Automated Lead Assignment

There are two main ways to do automated lead assignments in Close. Both of these use our third-party partner Zapier:

1. Round-Robin Lead Assignment - automatically assign new leads to a specified list of your users in Close, one at a time in a circular (round-robin) fashion - the process is described below
2. Random Lead Assignment - randomly assign leads to Close users - the process is described here

Round Robin Lead Assignment

Before setting up this automatic round-robin lead assignment via Zapier, you should be familiar with how lead assignment works in Close, using dynamic and static assignments.

What you'll need

To set up this zap, you'll need to have the following:

• A Zapier account;
• Close API key - available at Settings > API Keys.

How does it work?

Round-robin lead assignment will enable you to automatically assign new leads to a specified list of users in Close, one at a time. If you have two users, round-robin simply means that it will assign the first lead to the first user, the second lead to the second user, the third lead to the first user, etc., in a circular fashion.

This Zap will automate the following process:

• A new lead enters your system;
• Based on a list of users you provide, select the following user that is due to be assigned a lead and update a custom field in Close - effectively assigning that lead to that user.

Setting up the Zap

Instead of creating this Zap from scratch, we have a pre-built template for you. All you need to do is fill in a few things, and you'll be up and running.

Use the template

Click the button below to create a Zap based on our template:

Round-robin lead assignment

Use this Zap

Step 1 - New Lead in Close

Choose Account

The first thing you need to do is authorize Zapier to access your Close account - just click on the Sign in to Close and follow the steps in Zapier to authorize your account.

Choosing Close account in Zapier

Optional: Customize Lead

Optionally, you can pick a single lead status from the Status ID dropdown on the trigger step to only assign leads created in that status. If you leave that field empty, you will assign leads regardless of the status that they are created.

Customizing Lead status in Zapier

Step 2 - Run Python

Choose App & Event

Click on Continue on the preset options (Code by Zapier - Run Python). These do not need to change.

Run Python step in Zapier

Customize Run Python

Now, you should see a list of fields on the top of the page that needs to be filled in on the right side. This is where you'll enter all of the information for your lead assignment. The fields you'll need to enter are:

• users - A list of Close users you want to be assigned to leads, separated by a comma. Make sure that each name matches the name of their Close user exactly;
• api_key - Your Close API Key that is available in Close under Settings > API Keys;
• lead_owner_custom_field_name - The name of your lead assignment custom field in Close. If you use a custom field named "Lead Owner" in Close to assign leads, you will enter "Lead Owner" in that field;
• storage_key - go to this Random Generator Tool and copy the Your Version 4 UUID you get on the top and paste in Zapier, an example would be 8dc32ee7-4b15-40b1-ba7c-2a7f711bc693.

You can leave the lead_id field as is since it's already filled in.

Fields that need to be filled in

Once you're done, you should have something that looks like this:

Fields filled in with sample data

Once you're done, click Continue > Test & Continue, and turn the Zap on.

Step 3(Optional) - Notifying Users

Depending on your workflow, you may want to notify users that a new lead has been assigned to them.  The most effective way to do this is to use the "Create Task in Zapier" step. This will have a task pop up in the assigned user's Close Inbox.  
Make sure to assign the task to the lead owner field passed on from step 2 above. See the fields to pay extra attention to highlighted below:


You are all set! 

Once the Zap turns on, your round-robin lead assignment is up and running!

Turn Zap on screen