We’re all familiar with the concept of a software recycling bin. Your operating system has one, and there’s a decent chance that many of the programs you use have individual, specialized recycling bins within them. They serve the specific purpose of removing unneeded data like a roach motel; data checks in, and it doesn’t check out.
What you may not know is that the Pardot (Account Engagement) recycling bin works a little bit differently than most…
What Goes in the Bin?
Pretty much all of your Account Engagement (Pardot) stuff! Prospects, templates, different campaigns... All are welcome in the bin.
So… It’s Just a Normal Recycling Bin, Then?
Nothing normal about it, friend! The difference between the Account Engagement (Pardot) Recycling bin and your standard issue bin is that you can’t empty it. Except for prospects, which can be permanently disposed of, all the other data sticks around. Have you ever deleted something and then realized you needed it immediately after? Well, someone at Account Engagement (Pardot) sure has, so they built in this feature to save you the heartache.
Then Why Use It At All?
Because the Account Engagement (Pardot) recycling bin is special. Even though the data is still easily retrieved, once it’s in the recycling bin, those items no longer count toward your usage limits. That means that you can retain your data and still make use of mission-critical Account Engagement (Pardot) features that would be unavailable to you otherwise. Everything is saved, and everything else stays functional.
Don’t I Need My Prospects? Why Would I Put Them In There?
The short answer is that you don’t need all of your prospects.
Obviously, you want to reach out to the people you think will convert, but if you’re approaching your database limits, then you need to clear some space for new, more promising prospects. Remember, these trashed prospects won’t delete automatically, so they’ll just sit in the bin with their entire score and form history in case you want to pull them back out, and they won’t count towards that limit.
They also won’t be tracked through Account Engagement (Pardot) as long as they’re in there, so no new data will be collected, so keep that in mind.
It’s also about keeping your database nice and clean. Clearing out inactive prospects helps keep things organized, and prevents your precious time from being wasted. The cool thing is that if a prospect in the bin decides to interact with you again through something like a form fill, Account Engagement (Pardot) will take them out of the trash automatically. They thought of everything!
How Can I Retrieve These Prospects Later On?
Manual Retrieval
There’s an undelete button! It’s the opposite of the ‘Delete’ button, and you can find it on individual prospects. You can also select ‘Undelete matching prospects found in the recycle bin during this import’ while you’re importing, and Account Engagement (Pardot) will retrieve prospects from the recycling bin that have a matching email address or CRM ID.
Prospect Actions
If a deleted prospect interacts with an email you already sent them or fills out a form with the same email they used before. Account Engagement (Pardot) will even send an email in an attempt to get them to resubscribe, but you have to make sure you have HML enabled on your Account Engagement (Pardot) account.
How Do I Delete a Prospect Once and For All?
It’s just as simple! Should you decide that you no longer need a prospect and all their data (or if the prospect requests that you remove them from your database), you need only find them in the bin, click their checkbox, and from the dropdown, select “permanently delete”.
Then they’re gone for realsies. No bringing them back. Make sure it’s what you want before you take that step.
