7 Methods of Lead Distribution in the Sales Department

There are thousands of articles about the faster you respond to incoming interest, the greater the percentage of conversion of calls to sales. Remember the main figures: the probability of selling in the first minute after requesting is 60% higher than in the second minute and 75% higher than in the third. Most authors only write about the need to react quickly and explain why. We want to help you achieve this result. Therefore, we are happy to share the TOP 7 most effective methods for distributing leads among your sales managers.

We underline that some methods work only under certain conditions. For example, using the “I’m the King” method with a sales department of more than 4 people and a good flow of leads is deadly for your business.

I. Classical methods, or manual. *

1. The “I’m the king” Method 

The name speaks for itself. Here the leader decides who receives this or that lead. It is clear that in this case, the personal relationships and preferences of the leader influence a lot. The leader can easily manipulate, for example, “make me coffee, and you get a good lead”. Therefore, this method is ideal for honest and responsible leaders. We sincerely believe that they exist;) But even a perfect leader can get sick, go on vacation, or take a day off. And then the main disadvantage appears: without this person, the distribution does not work anymore! The process is slowed down, leads are not processed, potential customers are waiting and cooling down, and managers are drinking coffee during a smoke break.

2. The “Democratic” Method 

All leads are added to the common list, and managers sort them out themselves. It is suitable for highly motivated employees. Cons are clearly explained by phrases “first come, first served” and “grubby hands, envious eyes.” In other words, one manager can get a lot of leads and not have time to process them. And the second will sit idle at this time.

* You can start with them, especially if you don’t have a CRM yet, but you will come to one of the following methods sooner or later.

II. Automatic, or “thank you CRM” **

3. The “Queue” Method

They also say about it: “The power of friendship is justice”. It implies the distribution of leads among managers by making a queue. Everyone is happy, no one fights for customers, and there are no conflict situations, for example: “you got a good lead, but I didn’t” or: “you have more bonuses, because the leads are better”. All managers understand that CRM distributes leads in a strictly specified sequence without analyzing their quality in any way. And sooner or later, a “hot” client will fall on everyone. Here luck and the theory of probability work;). The cons are the need to exclude the manager from the “queue” if they are not at the workplace. But it is done in 2 clicks in the CRM.

4. The “To each his own” Method 

Imagine the situation: the company offers consultations on building a sales department, project management, and finance. It employs 10 sales managers. What is the probability that ALL managers will perfectly advise a potential client on each of these services? Almost zero. In these cases, it is better to divide the sales department by specialization (in this situation, there are 3 of them). Then the lead immediately gets to a specialist competent in their question. The probability of a successful transaction increases as much as possible. The “To each his own” method is ideal for companies with a division of the sales department into specializations. Leads are distributed first by directions and then by queue within a particular group of managers.

Cons: Leads must immediately be qualified in a particular specialization.

** We recommend using such methods in sales departments of 4 people or more.

III. Advanced ***

5. The “Squirrel in the wheel” Method

All previous methods considered only justice and equality between managers. But you still need to consider luck and work speed. “Squirrel in a wheel” takes into account everything at once;). Leads are distributed depending on the current load of managers.

Example: You have a rule in CRM that leads are distributed only among managers with less than 10 relevant deals in their work. And now, a new lead appears. The next in line is Vasya. But now he has 10 open deals. There may be several reasons. Or he is really actively working and loaded on all deals, so he does not have time to process a new lead. Or we have irrelevant data about him in the CRM. Then the lack of new leads will be a suitable punishment for him. In any of these cases, the new lead will be transferred not to Vasya but to the next manager in line.

6. Method “Guardian of the order”

It considers the quality of CRM system maintenance. It is especially relevant for companies that have just implemented a CRM system and want to quickly teach managers to work with it correctly. With this method, managers are automatically excluded from the queue if the percentage of empty fields in the cards exceeds the norm, for example, more than 30%. And the last method. Perhaps the most difficult, but the most productive at the same time.

7. The “Workaholic” method 

The main principle is that good work should be rewarded. Each manager in the company has an individual rating. It is determined by the indicators important specifically for your company. We recommend calculating the rating based on such indicators as total sales of the manager, the conversion of their transactions, the number of calls/meetings, etc. I think you’ve already guessed that in the “Workaholic” method, leads are distributed in proportion to the manager’s overall rating across all metrics. The higher the quality of work, the more leads. If you want more clients, improve your competencies and work more efficiently!

*** These methods are relevant for sales teams of 15+ people.

It seems that we have described all the most interesting and popular methods. With CRM, you can implement any of these options, but don’t come up with too sophisticated rules. Remember the ultimate goal: a potential client should receive the fastest and most qualified response to their request. And if your super cool method complicates the work of managers, change it to an elementary but effective one!