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Flows

Alex Wolfe

Flows

Your Lead Processing Command Centers

Flows are where your business logic comes to life. They're visual pipelines that show exactly how leads move through your system - from initial submission through validation, enhancement, and delivery. If LeadConduit is your lead operations platform, flows are the assembly lines that do the actual work.

📍 You are here: Understanding the heart of LeadConduit
🎯 What you'll learn: How flows work and how to build them effectively
⚡ Power level: From simple validations to complex multi-buyer routing

What Makes a Flow?

Think of a flow like a smart conveyor belt in a factory:

Lead arrives → Quality Check → Enhancement → Packaging → Delivery
     ↓              ↓             ↓            ↓           ↓
  Source      Validation    Add data    Format     Recipient

Each station (step) performs specific work. Bad products (leads) get rejected. Good ones continue to the next station. The whole line runs automatically, 24/7.

The Anatomy of a Flow

Every flow has five key phases:

1. Lead Submission

Where leads enter your system:

2. Flow Steps

Where processing happens:

3. Lead Events

Complete visibility into everything:

4. Reporting & Analytics

Turn data into insights:

5. Optimization

Continuous improvement:

Core Flow Concepts

Linear Processing

Flows process leads step-by-step, left to right:

  • Each step completes before the next begins
  • Steps can pass, fail, or error
  • Failed steps might stop processing or just log the failure
  • Errors can trigger retries

Real-Time Execution

Most flows complete in under a second:

  • Parse and validate: ~50ms
  • Check duplicates: ~100ms
  • Enhance data: ~200-500ms
  • Deliver to CRM: ~200ms
  • Total: Under 1 second

Conditional Logic

Steps can include rules that control execution:

  • Skip expensive enhancements for low-value leads
  • Route to different buyers based on criteria
  • Apply different validations by source
  • Time-based processing rules

Common Flow Patterns

Basic Validation Flow

The simplest useful flow:

Source → Validate Email → Check Duplicates → Deliver

Perfect for: Testing, simple lead collection, basic quality control

Enhanced Lead Flow

Add valuable data:

Source → Validate → TrustedForm → Phone Lookup → Score → Deliver

Perfect for: Compliance-focused buyers, quality-driven operations

Multi-Buyer Distribution

Maximize revenue per lead:

Source → Validate → Buyer A (exclusive)
                  ↘ Buyer B (if A rejects)
                  ↘ Buyer C, D, E (shared)

Perfect for: Lead sellers, networks, aggregators

Ping/Post Flow

Real-time bidding:

Ping → Send to buyers → Collect bids → Accept highest
Post → Deliver to winner → Confirm → Fallback if needed

Perfect for: Maximum revenue, competitive markets

Building Effective Flows

Start Simple

  1. Basic flow first - Source → Validate → Deliver
  2. Test thoroughly - Submit test leads, verify outcomes
  3. Add complexity gradually - One step at a time
  4. Monitor performance - Watch metrics improve

Design Principles

Fail Fast

  • Put likely rejections early
  • Validate before enhancing
  • Check caps before processing

Enhance Wisely

  • Only add data you'll use
  • Consider enhancement costs
  • Cache when possible

Deliver Reliably

  • Always configure retries
  • Have fallback options
  • Monitor delivery rates

Performance Optimization

For Speed:

  • Minimize enhancement calls
  • Use efficient filters first
  • Parallel delivery when possible

For Quality:

  • Layer validations progressively
  • Use type-specific validators
  • Implement feedback loops

For Scale:

  • Design for concurrent processing
  • Implement smart capping
  • Monitor resource usage

Flow Management

Development Lifecycle

  1. Design - Map out requirements
  2. Build - Create in staging
  3. Test - Verify all paths
  4. Deploy - Move to production
  5. Monitor - Track performance
  6. Optimize - Continuous improvement

Version Control

  • Flows auto-save changes
  • Full audit trail available
  • Can revert if needed
  • Test changes safely

Access Control

  • View permissions by role
  • Edit permissions by flow
  • Separate staging/production
  • Audit all changes

Troubleshooting Flows

Common Issues

Leads Rejecting

  1. Check acceptance criteria
  2. Review rejection reasons
  3. Verify field mappings
  4. Test with sample data

Slow Processing

  1. Identify bottleneck steps
  2. Optimize enhancement calls
  3. Review step ordering
  4. Consider caching

Delivery Failures

  1. Verify recipient configuration
  2. Check authentication
  3. Review response parsing
  4. Implement retries

Using Events for Debugging

Every lead creates detailed events:

  • See exact data at each step
  • Understand why steps failed
  • Track timing for each operation
  • Identify patterns in failures

Advanced Flow Features

Sub-Flows

Reuse common logic:

  • Standard validation sub-flow
  • Compliance checking sub-flow
  • Enhancement bundle sub-flow

Dynamic Routing

Route based on real-time conditions:

  • Buyer capacity
  • Time of day
  • Lead score
  • Previous outcomes

Custom Integrations

Extend with your own logic:

  • Custom scoring algorithms
  • Proprietary data sources
  • Internal systems
  • Business-specific rules

Your Next Steps

Essential Reading

  1. Lead Submission - Where leads enter
  2. Flow Steps - Processing power
  3. Your First Flow - Hands-on building

Learn By Doing

  • Start with a simple validation flow
  • Add one enhancement
  • Configure basic delivery
  • Monitor and optimize

Get Advanced

  • Implement multi-buyer routing
  • Add sophisticated scoring
  • Build feedback loops
  • Create reusable patterns

🚀 Remember: Every sophisticated flow started as a simple idea. Begin with basic validation and delivery, then add intelligence as you learn what your leads need.

Ready to build? Start with Lead Submission to understand how leads enter your flows.

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