If you're drowning in leads or just tired of manually assigning them, this one's for you. Setting up automated lead routing in Closershq can save your sales team hours of grunt work and make sure every qualified lead gets in front of the right person—fast. This guide walks you through the whole setup, step by step, with zero fluff and a few honest warnings about what works (and what doesn’t).
Why bother with automated lead routing?
Let’s be real: manually assigning leads is a pain. It’s slow, it’s messy, and people drop the ball. Automated lead routing sorts new leads instantly, using rules you set. That means leads don’t get stuck in limbo, and your team doesn’t waste time fighting over who gets what.
But before we dive in, know this: automation won’t fix a broken process. If your lead data is a mess or your sales team ignores notifications, no amount of routing will save you. So get your basics straight first.
Step 1: Get your Closershq account ready
You’ll need: - A Closershq admin account (or the right permissions to change lead routing settings) - Your sales team set up as users in Closershq, with real email addresses (not “test@test.com”) - A clear idea of how you want leads to be assigned (think: by territory, product, round robin, etc.)
Pro tip: The more detailed your lead data, the better the routing. If your leads only have a name and a phone number, your options are limited.
Step 2: Map out your lead routing rules
Before you touch any software, grab a notepad or whiteboard and answer these: - How do you want leads assigned? (By region, company size, product interest, etc.) - Are there any reps who should always get certain leads? (E.g., VIP accounts, certain industries) - What happens when a rep is out of office? - Should leads be distributed evenly or weighted (e.g., experienced reps get more)? - Do you want to assign based on availability, or just rotate through the team?
Don’t skip this. If you start making rules up on the fly, you’ll end up with a tangled mess and angry reps.
Step 3: Clean up your users and teams
Go to Settings > Users & Teams in Closershq. Make sure: - Every rep who should get leads is active - Teams are set up if you want to route by group (e.g., East Coast Team, Enterprise Team) - User roles are correct (so nobody gets access they shouldn’t)
Watch out: If you forget to add someone, they won’t ever get leads—no matter how perfect your rules are.
Step 4: Set up lead sources
Lead routing only works if Closershq knows where new leads are coming from. Double-check: - Are your web forms, import tools, and integrations (like Zapier, Facebook, etc.) hooked up? - Is the “source” field being populated for each new lead? - Are you tagging leads with important info (region, product, etc.)?
If you’re missing key data, routing rules might not trigger as expected. Garbage in, garbage out.
Step 5: Create your first routing rule
Now the fun part. Head to Settings > Lead Routing (your menu may vary—Closershq changes their UI sometimes).
- Click “Add New Rule.”
- Give your rule a clear name, like “West Coast Inbound” or “Website Demo Requests.”
- Set your conditions. This is what triggers the rule. Example conditions:
- Lead Source is “Website Form”
- Region is “West”
- Product Interest is “Enterprise”
Pro tip: Start with 1-2 simple rules to test. Don’t try to automate every edge case on day one.
Step 6: Choose your assignment method
Closershq usually offers a few options: - Round robin: Rotates leads evenly across your team. Easiest to set up, but doesn’t care about experience or capacity. - Load balancing: Tries to keep everyone’s workload even. Good if you have reps with wildly different schedules. - Custom logic: Assign based on specific fields (e.g., “Enterprise” leads go to Sally, “SMB” leads go to Tom).
What works: Round robin is fine for most teams. Custom logic is great if you have specialists.
What doesn’t: Complex, overlapping rules. Try to keep your routing logic easy to follow, or you’ll spend hours debugging why a lead went to the wrong person.
Step 7: Set fallback rules
What if no routing rules match—or if all reps are unavailable? Set up fallbacks: - Assign to a default user (like a sales manager) - Route to a team inbox - Trigger an alert for manual assignment
Ignore: “No fallback” setups. That’s how leads get lost.
Step 8: Test your routing
Before you go live, run a few test leads through the system: - Create fake leads that match your rules (“Jane Doe, West Coast, Website Form”) - Watch where they land - Check notification emails and CRM records
If something’s off: Review your rule order. Most routing engines process rules top-to-bottom, so the first match wins.
Step 9: Go live and monitor
Turn on your rules. For the first week or two: - Check that every new lead is getting routed as expected - Ask your reps if they’re getting the right leads - Review missed or unassigned leads daily
Don’t assume it’s working just because you flipped the switch. Even good systems need tweaks.
Step 10: Iterate (but don’t over-complicate)
After a few weeks, review your routing setup: - Are some reps overloaded? - Are any rules never triggered? - Are leads sitting unworked?
Trim any over-complicated or unused rules. Add new ones only if you see a real need.
Warning: The more rules you add, the harder it is to troubleshoot. Keep your logic simple, and document why each rule exists.
A few honest notes on Closershq lead routing
- It’s only as good as your data. If your lead fields are blank or inconsistent, routing won’t work right.
- Expect some bugs. Most CRMs (Closershq included) can get tripped up by weird edge cases or changes to user/team setup. Double-check after any big changes.
- Don’t rely solely on automation. Automated routing helps, but nothing beats a sales manager keeping an eye on the pipeline.
If your team is small or your leads are all pretty similar, don’t stress about fancy routing. Start basic, see what works, and build from there. Simple usually wins.
Wrapping up
Automated lead routing in Closershq isn’t magic, but it will save you time and headaches if you set it up with a little care. Map out your process, keep your rules as simple as possible, and review things regularly. Don’t chase perfection—just set it up, watch how it works, and tweak as you go. You’ll thank yourself next quarter.