Over the last few weeks we tried to list our app, AI Lead Qualifier for Salesforce, on the Salesforce AppExchange, the store where Salesforce customers find apps. The app works and it's ready for customers. The listing didn't go the way we planned.
This is what happened, what we learned, and what it means if you'd like to use the app. If you're a founder about to try the same thing, we hope it saves you a few weeks.
What we built
AI Lead Qualifier solves a problem every business running Facebook, Instagram and Google lead ads knows: most leads aren't worth calling, and the ad platforms can't tell the difference.
- It brings leads into Salesforce from Facebook and Instagram lead ads and from website forms, in English and Arabic.
- AI scores each new lead Hot, Warm, Cold or Junk, with a one-line reason, using rules you write in plain words.
- When a lead turns out to be good, it tells Meta and Google, so your campaigns learn to find more people like them.
- It shows the exact ad each lead came from, saved even after the ad is deleted.
Everything runs inside your own Salesforce account, with your own AI key. Your customer data never passes through our servers.
Building the app
Building it was the straightforward part. A Salesforce app is a "managed package" that installs into a customer's Salesforce account, and getting it right means writing tests for everything, respecting each user's permissions, and passing Salesforce's code scanner. Our released version passes all its tests with over 90% coverage, installs in a few minutes and upgrades without losing data.
Connecting to the store
To link an app to its store listing, you connect your partner account in Salesforce's Partner Console. For us that sign-in failed every time with an "OAuth" error.
The cause turned out to be on Salesforce's side: newer Salesforce accounts have an older sign-in method switched off for security reasons, and the Partner Console still relied on it. Salesforce's support team switched it back on for our account, and it worked straight away. It took two weeks and three support teams to get there.
Tip: if you hit the same error, look in your org's Login History. If it says "User-Agent Flow Disabled", put that in your very first support message.
The security review
Every public AppExchange app goes through a security review. Preparing for it was genuinely useful: we documented every outside service the app talks to, what data goes where and why, and scanned both the app and our website.
One thing we learned: the review form says apps should not call outside AI services such as OpenAI directly, and should use Salesforce's own AI models instead. If your app uses AI, plan for that from the start.
The business approval
Before an app can be listed, Salesforce also approves the business behind it. Ours was declined. The reason given was "ecosystem fit and market alignment" rather than anything about the product, and our application stays open for future review.
We understand it. Salesforce is focusing its store on its own AI strategy right now, and a small team from Dubai with a lead-ads product isn't at the top of that list. That's fine: the store is one way to reach customers, not the only one.
What it means for you
Nothing changes if you want to use the app. AI Lead Qualifier is a released, upgradable Salesforce package. Instead of installing it from the store, we install it with you directly and help you set it up: connecting your ads, writing your scoring rules and your first website form.
It works with Salesforce Enterprise, Unlimited and Developer editions.
What we'd tell other founders
- The store is a channel, not a launch date. Approvals take weeks and depend on things you can't control. Sell directly while you wait.
- Read the review rules before you build. The rule about AI providers would have changed some of our early decisions.
- Write to support with evidence. Error messages, screenshots and exact steps moved our cases much faster than descriptions.
- Keep the customer's data in the customer's hands. It made every security question easier to answer.
Try it
If you use Salesforce, run lead ads, and want to know which leads are worth calling, and want Meta and Google to find you more of them, we'd like to hear from you.