Pipeline Routing Rules

When multiple pipelines exist, deals must be routed to the correct one at creation. Misrouted deals corrupt conversion rates for every pipeline they touch. Routing rules are the traffic system that ensures deals enter the right pipeline automatically, based on attributes known at deal creation — not based on a rep choosing from a dropdown and occasionally getting it wrong.

1. Attribute-Based Routing Route based on deal attributes: company size routes SMB deals to the SMB pipeline and enterprise deals to the enterprise pipeline. Source routes inbound leads to the inbound pipeline and outbound prospects to the outbound pipeline. Customer status routes existing customers to the expansion pipeline and new logos to the new business pipeline.
2. Override Workflow Routing rules will occasionally be wrong — a small company with enterprise buying behavior, an inbound lead that needs outbound treatment. Build an override workflow where a manager can reroute a deal with documentation of why. Track overrides as data — frequent overrides to the same pipeline indicate a routing rule that needs updating.
3. Routing Audit Monthly, audit a random sample of 20 deals per pipeline to verify they are in the correct pipeline. Compare the deal attributes against the routing rules. Misrouted deals indicate either bad routing rules or bad data on the routing attributes. Fix both.