How to set lead assignment rules for a dealership
Most late leads are not late because nobody cared. They are late because nobody was sure whose lead it was. A clear assignment rule removes the pause, and a fallback rule catches the lead when its owner is busy. This guide covers the common methods and the rules that matter more than the method.
Why assignment matters
The clock on an online lead starts when it arrives, not when someone notices it. Every minute spent deciding who takes it is a minute the shopper is talking to another store. A fixed rule also ends the arguments about who got the good leads.
The common methods
- Round robin
- Each salesperson takes the next lead in turn. Simple and easy to explain, but it ignores who is already busy.
- Balanced by workload
- The lead goes to whoever has the fewest open leads right now. It evens out the day and rewards finishing work.
- By source
- Leads from one source go to one person or team, for example the internet desk takes everything from AutoTrader.
- By vehicle, brand or department
- A used truck enquiry goes to the truck specialist, and a new-car enquiry to the new-car team.
- By language or location
- A shopper who writes in French goes to a French-speaking salesperson. A store with two lots sends a lead to the nearer one.
- Everyone sees everything
- Fast to set up and bad in practice: the first person to click wins, and the rest stop looking.
Many stores combine two: for example, by source first, then balanced by workload within that team.
Rules that matter more than the method
- A fallback timer: if the owner has not replied within a set time, the lead moves to someone else or to a manager.
- Who is on shift: leads should not go to someone who is off today.
- Vacation and sick days: decide in advance who covers, so a lead does not sit with an absent owner.
- Evenings and weekends: name the person who sees the first reply, and when it must go out.
- Leads from people who are already customers: send them to the salesperson they know, not the next in line.
- A manager override: a person who can reassign, with the change recorded.
Fairness and pay
Salespeople watch lead distribution closely because it affects their pay. Tell the team the rule, apply it without exceptions and show the counts. A visible, boring rule causes fewer problems than a clever one nobody understands.
If your plan pays a volume bonus, check that the lead rule does not make the bonus easier for some salespeople than others. Our commission calculator shows how a plan pays at different volumes.
Check that the rules work
- Send five test leads from different sources and see who gets each.
- Each week, count leads per salesperson and compare with the plan.
- Each week, list the leads that were late and whose they were. Patterns show up quickly.
- Change one rule at a time, so you know which change helped.
Where DealerStation fits
In DealerStation, new leads from AutoTrader, CarGurus, Kijiji, Facebook and your website are assigned by the rule your store chooses, including a balanced option, or by hand. Every lead shows who owns it and how long it has been waiting, and a late lead turns red for the manager.