Soapbox Engage Lead automation from completing.

To resolve the error, you'll first need to identify the Duplicate Rule being triggered and then determine how your organization would like that rule to handle incoming Soapbox records.

Identify the Duplicate Rule

In Salesforce:

1. Navigate to Setup → Duplicate Rules.
2. Review the active rules that apply to Leads, Accounts, and/or Contacts.
3. Open the rule you believe may be causing the error.
4. Review the rule's actions to determine whether it is configured to Alert when a duplicate is detected.

Your Salesforce organization may have more than one Duplicate Rule that applies to Leads or Contacts, so you may need to review multiple rules.

How Can I Resolve the Error?

Once you've identified the Duplicate Rule, there are several ways your Salesforce administrator can address it.

Option 1: Exclude Soapbox Records from the Duplicate Rule

If the Duplicate Rule does not need to apply to records created by Soapbox, you can add conditions that exclude those records.

To update the rule:

1. Open the Duplicate Rule and click Edit.
2. Navigate to the Conditions section.
3. Add a condition that distinguishes incoming Soapbox records from other records.

For example, if Soapbox-created Leads use a specific Record Type, a condition might be:

Lead Record Type → not equal to → Soapbox Donations

4. Click Save.

If Soapbox uses multiple Record Types in your Salesforce organization, such as Soapbox Donations and Soapbox Registration, additional conditions may be needed to account for each Record Type.

Option 2: Uncheck "Alert" Behavior

Modify the Duplicate Rule so that it does not alert when a matching record is detected.

Still Seeing the Error?

If the error continues after updating the Duplicate Rule, review any other active Duplicate Rules that apply to Leads, Accounts, and/or Contacts. More than one rule may be evaluated during the Lead creation or conversion process.

If you're unable to identify which rule is causing the error, submit a ticket and include the full error message you're receiving.