If your sales team is still chasing spreadsheets and arguing over who gets which lead, you’re wasting time and losing deals. This guide is for folks who use Leadsquared and want to stop manually assigning leads, once and for all. Whether you run a small team or manage a sprawling sales org, automating lead assignment isn’t just a “nice-to-have”—it’s table stakes if you want to move faster.
Here’s how to set up automatic lead assignment in Leadsquared, what actually works, and what to skip. No fluff, just what you need to get it done.
Why Automate Lead Assignment?
Let’s be real: manual lead assignment is a mess. People forget, play favorites, or just drop the ball. If you want leads to hit the right salesperson’s inbox fast—and fairly—automation is the only way.
Automating in Leadsquared gives you: - Speed: Leads get routed instantly. - Fairness: No more cherry-picking. - Tracking: See exactly who got what, and when.
But don’t expect magic. Automation only works if you set clear rules and keep them updated as your team changes.
Before You Start: What You’ll Need
- Admin access in Leadsquared (regular users can’t change assignment rules)
- A basic sales team structure in place (teams, users, and groups set up)
- A list of assignment rules you want (by territory, product, round robin, etc.)
If you’re not sure how your sales team should be split up, sort that out first. Automation can’t fix a broken process.
Step 1: Get Your Sales Teams and Users Set Up
You can’t assign leads to teams if those teams don’t exist in Leadsquared. Make sure: - All sales reps are added as users. - Teams/groups are set up to match how you want leads assigned (by region, product, seniority, whatever matters to you). - Each user is in the right team/group.
Pro tip: Double-check email addresses and active status. Leadsquared won’t assign to deactivated or incomplete users, and nothing kills automation faster than sending leads into a black hole.
Step 2: Decide How You Want Leads Assigned
Think about what “fair” and “fast” mean for your business. Some common ways: - Round Robin: Evenly rotates leads among team members. - Rule-Based: Assigns based on lead fields (like location, product interest, or lead source). - Load-Balanced: Assigns to whoever has the fewest leads right now. - Custom Rules: Mix and match based on your needs (e.g., senior reps get bigger deals).
Write down your rules. Seriously—don’t try to wing it inside the app. If your rules are fuzzy, your automation will be, too.
Step 3: Open Leadsquared’s Automation Setup
- Log in as an Admin.
- Go to Settings > Users and Permissions > Groups to make sure your team structure is good.
- Now head to Settings > Leads > Lead Assignment.
This is where you’ll build your automatic assignment logic.
Step 4: Create Lead Assignment Rules
Leadsquared lets you layer rules for assignment. Here’s how:
- Click “Add Rule.”
- Choose the Trigger:
- New lead created (from web, API, import, etc.)
- Lead updated
- Other events (depends on your plan)
- Set Conditions:
- Example: If “Lead Source” is “Website” AND “Location” is “East”
- You can stack conditions with AND/OR logic—but don’t go overboard. Complicated = fragile.
- Choose the Assignment Method:
- Assign to a specific user
- Assign to a group/team (and then round robin or load-balance within the team)
- Assign based on a custom field
Pro tip: Start with simple rules. You can always add complexity later, but it’s a pain to untangle spaghetti logic after the fact.
Step 5: Set Up Round Robin or Load-Balanced Distribution (Optional)
If you want leads evenly distributed:
- When choosing “Assign to Group,” select “Distribute Evenly (Round Robin)” or “Load Balanced.”
- Leadsquared cycles through active users in that group.
- You can exclude users who are away (vacation, sick, etc.)—but you have to do this manually.
What to watch for:
- If a user is set as “inactive” or “away,” Leadsquared won’t assign leads to them.
- If all users in a group are inactive, leads just… sit there. No alerts, no fallback. Double-check your team status often.
Step 6: Test Your Assignment Rules
Don’t just trust that it’s working—test it.
- Create a dummy lead (or a few) with different values that should trigger your rules.
- See where each lead ends up.
- Log in as the assigned user to confirm they actually got the lead.
Common gotchas: - Typos in field names or values (e.g., “east” vs. “East”) - Users not properly assigned to groups - Overlapping rules sending leads to the wrong person
Fix issues now, before real leads get lost.
Step 7: Monitor and Adjust (This Never Ends)
You’ll think you nailed it, but reality will prove you wrong—someone will go on vacation, a new product line launches, or your team structure changes. Keep an eye on:
- Leads that aren’t getting assigned (or assigned to the wrong people)
- Complaints from reps about unfair distribution
- Leads piling up with one user
In Leadsquared, you can pull assignment logs to see what happened. Use them. Don’t rely on gut feelings or Slack complaints.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
What Actually Works
- Simple, clear rules: The fewer exceptions, the better.
- Round robin for most cases: Easiest to maintain, and reps can’t argue much.
- Regular audits: Check every month that your rules still make sense.
What Doesn’t
- Overcomplicating rules: More logic = more things to break. If you need a flowchart to explain it, simplify.
- Ignoring inactive users: Leads will get lost.
- Set-and-forget mindset: People get promoted, quit, or move teams. If you don’t update, your system will drift.
What to Ignore
- Exotic assignment plugins: Leadsquared’s built-in tools are fine for 99% of cases.
- Manual assignment “overrides”: Every time you do this, you undermine the system. Only override for emergencies.
Pro Tips for Smoother Lead Assignment
- Document your rules: Even a Google Doc is better than nothing.
- Communicate with your team: Let sales reps know how assignments work, so there’s no confusion.
- Automate notifications: Make sure reps get an email or mobile alert when a new lead lands.
- Review edge cases quarterly: As your business changes, so should your assignment logic.
- Don’t obsess over perfection: It’ll never be 100% flawless. Aim for “nobody yells” and improve as you go.
Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Automating lead assignment in Leadsquared isn’t rocket science, but it does take some upfront thinking. Start with the basics, test, and tweak as you learn. Don’t get sucked into making the “perfect” system—just get it working, watch for what breaks, and fix it fast. Your sales team (and your sanity) will thank you.