Lead Routing and Distribution
Automatically route leads to the right sales rep or team based on territory, product interest, company size, or custom criteria. Surface handles routing logic and CRM assignment in real-time.
Routing methods
Round-robin. Distribute leads evenly across a team. Tracks assignments to ensure fair distribution even when reps have different availability.
Territory-based. Route by geography, industry, or account segment. Assign leads from California to the West Coast team, enterprise to senior AEs, etc.
Product or use case. Match leads to specialists based on which product or feature they expressed interest in via form responses.
Account-based. Route leads from existing customer accounts to their current account manager or CSM.
Qualification-based. Send high-score leads directly to sales, medium leads to SDRs for nurture, low leads to marketing automation.
Set up routing rules
Go to Workflows > Lead Routing
Click Create Routing Rule
Define matching criteria (e.g., "Company size is Enterprise" or "Country is United States")
Select the assignment method (specific rep, team queue, or round-robin)
Choose where to create the lead (HubSpot contact, Salesforce lead, etc.)
Set priority order if multiple rules could apply
List rules from most specific to most general. Surface applies the first matching rule, so put niche assignments (VIP accounts, specific industries) at the top.
Configure round-robin
For even distribution across a team:
Create a routing rule with round-robin assignment
Add team members to the rotation
Set working hours and time zones for each rep
Enable "skip if unavailable" to avoid assigning leads outside business hours
Optionally weight distribution (e.g., senior reps get 2x the leads of juniors)
Surface tracks the assignment count for each rep to maintain balance over time, even if some leads are later disqualified or reassigned.
Sync to your CRM
Routing rules automatically create and assign records in your connected CRM:
HubSpot: Creates a contact, assigns it to the specified owner, and optionally sets deal stage or lifecycle status.
Salesforce: Creates a lead or contact (configurable), assigns it to the routed user, and updates fields like lead source and status.
Slack: Sends a notification to the assigned rep's DM or a team channel with lead details.
Configure field mappings in Settings > Integrations to control what data syncs and where.
Handle routing conflicts
When multiple rules match a lead:
Surface applies the first matching rule in your priority order
Use the Test Routing tool to preview which rule applies to sample leads
Set a default/fallback rule at the bottom to catch unmatched leads
Always include a catch-all rule at the end to avoid losing leads that don't match any criteria. Route them to a general queue or default owner.
Monitor routing performance
Check the Routing Dashboard to see:
How many leads each rep received this week/month
Which routing rules are triggering most often
Average time from lead capture to assignment
Unrouted leads that fell through to the default rule
Adjust rules quarterly as your team structure or territory definitions change.
Automated routing reduces lead response time from hours to seconds, improving connect rates by 30-50%.