If you’re here, you want sales leads to land with the right person—automatically, fairly, and with as little manual work as possible. Maybe your team is tired of messy spreadsheets or endless arguments about “who’s next.” Or maybe you just want to actually use the expensive software you bought last quarter. Either way, this guide’s for you.
I’ll walk you through setting up round robin routing in Chilipiper so your sales team gets leads distributed evenly, and you spend less time playing traffic cop. No jargon, no guessing, and no pretending it’s all magic—just the real steps, pros, cons, and a few things to skip.
What is Round Robin Routing (and Why Use Chilipiper)?
Round robin routing is exactly what it sounds like: you hand out leads to your team one by one, in order, then loop back to the top once you’ve gone through everyone. It’s simple, fair, and helps avoid situations where one rep gets all the good leads (or all the junk).
Chilipiper, for all its buzzwords, actually does a good job at this—especially if you’re tired of duct-taping together tools or babysitting Salesforce assignment rules. But like any software, it’s only as good as your setup. Let’s get your team routing leads the right way.
Step 1: Get Your Prep Work Done (Don’t Skip This)
Before you even log in to Chilipiper, spend 10 minutes on this stuff. Trust me, it’ll save you hours later.
- List your sales reps: Figure out exactly who should be in the round robin pool. Are you including SDRs? AEs? Just new reps?
- Decide on criteria: Are you routing all leads, or only certain types (e.g., by territory, product line, or lead source)?
- Check your CRM: Make sure your rep info (emails, roles, etc.) is up to date. If your CRM is a mess, Chilipiper won’t fix it.
- Know your team’s availability: If people are out for PTO or only work certain hours, you’ll want that handy.
Pro tip: Have a quick chat with your team about how leads will get assigned. Surprises lead to grumbling.
Step 2: Connect Chilipiper to Your CRM
Chilipiper works best when it’s hooked up to your CRM (usually Salesforce or HubSpot). If you skip this, it’s like trying to run a marathon with your shoelaces tied together.
- Go to Chilipiper settings: Find the integrations section.
- Connect your CRM: Follow the prompts—usually OAuth or API key. You may need admin rights.
- Test the sync: Pull in a test lead or contact and make sure it shows up. If things look weird now, fix them before moving on.
What to watch for: If your CRM fields are inconsistent (e.g., “AE Email” vs. “Sales Rep Email”), mapping will be a pain, so clean that up first.
Step 3: Create a New Router in Chilipiper
This is where you actually build the round robin logic.
- Go to “Routers” or “Queues” in Chilipiper.
- Click “Create New Router.”
- Choose “Round Robin” as the routing type.
-
Name your router something clear, like “Inbound Demo Requests – NA Team.”
-
Add your reps: Use the list you made earlier. Make sure their emails match what’s in your CRM.
- Set weighting (optional): If you want some reps to get more or fewer leads, set weights. If not, leave everything equal.
Pro tip: Don’t overthink weights at first. If you start with true round robin, it’s easier to spot problems. Adjust later.
Step 4: Set Your Routing Rules
Here’s where you decide which leads go into this round robin pool. This part can get fiddly—keep it simple to start.
- Choose criteria: This could be based on things like lead source, geography, or product interest.
- Example: Only send website demo requests from North America to this router.
- Set fallback rules: What happens if no one is available? (e.g., send to an admin, or hold for later)
- Availability: Decide if reps can get leads after hours or when they’re marked “offline.” Chilipiper can check calendars, but only if your team keeps them updated (don’t count on it).
What works: Start with basic rules (“all inbound leads go to round robin”) and layer on complexity only as needed.
What doesn’t: Avoid making rules for every possible scenario from day one. You’ll just confuse yourself and your reps.
Step 5: Test Your Setup (Seriously, Don’t Skip This)
Nothing kills trust in a routing system like the first lead going to the wrong person. Test before you go live.
- Run test leads: Use your own email or a dummy contact. See which rep gets assigned.
- Check notifications: Make sure reps actually get notified (email, Slack, whatever you use).
- Watch for errors: Are leads getting stuck? Is someone getting skipped? Fix any issues now.
Pro tip: Test during business hours so you can get quick feedback from your team, not angry emails later.
Step 6: Roll Out to Your Sales Team
Once things work, let your team know what’s changing. Keep it straightforward:
- Why you’re switching (“faster, fairer lead assignment” is usually enough).
- What they’ll see (automated assignments, calendar invites, etc.).
- Who to ask if something looks off (spoiler: it’ll be you).
What works: A quick 10-minute demo beats a 30-slide deck. Show them a real lead assignment.
What doesn’t: Don’t overpromise (“This will solve all our lead problems!”). Routing helps, but it won’t fix reps ignoring leads or broken CRM fields.
Step 7: Monitor and Adjust
The first week is where you’ll spot most issues:
- Check your reports: Is everyone getting a fair share of leads? Anyone not picking up?
- Get feedback: Ask your team if assignments feel random, unfair, or just plain weird.
- Adjust as needed: Tweak weights, add/remove reps, or refine rules based on what you see.
Pro tip: Keep changes to a minimum at first. Let the system run for a week or two before you start tinkering.
Gotchas, Limitations, and What to Ignore
No tool is perfect. Here’s where reality creeps in:
- Calendar integration is only as good as your reps’ habits: If reps don’t update their calendars, Chilipiper can’t tell if they’re actually available.
- Lead quality isn’t magically solved: Round robin makes things fair, not better. If your lead sources are junk, everyone just gets junk evenly.
- Don’t chase every edge case: Resist the urge to “just add one more rule” every time something odd happens.
- Notifications can get lost: Some reps ignore emails, so use Slack or SMS if it matters.
Honest take: Chilipiper’s round robin works well for most teams, but messy data or unclear processes can still trip you up.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Tweak as You Go
Setting up round robin routing in Chilipiper isn’t rocket science. The hardest part is keeping your process simple and your data clean—everything else is just clicking buttons. Start basic, make sure it works, and only add complexity when your team actually needs it. Most importantly, check in with your reps and tweak things as you go. You’ll have a fair, automated system before you know it—and a lot less arguing about who gets the next lead.