If you’re tired of leads slipping through the cracks or getting dumped on the wrong rep, this guide’s for you. Setting up automated lead routing in Hook is straightforward—once you know what to skip and what actually matters. Whether you’re running sales solo or wrangling a team, I’ll show you how to get up and running without drowning in options you don’t need.
Let’s get your leads to the right people, automatically, and with as little headache as possible.
Before You Start: What’s Lead Routing, and Why Should You Care?
Lead routing is just what it sounds like: taking new leads and sending them to the right person on your team, automatically. The “right person” might depend on things like sales territory, product interest, company size, or just making sure no one gets overloaded.
Manual assignment is slow and error-prone. Automated lead routing means:
- Faster follow-up (which actually matters)
- Fewer leads lost in the shuffle
- Less time spent playing traffic cop
But don’t overthink it. Most teams only need a couple of routing rules to start. You can always get fancy later.
Step 1: Get Your Groundwork in Place
Before you mess with settings, nail down two things:
-
Who’s getting leads?
Make an actual list—names, emails, roles. You’ll need this for assignments. -
How do you want to split leads?
Common options: - By round-robin (evenly distributed)
- By territory (state, country)
- By industry or product line
- By lead score or size
If you’re not sure, default to round-robin. It’s the least likely to cause arguments and works fine for most teams.
Pro Tip:
Don’t waste hours tweaking rules for edge cases. You can always update them later.
Step 2: Set Up Your Users in Hook
Head into Hook and make sure everyone who’ll handle leads is a user. This is obvious, but you’d be surprised how often folks skip it and wonder why routing fails.
- Go to Settings > Users.
- Add sales reps or anyone who should get leads.
- Double-check email addresses—typos here will come back to bite you.
What To Ignore:
Assigning leads to folks who never follow up. Only add people who’ll actually do the work.
Step 3: Define Lead Sources
Hook can route leads from a bunch of places: web forms, integrations (like Zapier), manual entry, or imports.
- Map out which sources you want to automate. Start simple.
- If you have multiple web forms (say, demo requests and newsletter signups), decide if they should go to the same place.
Inside Hook:
- Go to Lead Sources.
- Add or connect the tools you use—this could be your website, a landing page, a CRM, or a marketing tool.
- Test each connection. You want to see leads coming in, not getting stuck.
Pro Tip:
If a source only gets a handful of leads, don’t bother automating it yet. Focus on the big streams first.
Step 4: Set Up Your Routing Rules
This is where the magic (or the mess) happens. Routing rules decide who gets what.
- Go to Automations or Lead Routing in Hook.
- Click New Routing Rule.
Here’s what you’ll usually see:
- If: The trigger (e.g., "Lead source is Website Form")
- And/Or: More filters (e.g., "Country is US")
- Then assign to: The user or group (e.g., "Assign to Sally")
Common Routing Patterns:
- Round-robin: Easiest way to keep things fair. Just add your reps to a “pool” and let Hook do the rest.
- By territory or field:
“If country is Canada, assign to Jamie.”
“If industry is SaaS, assign to Priya.” - By lead score:
“If score is above 80, assign to senior team.” (Careful: Don’t over-rely on scoring unless it’s solid.)
How Not to Overthink It:
Start with just one or two rules. You can add complexity later. Most teams do fine with “All leads go round-robin” plus maybe one territory rule.
Step 5: Test Your Routing (Don’t Skip This)
Nothing’s worse than leads vanishing because of a typo or bad rule.
- Create some test leads (use different emails and data to hit your rules).
- Watch where they go. Did they land with the right person?
- If something’s off, check the rule logic and user emails.
What Usually Goes Wrong:
- Rules overlap or contradict each other
- Users have the wrong email (or aren’t in the system)
- Lead data doesn’t match your conditions (e.g., “State” is blank)
Test a few real-world scenarios. It’s worth the 10 minutes.
Step 6: Set Up Notifications
Automated routing only works if people actually know they’ve got a new lead.
- Go to Settings > Notifications.
- Make sure each assignee gets an email, Slack ping, or whatever channel you use.
- Double-check preferences—some reps mute emails and never look.
Pro Tip:
If people ignore notifications, build in a “lead unclaimed” rule (e.g., if no action in 2 hours, reassign the lead). Hook supports this, and it’s a lifesaver.
Step 7: Monitor and Adjust
You’re not done just because routing is live.
- Check regularly: Are leads being followed up quickly? Are any sitting unassigned?
- Tweak rules as your team grows or changes.
- If someone’s overloaded, adjust the pool or add more reps.
Warning Signs to Watch For:
- Leads sitting untouched
- Complaints about unfair distribution
- People working outside the system (e.g., cherry-picking leads)
What Actually Matters (And What To Ignore)
Focus on:
- Speed: The faster leads get to the right person, the better.
- Simplicity: The fewer rules, the fewer things break.
- Adoption: If your team ignores the system, it’s useless.
Ignore:
- Edge cases you don’t see weekly
- Fancy scoring models unless your data is rock solid
- Massive branching logic (it’ll just confuse everyone)
Troubleshooting: Quick Fixes for Common Problems
- Leads not routing?
Double-check lead source mapping and user emails. - Leads assigned to wrong people?
Look for overlapping or conflicting rules. - Reps missing notifications?
Verify notification settings and channels. - System getting ignored?
Ask the team why—sometimes the rules don’t fit real workflows.
If you’re stuck, keep it simple: One rule, round-robin, and add complexity only when you need it.
Wrapping Up
Automated lead routing in Hook isn’t rocket science, but it pays to keep things simple. Start with the basics, get your team on board, and don’t let perfect be the enemy of done. You’ll spot issues quickly, and it’s easy enough to tweak as you go.
The best setup is the one your team actually uses. Set it up, watch it work, and don’t be afraid to adjust. Simple is smart.