What is Lead Routing?

Definition

Lead routing is the automated process of distributing and assigning incoming leads to the most appropriate salesperson or team within an organization. This process is managed by rules set within a CRM or marketing automation platform. The goal of lead routing is to ensure that every new lead is handled by the right person, in the shortest amount of time possible.

Examples

• Geographic Routing: Leads from the USA and Canada are automatically assigned to the North American sales team, while leads from France or Germany go to the EMEA team.
• Company Size Routing: Leads from companies with over 5,000 employees (enterprise) are routed to senior account executives, while leads from companies with fewer than 100 employees (SMB) go to a different team.
• Industry Routing: A lead from a bank is assigned to the sales rep who specializes in the financial services sector.
• Product Interest Routing: A prospect who fills out a demo request for « Product A » is routed to the Product A sales team, while a request for « Product B » goes to another.
• Round Robin: Leads are distributed evenly among a team of SDRs to ensure a balanced workload.

Advantages/Benefits

• Increased Response Speed: By instantly assigning a lead, it dramatically shortens the lead response time, which is critical for conversion.
• Improved Efficiency: Eliminates the manual, time-consuming task of a manager reviewing and assigning every new lead.
• Better Lead-to-Rep Matching: Ensures the prospect is connected with the salesperson best equipped (by expertise, language, or territory) to handle their specific needs.
• Improved Customer Experience: The prospect gets a faster, more relevant follow-up from the correct person, creating a more professional first impression.

Related terms

• Sales Automation
• Lead Management
• CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
• Marketing Automation
• Lead Scoring
• SDR (Sales Development Representative)