How Does Ping-Post Lead Distribution Work? A Buyer's Guide for 2026

What is ping-post lead distribution?

Lead distribution software vendor boberdoo describes it this way (March 13, 2019): ping-post "lets a user send partial information, the ping, into their network of buyers, also called a ping tree." The ping carries "only information that is needed for the buyer to make an informed purchase, which excludes personal information, such as the lead's name or phone number." After the highest bidder with a matching filter set is found, "the rest of the lead's information is routed to them so they can connect."

Ping-post is one of two common ways to deliver a lead. LanderLab's LeadsPedia integration guide (updated May 21, 2026) contrasts them: direct post "sends the full lead data to LeadsPedia in a single request" and is used "when leads go directly to a specific campaign without a bidding step," while ping-post is a two-step process used "where multiple buyers compete for each lead."

How does a ping-post transaction work, step by step?

Platforms differ in naming and settings, but the documented flow is the same in boberdoo, LeadsPedia and Lead Prosper:

• 1. The consumer submits a form. The consent disclosure is shown, and a TrustedForm certificate or Jornaya LeadiD is created with the session.
• 2. The seller pings. Partial lead data goes to each eligible buyer's ping endpoint, without the name, phone number or email.
• 3. Ineligible buyers drop out. boberdoo's matching guide says the system first removes buyers that lack available funds, a matching filter set or an active account, and that "with ping post distribution, priority is determined by the bidding prices of each buyer."
• 4. Buyers respond. A matching buyer returns an accept (static price) or an accept with a bid (dynamic price). In Lead Prosper's LeadsPedia buyer setup, a successful ping is read from /response/result equal to "success" and a real-time price from /response/price.
• 5. The seller posts. The full lead goes to the winner (or winners, if the lead is sold shared).
• 6. The buyer accepts or rejects on post. boberdoo's static-pricing rule: leads that return "Matched" on the post response are marked sold. If the buyer rejects on post, the lead is not sold to that buyer.
• 7. The lead lands in the buyer's system. The buyer's distribution platform or CRM records it, retains the consent certificate and routes it to sales.

What is in the ping vs the post?

Static vs dynamic pricing: how is the price set?

boberdoo's buyer guide lists two pricing modes. With static pricing, "you will pay the vendor the same price every time you buy a lead from them": the buyer returns an accept on the ping and pays the agreed price if it accepts on the post. With dynamic pricing, "the price you pay the vendor for a lead can be different for every lead": the ping response includes the buyer's offer, and if the vendor accepts it, the vendor posts the full lead and that offer becomes the cost.

Sellers that run their own exchange can also take a margin. boberdoo's ping-post options page shows a ping returning "Unmatched" when the buyer's offer minus the seller's margin falls below the vendor's cost, so the lead goes unsold. For buyers, that means a low bid is not just a lost lead: in dynamic setups the bid is also the signal sellers use to decide who sees the post.

Is a ping-post lead exclusive or shared?

It can be either, and the seller's platform often decides lead by lead. boberdoo says its system looks for "the best revenue scenario for the lead to be sold either exclusively or non-exclusively": "When a single buyer's price is higher than the sum of all non-exclusive buyers, the lead is sold exclusively to that buyer. Otherwise, it is sold to all non-exclusive buyers if the price is more." Its options page gives an illustrative example (boberdoo's numbers, not market prices): three shared bids totaling $14.00 lose to one $15.00 exclusive bid, but shared bids totaling $16.00 beat the same $15.00 exclusive bid.

boberdoo also documents "shared legs," where the system tracks how many times a lead has been sold and will not sell it to a buyer who already received it. If you are paying for exclusivity, get it in writing: ask whether the seller runs shared scenarios or legs on the same lead type, and whether a lead you reject on post can be resold to someone else.

How do TrustedForm and Jornaya fit into ping-post?

Consent proof should travel with the lead from the first ping. ActiveProspect's developer documentation (updated November 4, 2026) explains why that is safe: the certificate hides form input fields in the session replay by default, so "a certificate URL can be safely passed to a lead buyer on ping. As long as the phone number and email address are withheld, the buyer cannot access the consumer's PII." On ping, the buyer can only examine the certificate with the insights operation. When the lead is posted with the certificate URL and the email or phone, the buyer can use match_lead and retain together to unlock the PII in the replay and store the certificate.

ActiveProspect's certificate-operations reference suggests that buyers in a ping-post arrangement consider using only insights on ping and retain on post, using insights data to inform the bid and storing the certificate only if they win. It also says the match_lead operation is required when running retain. Timing matters too: the same reference says web certificates are available to API callers for 72 hours, extended to 90 days if the certificate recorded a form submission, so retain on post rather than days later. On the LeadsPedia side, Lead Prosper's buyer-setup guide says at least one of jornaya_lead_id or trusted_form is required on both the ping and the post.

Does ping-post change TCPA consent requirements?

No. The auction does not change what the consent must cover. If you autodial, use a prerecorded voice or send marketing texts, the federal standard is prior express written consent under 47 CFR 64.1200(f)(9): a signed written agreement that clearly authorizes "the seller" to deliver those calls to a named number. The practical question in a ping tree is whether the winning buyer is a seller the consumer actually agreed to hear from.

This is the model the FCC targeted in 2023. Its order, published in the Federal Register on January 26, 2024, said it "closes the lead generator loophole by requiring comparison shopping websites to get consumer consent one seller at a time." That one-to-one rule never took effect. The Eleventh Circuit vacated it, and the FCC removed it from its rules effective August 29, 2025. Many buyers still require seller-specific consent as policy, because the seller bears the burden of proving consent if it is challenged.

How does ping-post connect to your CRM?

The ping decision usually happens in a lead distribution platform (such as LeadsPedia, boberdoo or LeadConduit) or in a custom endpoint, not in the CRM. That layer filters, scores and bids on the ping, then accepts the post and passes the record to Salesforce, HubSpot, Velocify or another CRM by API or webhook. ActiveProspect notes that a buyer using LeadConduit can evaluate the full lead on ping, because none of the ping data is accessible to the buyer, which it says "can dramatically reduce post-rejects."

Check your CRM's intake limits before you scale. Salesforce's help documentation says Web-to-Lead captures up to 500 leads in a 24-hour period in Professional, Enterprise, Unlimited, Performance and Developer editions. Requests over the limit wait in a pending queue capped at 50,000 combined Web-to-Lead and Web-to-Case requests, and anything beyond that is rejected. High-volume ping-post buyers generally post into the CRM through its API or an integration rather than a web form.

• Map every field on the buyer spec, including list values. Lead Prosper notes that LeadsPedia list fields must match exactly, or a transformer is needed.
• Return a clear, machine-readable response on both ping and post (accepted, rejected, duplicate), so the seller's system records the outcome correctly.
• Store the certificate URL or LeadiD on the CRM record, not only in the distribution platform.
• Send rejections with a reason code, so the seller can fix filters instead of re-pinging you with leads you will never buy.

What should you ask a ping-post seller before you buy?

• Which fields are on the ping, and which only on the post?
• Is a TrustedForm certificate or Jornaya LeadiD on the ping, and will it be retainable on the post?
• Does the consent language name my company, or link to a partner list? How many sellers are on that list?
• Is this lead type sold exclusively, shared, or by best scenario? How many legs can one lead be sold to?
• Is pricing static or dynamic, and does the seller take a margin on top of my bid?
• If I reject on post, can the lead be resold, and to whom?
• How are duplicates detected and handled across pings and posts?
• What are the return or credit terms for leads that fail validation after the post?

How MGM ScaleCraft delivers leads and calls

We sell exclusive, TCPA-documented pay-per-call and pay-per-lead traffic to insurance, mortgage/HELOC, home-services and financial buyers. As our site and compliance overview state:

• Delivery by direct webhook, ping-post and API into Salesforce, Velocify, HubSpot, LeadsPedia and custom enterprise endpoints.
• A TrustedForm certificate or Jornaya LeadiD on every lead, pulled fresh at submission and available in every delivery format we support.
• Traffic from our own consumer experiences. Nothing is co-mingled or passed to a second buyer.
• Buyer-specific delivery endpoints, with no co-mingling with affiliate inventory.
• Custom ping-post specs on request through the RFP & Ping-Post Ingestion Track on our homepage.

Set up a ping-post integration with a partner briefing

If you are adding ping-post buying, moving from direct post, or tightening consent checks on the ping, book a partner briefing and we will map your ping and post fields, certificate handling and CRM delivery. For what calls cost by vertical, see Cost Per Call in 2026. For how to check consent proof yourself, see our TrustedForm guide.

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