Ping Post Lead Distribution Explained

Learn what ping post lead distribution is, how it works, and how LeadExec supports both inbound and outbound ping post lead routing for lead sellers, lead buyers, and lead marketplaces.

Ping post is a lead distribution model that separates the lead sale into two stages: a ping and a post. Rather than immediately delivering a complete lead record to a buyer, ping post allows buyers to evaluate partial lead data and submit bids before the full record is transferred. This approach helps lead sellers maximize revenue, protects consumer data, and gives buyers greater control over the leads they purchase.

• Ping – A subset of lead data is submitted to determine buyer interest and pricing.

• Post – The complete lead record is delivered after a bid is accepted.

Ping post is commonly used by organizations that buy, sell, or broker leads in real time — particularly in industries where lead value varies based on consumer attributes and multiple buyers may compete for the same opportunity. Common users include:

• Lead generation companies

• Lead marketplaces and aggregators

• Affiliate networks

• Insurance marketers

• Mortgage lead providers

• Solar lead sellers

• Home services networks

These businesses often work with multiple lead buyers simultaneously and use ping post technology to identify the highest-value opportunity for each lead.

A ping post transaction typically follows this sequence:

The lead source submits a ping request containing key qualification data about the lead. This typically includes:

• Geographic information

• Product interest

• Demographic data

• Qualification criteria

• Custom lead fields

Personally identifiable information (PII) — such as the consumer’s name, phone number, and email address — is intentionally excluded from the ping. This data is only transmitted during the post stage after a bid is accepted, protecting consumer privacy throughout the evaluation process.

The receiving platform evaluates the ping against available buyers. Each buyer determines:

• Whether the lead meets their criteria

• Whether they want to purchase the lead

• How much they are willing to pay

Qualified buyers return a bid along with a Ping ID (sometimes called a Ping Order ID) to identify the transaction.

The platform compares all qualified buyer responses and determines the highest-value opportunity. The winning bid and a Ping Order ID are returned to the lead source.

If the lead source accepts the bid, the complete lead record is submitted — typically within a defined window of time after the ping response is received. The Ping Order ID is included with the full lead submission so the transaction can be matched to the original ping.

The lead is delivered to the selected buyer and the transaction is completed. Depending on platform settings, the lead source may receive a success or failure response based on the final delivery result.

A ping tree refers to the process of simultaneously evaluating multiple buyers during the ping stage. When a ping is received, the platform sends it to all eligible buyers in parallel, collects their bids and eligibility responses, and uses routing rules to determine the best available opportunity. It is called a “tree” because each incoming lead branches out to multiple potential buyers before a single winner is selected.

LeadExec automatically performs this evaluation during the buyer scan process, helping lead sellers maximize revenue while ensuring leads are routed to the most qualified buyer.

Ping post supports two pricing models that can coexist within the same system:

• Dynamic Pricing – Buyers return a different bid amount in response to each ping, based on the specific attributes of that lead. This is the core advantage of ping post: every lead is priced based on its real-time value to the buyer.

• Static (Fixed) Pricing – Buyers agree to pay a fixed amount for any lead that meets their minimum qualifying criteria, regardless of other attributes.

LeadExec supports both models. During buyer evaluation, dynamic bids from ping post buyers can be compared alongside fixed-price buyer configurations to determine the best available revenue opportunity for each lead.

Inbound ping post refers to configurations where external lead sources send ping requests into LeadExec before posting the full lead. This is the typical setup when LeadExec is receiving leads from third-party suppliers, affiliate networks, or lead marketplaces that operate on a ping post model.

This configuration is commonly used by:

• Lead marketplaces

• Lead aggregators and resellers

• Performance marketing networks

• Companies purchasing leads from external suppliers

To receive inbound ping post requests, create a Campaign using the Ping Post channel type.

When a ping is received, LeadExec:

1. Accepts the incoming ping request.

2. Performs a buyer scan across eligible client delivery accounts.

3. Identifies the highest-value delivery opportunity based on available buyer pricing and routing criteria.

4. Returns a bid and Ping Order ID to the lead source.

5. Accepts and processes the full lead if the lead source chooses to proceed.

Note: LeadExec requires the full lead to be posted within 5 minutes of the ping response being returned. Pings that are not followed by a post within this window will expire.

When setting up a Ping Post Campaign, the Ping Options tab allows you to define the requirements that must be met before LeadExec returns a bid to the lead source. Key settings include:

• Revenue Requirement: The minimum revenue amount that must be available before LeadExec returns a bid to the lead source.

• Profit Requirement: The minimum profit amount required (revenue minus lead cost).

• Profit Percentage Requirement: The minimum required profit expressed as a percentage.

• Minimum Delivery Count: The minimum number of matching buyers that must be identified. For example, if set to 2, the system must find at least two eligible clients before returning a bid.

• Qualify All Criteria: When enabled, clients are qualified using all available criteria. When disabled, clients are qualified only against the field values supplied in the ping request.

• Field Requirements: Specifies which lead fields must be included in the ping request. These settings determine what data your lead source needs to provide in the ping, and are reflected in the posting instructions generated for that source.

Revenue Requirements allow LeadExec to verify that sufficient buyer revenue exists before returning a bid to the lead source. This helps prevent situations where a lead is accepted at a price that cannot be supported by available buyer demand, protecting against underpriced acquisitions and negative-margin transactions.

Many ping post workflows involve leads sold only once. For these scenarios, LeadExec provides advanced lead validation settings to help ensure successful delivery before responding to the lead source.

LeadExec first scans available client delivery accounts to confirm that a qualified buyer exists before accepting the lead.

This setting is especially valuable when purchasing exclusive leads from third-party suppliers. When enabled, LeadExec delays its final response to the lead source until the lead has actually been delivered successfully to a client — rather than simply confirming the lead entered the system.

This is commonly used when:

• Leads are sold exclusively

• Maximum Delivery Count is set to 1

• Delivery success is required before payment is triggered

• Lead suppliers require confirmation of successful delivery

This approach reduces failed transactions and improves confidence for both buyers and sellers.

Outbound ping post is used when a client (lead buyer) wants to evaluate a lead before committing to purchase it. Instead of immediately delivering the full lead, LeadExec first sends a ping request to the client to determine whether they are interested and what price they are willing to pay.

This workflow is configured using the Ping Post Delivery Method, which manages the ping and post as two separate steps within a single delivery configuration.

When a lead enters LeadExec:

1. LeadExec identifies matching client delivery accounts.

2. The system sends a ping request to eligible clients configured with the Ping Post delivery method.

3. Clients evaluate the lead and return a bid or decline.

4. LeadExec incorporates those responses into its buyer selection process.

5. If approved, the full lead is posted to the selected client.

This allows LeadExec to work seamlessly with downstream buyers whose own systems require real-time bidding or pre-qualification before accepting leads.

An important setting within the outbound Ping Post delivery method is Ping During Sort, found in the Response Settings tab of the delivery method configuration.

When enabled, LeadExec performs outbound pings as part of the buyer scan process — meaning pings go out while LeadExec is still evaluating which client delivery accounts match the lead. As part of this process, LeadExec:

• Identifies matching buyers

• Sends ping requests in parallel

• Collects buyer responses and pricing

• Compares returned bids

• Selects the highest-value opportunity

Returned bid values are incorporated directly into LeadExec’s sorting and distribution logic, allowing dynamic buyer pricing to influence routing decisions in real time.

A common marketplace workflow combines both inbound and outbound ping post processes. Here is how the full transaction flows when LeadExec is positioned in the middle — receiving pings from upstream suppliers while simultaneously pinging downstream buyers:

1. A lead source sends a ping request into LeadExec.

2. LeadExec performs a client scan.

3. Matching client delivery accounts are identified.

4. Buyers configured with the Ping Post delivery method are pinged for pricing and eligibility.

5. LeadExec compares all available buyer bids and determines the best opportunity.

6. LeadExec returns a bid and Ping Order ID to the lead source.

7. The lead source accepts the bid and submits the full lead.

8. LeadExec delivers the lead to the winning buyer.

9. If configured, LeadExec waits for delivery confirmation before returning the final response to the lead source.

This model allows LeadExec users to function as a full lead marketplace — receiving pings from suppliers while obtaining real-time bids from downstream buyers.

Organizations use ping post because it provides several advantages over direct post and fixed-price lead sales:

• Increased Revenue: Multiple buyers compete for the same opportunity, often driving lead prices higher than fixed-rate agreements allow.

• Better Buyer Matching: Buyers evaluate leads before purchase, reducing rejected leads and improving acceptance rates.

• Increased Buyer Coverage: LeadExec evaluates multiple buyers simultaneously, helping ensure qualified leads have the greatest chance of being sold.

• Consumer Privacy Protection: PII is withheld during the ping stage and only transmitted to the winning buyer, limiting unnecessary data exposure.

• Real-Time Pricing: Buyer bids are determined dynamically based on current demand, reflecting the true market value of each lead.

• Reduced Delivery Failures: LeadExec can validate delivery success before finalizing transactions, reducing failed purchases.

• Support for Exclusive Lead Sales: Ping post workflows are well-suited for leads sold only once, with delivery confirmation required before the transaction is finalized.

In a direct post model, a lead is delivered immediately to a buyer without a preliminary bidding process. Pricing and buyer relationships are typically predetermined, making direct post a simpler setup for stable, single-buyer workflows.

In a ping post model, buyers first evaluate partial lead data and indicate their interest or bid price before the full lead is transferred. This introduces a real-time market dynamic that is better suited when multiple buyers compete for leads, when pricing varies by lead attributes, or when maximum revenue per lead is a priority.

Many operations use both models simultaneously — direct post for established buyer relationships with fixed terms, and ping post for buyers who require dynamic bidding or pre-qualification.

LeadExec supports both inbound and outbound ping post workflows, giving lead sellers, lead buyers, and lead marketplaces the tools to automate bidding, optimize lead pricing, and deliver leads more efficiently. Whether you’re receiving pings from upstream suppliers, distributing leads to buyers with ping post requirements, or running a full marketplace operation, LeadExec handles the full cycle from ping to post to delivery confirmation.

• Creating a Ping Post Campaign

• Ping Post Delivery Method

• Ping Post Lead Campaign Advanced Settings

• Setting Up a Ping Post Lead Delivery in LeadExec