Lead routing
Three decisions that determine which sales rep gets a new inquiry, and the diagram that shows the path they produce.
When a new inquiry comes in, somebody has to get it. Automations → Routing is where you decide who, in three steps that run in order.
flowchart TD
A([An inquiry arrives]) --> B{Have they bought before?}
B -->|No| POOL
B -->|Yes| C{What you chose in step 1}
C -->|Stays with their rep| D[Goes to whoever handled them]
C -->|Only if they cover it| E{Does that rep cover<br/>specialty and language?}
C -->|Routed from scratch| POOL
E -->|Yes| D
E -->|No| POOL
POOL{{Step 2 · who's eligible}}
POOL -->|Language or specialty first| P[Candidate pool]
POOL -->|Both, no exceptions| X{Does anyone cover both?}
X -->|Yes| P
X -->|No| Z[Stays unassigned]
P --> Q{Step 3 · which one}
Q -->|Lightest| R[Lowest active load]
Q -->|Round robin| S[Longest without one]
D --> F([Rep assigned])
R --> F
S --> F
Z -.rescued within the hour.-> FThe panel on the right isn't an illustration — it's the path your current settings produce. Change an option and the path redraws.
1. A returning customer writes again
Evaluated first, and if it applies, routing stops here.
- Stays with their rep — the new inquiry goes to whoever handled them before. It ignores specialty: whoever sold them a cruise gets their Disney inquiry too.
- Only if they cover the topic — stays with their rep only if that rep also covers the specialty and the language. Otherwise it goes to the pool.
- Routed from scratch — prior relationship doesn't count. They may end up with someone who doesn't know their history.
2. Who's eligible
How specialty and language combine to form the candidate pool.
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Language first | Looks for a specialist who also speaks the language; if there's none, it prioritizes language |
| Specialty first | Same, the other way round |
| Language only | Ignores specialties. If nobody speaks the language, it goes to the whole team |
| Specialty only | Ignores language. If nobody covers the topic, it goes to the whole team |
| Both, no exceptions | Requires specialty and language. If nobody qualifies, the inquiry stays unassigned |
Each rep's specialties and languages are set in Team.
3. Which one of them gets it
- Whoever's lightest — looks at active load, today's leads, and what they've let go cold. Open quotes count as load.
- Round robin — goes to whoever hasn't received one in longest. Doesn't look at load at all.
If an inquiry ends up unassigned, a process rescues it within the hour. It won't sit there forever — but it will sit there for up to an hour, which is a reason to be careful with "Both, no exceptions".