If you’re managing a sales team and leads are still being assigned in Slack threads or spreadsheets, there’s a better way. This guide is for sales managers, ops folks, or anyone tired of watching hot leads go cold because they got stuck in the wrong inbox. Automating lead assignment in Matchkraft can save you hours, but only if you set it up with your real-world sales process in mind. Here’s how to do it—no fluff, just what works.
Why Automate Lead Assignment in the First Place?
Let’s be honest: manual lead routing is a pain. It’s slow, inconsistent, and usually ends with the same top rep getting all the good leads (and the newbies getting leftovers). Automation isn’t just about saving time—it’s about making sure the right person follows up, fast. This means better response times, less cherry-picking, and a fairer deal for your team.
But—and this is important—automation only helps if the rules make sense for your business. Overcomplicate it and you’ll spend more time fixing errors than closing deals.
Step 1: Map Out Your Lead Assignment Logic
Before you click anything in Matchkraft, get clear on your assignment rules. Automation can’t fix a messy process.
Ask yourself: - What criteria matter most? (Territory, deal size, industry, rep workload, etc.) - Do you need round-robin, weighted, or territory-based assignment? - Who should get leads that don’t fit any rule? - How will you handle exceptions or urgent leads?
Pro tip:
Write this out on a whiteboard or doc. If you can’t explain your rules in two sentences, they’re too complicated.
Step 2: Set Up Your Matchkraft Lead Assignment Rules
Matchkraft gives you a few ways to automate lead routing. The exact steps may shift if your admin has customized your setup, but here’s the general flow:
2.1. Navigate to Assignment Rules
- Go to your Matchkraft dashboard.
- Click on Settings (gear icon), then find Lead Assignment or Routing Rules.
(Names may vary—if you can’t find it, check with your admin or Matchkraft support.)
2.2. Start With a Simple Rule
- Click New Rule or Add Assignment Rule.
- Give the rule a clear name, like “West Coast SMB Round Robin.”
- Define your criteria:
- Trigger: What event should kick off the rule? (e.g., new lead created, lead status changed)
- Filters: Which leads does this rule apply to? (e.g., State = CA, Company Size < 100)
- Assignment Logic: Who gets the lead? (e.g., round-robin between Alice and Bob, or send to Carol if deal size > $50k)
Don’t get cute with nesting rules or elaborate logic right away.
Start with your most common case—get that working, then add more rules if needed.
2.3. Prioritize and Order Your Rules
- Most systems, including Matchkraft, process rules from top to bottom.
- Drag and drop rules to set priority. If two rules could apply, the first one in the list wins.
- Make a “catch-all” or fallback rule at the bottom (e.g., assign to the sales manager).
What to ignore:
Don’t bother automating for rare, weird edge cases. Manual assignment is fine for the one-off $2M lead from Antarctica.
Step 3: Test Your Assignment Rules Before Going Live
Don’t assume it works because it looks right.
3.1. Run Test Leads
- Use test data to simulate new leads with different attributes.
- Watch where they end up. Did they go to the right person?
If not, check your rule order or logic.
3.2. Get Feedback from Reps
- Ask your team to sanity-check the assignments.
- Make sure they can see their leads and that notifications are firing.
Pro tip:
Build a simple spreadsheet of test cases (inputs and expected outputs). You’ll thank yourself later when troubleshooting.
Step 4: Roll It Out—But Keep It Simple
Once you’ve tested, roll out the rules to your real leads. Resist the urge to automate every possible scenario right away.
4.1. Monitor Assignments Closely (First 2 Weeks)
- Spot-check where new leads are going.
- Watch for bottlenecks or reps getting overloaded.
- Look out for leads getting “stuck” with no owner—usually a sign of a missing catch-all rule.
4.2. Tweak, Don’t Overhaul
- Adjust filters or assignment logic if you see obvious issues.
- Add rules only for patterns you see repeatedly—not for every one-off complaint.
What works:
Sticking to territory or round-robin rules for 80% of cases.
What doesn’t:
Overengineering with dozens of rules—nobody will remember what does what, and you’ll spend all your time debugging.
Step 5: Set Up Notifications and Reporting
Automation is worthless if reps don’t know they have a new lead, or if you can’t see how it’s working.
5.1. Enable Notifications
- Make sure reps get an alert (email, in-app, Slack—whichever they’ll actually check) when they’re assigned a lead.
- Test notifications with real users, not just yourself.
5.2. Track Assignment Metrics
- In Matchkraft, set up a simple report or dashboard to show:
- Number of leads assigned per rep
- Speed to first contact
- Leads unassigned for >X hours/days
Why this matters:
You’ll spot imbalances (some reps drowning, others twiddling thumbs), broken rules, and leads falling through the cracks.
Step 6: Plan for Exceptions Without Losing Sleep
Even the best automation can’t predict everything.
- Decide now: who owns the “messy” leads that don’t fit rules?
- Give sales ops or a manager the power to reassign as needed.
- Don’t try to automate every exception—just make sure there’s a manual process.
Pro tip:
If reps are constantly reassigning leads, your rules are probably off. Time to review, not to add more patches.
Common Pitfalls (and How to Dodge Them)
- Too many rules: More rules = more confusion. Stick to the basics.
- Ignoring rep workload: If you always assign to the same 2 people, others won’t ramp up.
- Bad data: If your CRM data is messy, rules won’t work. Garbage in, garbage out.
- No fallback: Always have a “catch-all” rule so leads don’t get lost.
- Set-and-forget: Revisit rules every quarter. Sales teams and territories change.
Keep It Simple—Iterate as You Go
Automating lead assignment in Matchkraft is a huge time-saver, but only if you keep it simple and grounded in reality. Start small, focus on your most common scenarios, and don’t get distracted by edge cases. The goal is fewer headaches, not a Rube Goldberg machine.
Set up your core rules, watch how they perform, and adjust as needed. Your future self—and your sales team—will thank you.