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Field note

Kolton Dupey2025-07-024 min read

Automating Planswell Lead Capture: From API to CRM in Minutes

CRM · automation

Quick summary

Learn how we streamlined our lead capture process from Planswell using their GraphQL API to automatically route leads to our CRM, saving hours of manual work while improving response times.

At our firm, staying responsive to new leads is critical—especially when they come from LeadGen sources such as

Planswell

, a platform that connects individuals actively seeking financial advice with nearby advisors.

Instead of waiting for a notification of a new lead from Planswell and hoping we had someone on our staff to create them in our CRM and put on a marketing series, we decided to streamline the process with automation. Below is an inside look at how we used Planswell's API to automatically monitor, filter, and route new leads into our CRM or campaign tools based on ZIP code.

🧠 How Planswell Works (Quick Recap)

Planswell generates leads through their online platform, where users fill out detailed information about their financial lives. Once completed, those leads are distributed to financial advisors in their geographic area.

We wanted to:

Automatically check for new lead assignments
Route those leads to our closest physical office location
Send the leads and their data into our CRM to get them started on a marketing campaign ASAP

🛠️ The Automation Script: Key Features

Here's what our Python script does behind the scenes:

1. Authenticate via GraphQL API

We initiate a session by logging in with our credentials. This returns an access token, which is needed for every subsequent API call.

2. Query for Latest Assignments

Using a prewritten GraphQL query, we ask Planswell's API for the most recently assigned leads to our advisor account.

We grab the lead's name, email, phone, and ZIP code—everything we need to process the lead quickly.

3. ZIP Code Routing Logic

We maintain a large list of ZIP codes that determine which office our lead should be directed to. It's easy to find all ZIP codes in specific areas using

UnitedStatesZipCodes

. This list is hardcoded for now but could easily be made dynamic. If the ZIP code entered by the lead matches one within an office location pool of ZIP codes, they are assigned to that office. This could be bypassed if you had a dedicated Sales person to do that for you.

4. Submit Lead to Internal Endpoint

Once a lead is validated and categorized, we send their details to an endpoint. In our case, we send to Salesforce Marketing Cloud (Pardot/Account Engagement) to put the lead on a marketing series and inherently create the lead in our Salesforce Org. This could be done for any CRM or marketing platform such as WealthBox, Red Tail, ActiveCampaign, SendGrid, MailChimp, etc.

🕒 Automation Runs Continuously

The script runs in a loop every 2 minutes, checking for new leads. It avoids duplicates by storing emails already processed during that session.

If the access token expires or something goes wrong, it retries authentication automatically.

The script could be sped up but you'll want to respect Planswell's API limits.

💡 Why This Matters

In financial services, speed-to-lead often determines success. By automating the intake process from a trusted partner like Planswell, we're eliminating lag, improving our client experience, and maximizing our marketing ROI. In this scenario, we were getting 30 leads/month from Planswell. We estimate that the basics of this automation saved staff a few hours a week.

If you're receiving leads from Planswell—or any platform with an accessible API—consider automating your intake. The lift is small, but the payoff is big.

👋 Questions or Want the Code?

If you're a financial advisor or developer looking to integrate Planswell (or similar platforms) into your workflow, feel free to reach out.

– Kolton Dupey

Automation Developer | Salesforce & API Integrator

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