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Lead Management (Pro)

7 min read

Capture, track, and route leads from your PDF downloads


Overview #

What is Lead Capture? #

Lead Capture is a Pro feature that collects contact information from visitors before they download PDF submittal packets. Instead of anonymous downloads, you’ll know exactly who’s interested in your products.

How it works:

  1. Customer selects products on your builder page
  2. Clicks “Generate PDF”
  3. Modal appears asking for email and phone
  4. Customer enters info and submits
  5. PDF is generated and downloaded
  6. You receive email notification with lead details
  7. Lead is saved to your database for follow-up

Perfect for:

  • Distributors who want to know who’s browsing their catalog
  • Sales teams who need qualified leads
  • Businesses tracking marketing ROI
  • Anyone who wants to follow up with potential customers

Getting Started (3-Step Setup) #

Step 1: Enable Lead Capture #

Path: Submittal Builder → Settings → Lead Capture

  1. Toggle “Enable Lead Capture” to ON
  2. Set Notification Email (where you’ll receive alerts)
    • Default: Your WordPress admin email
    • Can use multiple emails: sales@company.com, manager@company.com
  3. Click “Save Changes”

That’s it! The lead capture modal now appears before PDF downloads.

Step 2: Test It #

  1. Visit your builder page on the frontend
  2. Select a few products
  3. Click “Generate PDF”
  4. Lead capture modal should appear
  5. Fill in your email and phone
  6. Submit the form
  7. Check your notification email inbox

Expected result:

  • You receive an email with lead details
  • Lead appears in Submittal Builder → Leads page
  • PDF downloads automatically after form submission

Step 3: Review Your Leads #

Path: Submittal Builder → Leads

You’ll see a table with:

  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • Project name
  • Number of products selected
  • Top category (most-selected product category)
  • Date captured
  • UTM tracking data (if visitor came from marketing campaigns)

Actions:

  • Export to CSV – Download all leads for import to your CRM
  • View details – Click on any lead to see full information
  • Reply directly – Click email address to send a follow-up

Lead Capture Features #

Email Notifications #

Get notified immediately when someone captures a lead. Email includes:

  • Contact info (email & phone)
  • Project name
  • Products selected
  • Primary category of interest
  • UTM campaign data
  • Direct reply-to address

Customize: Set notification email in Settings → Lead Capture

CSV Export #

Download all leads as CSV file for import into:

  • Salesforce
  • HubSpot
  • Excel/Google Sheets
  • Any CRM system

Includes: Email, phone, project name, product count, category, consent status, UTM data, timestamp

Export anytime from the Leads page.

UTM Tracking #

Automatically captures UTM parameters from your marketing campaigns:

  • utm_source (Google, Facebook, email)
  • utm_medium (cpc, social, email)
  • utm_campaign (spring-promo-2025)
  • utm_term (landscape supplies)
  • utm_content (ad-variant-A)

Use case: Know which ads/campaigns drive the most leads.

Rate Limiting #

Built-in protection against abuse:

  • Max 5 submissions per hour per email
  • Max 5 submissions per hour per IP address
  • Honeypot field catches bots
  • Error messages for duplicate submissions

Privacy: IP addresses are hashed (SHA-256) for privacy compliance.

GDPR Consent #

Lead capture modal includes optional consent checkbox:

“Email me updates about products and projects”

Stored in database:

  • Consent = Yes/No
  • Included in CSV export
  • Shows GDPR compliance

Customizable: Can be removed via filter if not needed.

Project Context #

Each lead includes:

  • Project name (if entered)
  • Number of products selected
  • Top category (e.g., “Steel Studs”)
  • Product list (visible in notification email)

Follow-up advantage: “I see you’re specifying steel studs for [Project Name]…”


Lead Routing (Agency Feature) #

What is Lead Routing? #

Agency feature that automatically routes leads to the right sales rep or system based on configurable rules.

Example scenarios:

  • Route leads from @gmail.com to retail sales team
  • Route leads from @contractor.com to commercial team
  • Route leads with UTM source “google-ads” to marketing team
  • Route leads selecting “HVAC” category to HVAC specialist
  • Send all leads to Zapier webhook for CRM integration

How Lead Routing Works #

Path: Submittal Builder → Settings → Lead Routing

1. Create Rules

Each rule has:

  • Name (e.g., “Commercial Contractors”)
  • Conditions (when to match):
    • Email domain (e.g., contractor.com, builder.com)
    • UTM source (e.g., google, facebook)
    • UTM medium (e.g., cpc, social)
    • UTM campaign (e.g., spring-promo)
    • Top category (e.g., “Steel Studs”)
  • Actions (what to do):
    • Send email to: sales-team@company.com
    • Send webhook to: https://hooks.zapier.com/...

2. Set Priority

Rules are evaluated top to bottom. First match wins. Drag to reorder rules by priority.

3. Set Fallback

If no rules match, lead goes to fallback:

  • Fallback email (optional)
  • Fallback webhook (optional)

Creating Your First Routing Rule #

Example: Route contractor emails to commercial team

  1. Go to Settings → Lead Routing
  2. Click “+ Add Rule”
  3. Fill in:
    • Name: “Commercial Contractors”
    • Email Domains: contractor.com, builder.com, construction.com
    • Then Email: commercial-sales@mycompany.com
    • Enabled: ✅ ON
  4. Click “Save Rule”

Result: Any lead from john@contractor.com will route to commercial-sales@mycompany.com

Webhook Integration #

Send leads to external systems like:

  • Zapier
  • Make (Integromat)
  • Your custom CRM
  • Slack notifications
  • Any webhook endpoint

Webhook features:

  • HTTPS only (security)
  • Automatic retry on failure (4 attempts with exponential backoff)
  • Delivery log for debugging
  • JSON payload with all lead data
  • Signature verification for security

Privacy & Compliance #

GDPR Compliance #

Plugin complies with GDPR:

  • Optional consent checkbox before data collection
  • Clear privacy notice on lead capture form
  • Data deletion available (per lead)

User rights:

  • Request data export
  • Request data deletion
  • Withdraw consent anytime

Data Retention #

Default retention:

  • Leads stored indefinitely until manually deleted
  • No automatic purge

Recommended policy:

  1. Export leads monthly to your CRM
  2. Delete leads older than 12 months
  3. Document in your privacy policy

Manual cleanup: Settings → Database → Clean up old leads


Troubleshooting #

Modal Not Appearing #

Problem: Lead capture modal doesn’t show before PDF download.

Solutions:

  1. Check Settings → Lead Capture → Enable Lead Capture is ON
  2. Clear browser cache and refresh page
  3. Check for JavaScript errors in browser console (F12)
  4. Disable conflicting plugins temporarily
  5. Test with default WordPress theme

Email Notifications Not Sending #

Problem: No email alert when lead is captured.

Solutions:

  1. Check Settings → Lead Capture → Notification Email is correct
  2. Test email delivery: Settings → Utilities → Test Email
  3. Check spam/junk folder
  4. Verify WordPress can send email (try WP Mail SMTP plugin)
  5. Check server email logs for errors

Webhooks Failing #

Problem: Webhook not receiving lead data.

Solutions:

  1. Verify webhook URL uses HTTPS (HTTP not allowed)
  2. Check webhook endpoint is accessible (not behind firewall)
  3. View delivery log: Settings → Lead Routing → Delivery Log
  4. Test webhook with RequestBin or webhook.site
  5. Check webhook endpoint accepts POST requests with JSON

Webhook retry: Plugin retries failed webhooks 4 times with exponential backoff (30s, 2m, 10m).

Leads Not Saving #

Problem: Form submits but lead doesn’t appear in database.

Solutions:

  1. Check database table exists: wp_sfb_leads
  2. Check PHP error logs for database errors
  3. Verify database user has INSERT permissions
  4. Check rate limiting (max 5 per hour per email/IP)
  5. Test with different email address

CSV Export Empty #

Problem: CSV export downloads but has no data.

Solutions:

  1. Verify leads exist in Leads page
  2. Check date range filter (if any)
  3. Try exporting single lead first
  4. Check browser download folder
  5. Verify you have manage_options capability (admin)

Best Practices #

For Maximum Lead Conversion #

✅ Do:

  • Keep form simple (email + phone only)
  • Use clear value proposition: “Get your PDF”
  • Make phone field optional (reduces friction)
  • Add consent checkbox for GDPR compliance
  • Test modal on mobile devices
  • Send follow-up email within 24 hours

❌ Don’t:

  • Ask for too many fields (reduces conversions)
  • Make phone required (not everyone has it handy)
  • Hide privacy notice
  • Send generic follow-ups (personalize based on products selected)

For Lead Routing Rules #

✅ Do:

  • Order rules by specificity (most specific first)
  • Use email domain matching for B2B leads
  • Use UTM matching for campaign-specific routing
  • Test rules before enabling
  • Set up fallback routing
  • Monitor delivery log regularly

❌ Don’t:

  • Create overlapping rules (first match wins)
  • Route to invalid email addresses
  • Use HTTP webhooks (HTTPS only)
  • Forget to enable rules after testing
  • Ignore delivery failures

For Follow-Up #

✅ Do:

  • Reply within 24 hours (leads go cold fast)
  • Reference specific products they selected
  • Mention project name in subject line
  • Provide value (answer questions, offer help)
  • Track leads in your CRM

❌ Don’t:

  • Send generic “Thanks for your interest” emails
  • Ignore UTM data (tells you how they found you)
  • Wait more than 48 hours to follow up
  • Spam them with sales pitches
  • Forget to personalize based on their selection

Feature Availability by Tier #

FeatureFreeProAgency
Lead Capture Modal
Email Notifications
CSV Export
UTM Tracking
Lead Routing
Webhook Integration
Weekly Auto-Export

FAQs #

Can I customize the lead capture form fields? #

Not via settings, but you can use filters to customize field labels, privacy text, consent checkbox text, and required fields. See Developer Documentation for details.

Can I turn off lead capture for specific pages? #

Yes, use filters in your theme’s functions.php to disable on specific pages.

Are leads stored forever? #

Yes, until you manually delete them. You can delete individual leads from the Leads page or bulk delete old leads from Settings → Database. Recommended: Export monthly and delete leads older than 12 months.

Can I import leads from another system? #

Not via UI, but you can import via database or WP-CLI. Contact support for assistance.

What happens if someone enters a fake email? #

The form validates email format (must be valid email address), but cannot verify if email exists. Best practice: Send follow-up email immediately. Bounced emails indicate fake addresses.

Can I integrate with my CRM automatically? #

Yes, use webhooks (Agency feature) to send leads to Zapier, Make/Integromat, or your custom CRM API.

Do I get charged per lead? #

No. Unlimited leads included with Pro/Agency license.

Can I add custom fields to the lead capture form? #

Custom fields require code customization using filters. See Developer Documentation for code examples.