The challenge
Celigo's lead-management processes had become very complex over time, with overlapping automation and inconsistent logic across Salesforce, HubSpot, Traction Complete, Gainsight, LeanData, NetSuite, and several other connected platforms.
There wasn't a complete understanding of all the ways a potential lead could enter the ecosystem, how records synced between systems, which system controlled each piece of data, or how someone should move through the systems as they progressed through the customer lifecycle. That caused issues with qualification, routing, ownership, conversion, attribution, lifecycle tracking, and reporting — and, in practice, meant leads were going untouched for an average of ten days or more before anyone acted on them.
The work
The Fellow mapped every route a lead could take into Celigo's GTM ecosystem, documented how records synced across the connected platforms, and clarified which systems owned which data and where handoffs happened between teams. From there the lead qualification and lifecycle model was redesigned — including MQL, SAL, and conversion processes — separating marketing, sales, and partner motions so each could be managed and measured appropriately.
Routing moved off native Salesforce logic entirely, shifting lead-routing and territory logic to LeanData: trading a system Celigo already owned outright for a purpose-built platform with more room to grow into. Conversion and deduplication were simplified, and campaign attribution and lifecycle reporting improved through Full Circle Campaign Attribution. In total the redesigned lifecycle covered more than 60 business and technical requirements.
A 3-hour response SLA for hot leads and a 24-hour SLA for MQLs were implemented, with automated timers, reporting, and escalation for missed SLAs. Lifecycle aging rules were added, including a 181-day MQL threshold, and Deal Registration was standardized around a 365-day expiration — replacing a process where registrations could otherwise remain active indefinitely.
Alongside the lifecycle work, the account model was restructured to distinguish prospects, customers, resellers, referral and alliance relationships, and to support accounts that were both customer and partner. A product-led revenue motion brought entitlement and usage-threshold data into Salesforce, so product activity became something sellers could act on rather than information isolated in product systems.
The impact
Response times moved from an average of ten-plus days untouched to enforced SLAs of three hours for hot leads and twenty-four hours for MQLs, backed by lifecycle aging rules and a standardized Deal Registration expiry that closed off the indefinite states records could previously sit in.
Celigo also gained a more reliable account structure for segmentation, reporting, and integrations, and a repeatable, product-behavior-driven way for sales to reach customers at the right time. Less quantifiable but still meaningful: clearer lead ownership across the GTM teams, more consistent qualification and routing, and a much cleaner architecture for the team maintaining Salesforce going forward. All figures are operator-reported.