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Propensity Best Practices: Lead Distribution with Salesforce

Updated

What this is

This guide outlines best practices for using Propensity data in Salesforce to improve lead distribution, prioritize outreach, and support your ABM strategy.

When to use this

Use this guide when you want to:

  • Improve how leads and accounts are routed to sales
  • Build automation around Propensity signals
  • Prioritize outreach based on engagement and intent
  • Create reports to support ABM performance

Before you start

To use these best practices, make sure you have installed and configured the Propensity Salesforce integration.

Core principle: connect marketing signals to sales action

Propensity provides engagement and intent data. Salesforce allows you to act on that data through automation, reporting, and workflows.

To get the most value:

  • Surface high-intent accounts and contacts
  • Trigger timely follow-up
  • Provide visibility into engagement and pipeline impact

1. Surface engagement with custom fields

Creating custom fields helps make Propensity data easier for sales teams to use.

You can create roll-up summaries for:

  • Propensity Account Signals
  • Website Visits
  • Marketing Data

These fields allow you to aggregate engagement data at the account level (for example: total impressions or number of intent signals).

How to create a custom field in Salesforce

  1. Go to Object Manager
  2. Select Fields & Relationships
  3. Click New
  4. Choose a field type (e.g. Roll-Up Summary)
  5. Select the object to summarize (e.g. Propensity – Account Signals)
  6. Configure roll-up type and optional filters
  7. Save the field and add it to your layout

2. Automate lead distribution with flows and alerts

Automation ensures that high-intent leads are followed up quickly.

Common use cases include:

  • Alerting sales when an account reaches a high Propensity score
  • Notifying teams when engagement increases (e.g. impressions or visits)
  • Triggering follow-up tasks within a defined timeframe (e.g. 24–72 hours)

You can also use flows to:

  • Create tasks for sales reps
  • Route contacts to the correct owner
  • Prioritize outreach based on engagement

How to create flows and email alerts

  1. Go to Home → New Flow
  2. Follow the setup prompts for your workflow
  3. For email alerts:
    • Go to Process Automation → Workflow Actions → Email Alerts

3. Build reports and dashboards for prioritization

Reports and dashboards help teams identify which accounts and contacts to focus on.

Common report types include:

  • ABM pipeline reports
  • Outreach prioritization reports
  • ABM Connected Website reports

Useful fields include:

  • Visit Date/Time
  • Platform (device type)
  • Referrer (traffic source)

Grouping reports by account helps you:

  • Understand engagement across multiple contacts
  • Identify accounts with the highest activity

How to build a report using Propensity data

  1. Go to Create a Report
  2. Select Campaigns with Contacts
  3. Apply filters:
    • Active campaigns
    • Campaign Name (e.g. Propensity ABM Connected Website)
  4. Add relevant columns (e.g. email, name, interests)
  5. Save the report

Fields from Propensity typically include the prefix “Propensity –”.

4. Understand Contacts vs Leads in Salesforce

In Propensity:

  • “Leads” are saved as Contacts in Salesforce
  • Propensity does not map to Salesforce Leads

This allows more detailed data to be stored, including:

  • Work history
  • Interests
  • Education
  • Engagement signals

This data can be used to:

  • Build more detailed reports
  • Segment contacts more effectively
  • Support personalized outreach

5. Use flows to prioritize high-intent contacts

You can use Salesforce flows to prioritize outreach based on Propensity signals.

Examples:

  • Trigger alerts when a contact becomes “Hot”
  • Notify sales when a contact reaches a certain score (e.g. 75%)
  • Create follow-up actions automatically

You can also create flows that:

  • Convert contacts into leads (if required by your workflow)
  • Trigger actions based on Propensity ID or score

6. Sync campaign data for better visibility

You can sync campaign data (such as LinkedIn campaigns) into Salesforce to support reporting and prioritization.

This allows you to:

  • Track engagement across campaigns
  • Understand which campaigns drive activity
  • Improve sales prioritization

How to sync LinkedIn campaign data

  1. Log in to Propensity
  2. Go to ABM Tools
  3. Select View Accounts for the campaign
  4. Click Schedule Sync
  5. Enable Active Daily Sync to Salesforce

Campaign data will then sync to Salesforce nightly and be available in reports under Propensity – Marketing Data.

Important notes

  • Lead distribution is most effective when combined with automation and reporting
  • Timely follow-up is critical to converting high-intent accounts
  • Propensity data is most valuable when integrated into daily sales workflows
  • Reports should focus on actionable insights, not just raw data

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