This feature is connected to the Refuse leads setting. By default, a refused lead stops where it was refused. It gets fail in the State column, nothing further happens to it, and it does not appear in standard reports. You find it in the Leads log.
Process refused leads sends it through the rest of the flow anyway. The lead stays refused towards the affiliate, so there is no payout and it does not count in reports, but it can still be distributed and the customer can still be redirected.
You can include or exclude specific affiliates from this feature.
Why this exists
A refused lead is a lead you decided not to buy from the partner. That is not the same as a lead nobody wants.
Two examples:
- Embedded form lead. A lead passes form validation but is rejected by filters, for example as a duplicate. It does not increase the accepted lead count in reports, but you can still redirect the customer, for instance to finish an application they left unfinished.
- API lead. A lead fails validation and the partner cannot correct the data. It remains rejected, with no payout and no effect on reports, but it can still go into the pingtree and be sold.
In both cases the partner sent you something you are not paying for, and it would otherwise be thrown away. The partner usually has nowhere else to send it either.
It only applies to leads refused before the pingtree
The refusal criterion decides whether there is anything left to do:
- Validation and Filters refuse the lead before it reaches the pingtree, so there is still a whole flow to run. This is where the feature is useful.
- Pingtree means the lead already went through the pingtree and nobody took it. There is nothing further to try.
See Refuse leads for setting the criteria.
What it does not change
- The lead stays refused.
- It is not counted as a valid lead in reports.
- The affiliate is not paid for it.
So refused describes what you owe the partner, not what happens to the customer.
