Assign new contacts automatically with territory rules

How the rules work

• Active rules are checked in ascending Order number, and the first rule that matches decides the owner.
• A rule matches on Lifecycle stages and on UTM source. An empty criterion means any value, and a new contact starts at the Lead stage by default.
• A rule with no criteria is labelled catch-all, so put it last to pick up whatever the rules above it miss.
• Rules never change the owner of a contact that is created with one: web-form submissions, for example, go to the form's owner, and manual assignment stands.

Create a rule

1. 1

   Open Territories

   Go to Settings → Team & Access → People → Territories. Editing is for admins.

2. 2

   Add a territory

   Click Add territory and enter a clear name, the order number and an optional description.

3. 3

   Set the match criteria

   Under Lifecycle stages pick the stages, or leave it empty to match any stage. The UTM source (comma-separated) field accepts values such as google, snapchat, but read the caution under the example below before you use it.

4. 4

   Choose the assignee

   Pick a specific user, or a team to rotate new contacts among its members (round-robin).

5. 5

   Activate and save

   Keep the rule Active and save. You can pause it later without deleting it.

Example rule order

With this order, most unowned contacts, such as imported rows with no owner column, rotate across the inside team, because they start at Lead. Rule 10 picks up contacts created with SQL already set, and the manager receives everything else instead of it sitting unowned.

Limits to know

• Matching on country, and previewing a rule's result before activating it, are available only through the API, not on the screen. Editing a rule on the screen drops a country criterion set through the API.
• Rules run when a contact is created; they do not redistribute existing contacts.

For the full picture of qualifying and following up leads, see lead management.

Questions