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Growth & Insight · Module 18

Lead Posting Templates

Send a Lead On to a Partner, Automatically

Set up a template once, and any lead can be forwarded to an outside CRM or lead-buyer with the click of a button. No copying and pasting fields by hand.

⏱ ~10 min to complete80 pts available🏅 Badge: Lead Network Specialist

About & Business Case #

Why leads sometimes need to leave your CRM #

RM
Rahul Mehta · Lead Operations

"Some of the leads we capture aren't for us. They need to go straight to our partner's system. Right now, someone re-types the name, email, and phone into the partner's website by hand. That's slow, and it's easy to get a field wrong."

A "Lead" is a record for a potential customer who hasn't bought anything yet. A Lead Posting Template fixes the problem above. It's a saved set of rules that says: "take these fields from a Lead record, and send them to this partner's web address, in this format."

Once it's set up, sending a lead onward takes just one click.

What you'll be able to do

Send leads on to partners or lead-buyers instantly and accurately, with no manual re-typing — and a full log of every send.

Implementation #

Sending leads out vs. Web-to-Lead bringing leads in #

Don't mix these up

Web-to-Lead (its own trail) is about a website form sending a new lead INTO your CRM. Lead Posting Templates go the opposite direction — they take a Lead that's already inside your CRM and send it OUT to an external partner's system.

A template has three parts: a Posting URL (the partner's web address that receives the lead), a list of Field Mappings (which Lead field goes into which field name on the partner's side), and a Visibility setting (who in your organization is allowed to use it).

Field mappingsPick a Lead field on the left, like Email, and type the matching field name the partner expects on the right.
Visibility"All Users" lets anyone use the template. "Manager & Admin only" hides it from standard users.
Active toggleTurning a template inactive hides it from use without deleting it — so you can bring it back later.
Custom HTTP Headers (optional)Extra headers the partner needs, such as their API key, written as JSON. Saved values are stored encrypted and shown as •••••• when you edit the template. Leave a value as •••••• to keep it, or type a new one to replace it.

Only what you can see is sent

A rep can post only leads they can open, and fields hidden from them are left out of what's sent. The send log of a lead is shown only to people who can open that lead. The Posting URL must be a public https:// address.

Every send is logged

Every time a lead is posted through a template, SmartLite keeps a record of it. That way you can always check whether a send worked.

1 Build a template and send a lead onward #

Open Lead Posting TemplatesGo to Lead Posting Templates from the main menu.
Click New TemplateGive it a name, like "Partner Network A", and paste in the partner's Posting URL.
Map the fieldsMatch Email and Phone from your Lead fields to the field names the partner expects.
Set visibility and saveChoose who can use it, make sure "Template is active" is checked, then save.
Preview the mappingsClick the preview (eye) icon on your new template, to double-check the field mappings before anyone uses it.

How to Use #

Day-to-day: reps handling incoming leads #

Forward a lead that's not for youOpen the Lead, pick the right template, and send it on — one click instead of retyping it into a partner site.

Day-to-day: lead operations #

Add a new partnerBuild a new template whenever a new partner or lead-buyer relationship starts.
Check the send logReview the log periodically to confirm sends are actually reaching the partner successfully.

What to try next

Look at the Web-to-Lead trail — it covers the opposite direction, bringing leads into the CRM in the first place.

Quiz #

Test what you learned #

1. What is the main difference between Web-to-Lead and Lead Posting Templates?
There is no difference — they do the same thing
Web-to-Lead brings leads IN from a website; Lead Posting Templates send leads OUT to a partner
2. What does the "Manager & Admin only" visibility setting do?
Hides that template from standard users so only managers and admins can use it
Deletes the template for everyone except admins