Automating speed to lead with Default: assign, alert, and escalate inbound leads

Speed to lead is how fast a new inbound lead gets a response from a rep. Lead response time grows when a lead waits for someone to pick an owner, when the rep doesn’t know the lead is theirs, and when nobody notices that the lead was never worked. Default handles the lead distribution side in 1 workflow. A Round-Robin node assigns the lead to an available rep in a queue, Update Record writes that rep as the owner in Salesforce or HubSpot, and Send Slack Message tells the rep with the lead’s details. After a Time Delay, a Match Record node reads the record from your CRM again, and a Multi-Branch node alerts a manager or reassigns the lead when nobody has worked it. This guide covers leads that can’t book a meeting on the form: contact-sales forms, content downloads, free trial signups, and leads created in the CRM. When a lead can book on the form, the fastest path is to show the assigned rep’s calendar right there. See Demo request routing.

Speed to lead at a glance

Step	Node	What it does
1. Start	CRM Record Created or Form Submission	Starts a run when the lead arrives.
2. Enrich	Enrich Data	Adds title, company size, and other details for the rep.
3. Assign	Round-Robin	Picks an available rep from a queue.
4. Own	Update Record, or Create Record for a form	Writes the rep as the CRM owner.
5. Alert	Send Slack Message	Sends the rep a direct message with the lead’s details.
6. Follow up (optional)	Create Activity or Create Engagement, and a sequencing node	Creates a task for the rep and starts a sequence from the rep’s mailbox.
7. Wait	Time Delay	Gives the rep time to respond, for example 15 minutes.
8. Re-check	Match Record	Reads the record from the CRM again.
9. Escalate	Multi-Branch, then Send Slack Message or a second Round-Robin	Alerts a manager, or reassigns the lead, when nobody has worked it.

Choose the trigger

Where the lead starts	Trigger	What changes in the workflow
A record in Salesforce or HubSpot, created by your own forms, a trial signup sync, an import, or a rep	CRM Record Created	The record exists, so Update Record writes the owner. This guide’s main example.
A form Default tracks on your site, such as a contact-sales form or a content download	Form Submission	The workflow checks the CRM and creates the record. See Start from a form.
Your own backend, for example when someone starts a trial	API	Works like Form Submission. See Triggers.

Run each lead through 1 speed-to-lead workflow. A record that a Default workflow creates can also start a CRM Record Created workflow on the same object, so give the CRM trigger a Condition that leaves those records out, for example on Lead Source.

Setup for speed to lead

Requirement	Where	Why
Salesforce or HubSpot connected	Settings → Integrations. See Salesforce and HubSpot.	The trigger, Update Record, and Match Record read and write the CRM.
Each rep mapped to their CRM user	Settings → Users, on the Mappings tab. See Users.	Default converts the assigned rep into a Salesforce User ID or HubSpot Owner ID for the owner field.
Slack connected, and each rep mapped to their Slack User ID	Settings → Integrations, and Settings → Users. See Slack.	Send Slack Message reaches a rep by direct message through this mapping.
A queue whose policy routes Objects	Routing → Queues and Policies. See Queues and Policies.	Round-Robin picks the rep from this queue, and the owner write counts as the rep’s turn.
An enrichment provider or waterfall, optional	Settings → Integrations, and Waterfalls	Enrich Data adds context for the alert. You don’t need an account or API key with the enrichment provider.

Decide who counts as available

When a workflow assigns a lead, the queue’s policy decides which members can win. On the policy’s Availability tab:

Exclude members currently out of office is on by default. Reps with an out-of-office block in Default, or an out-of-office event on their calendar, are skipped. See Out of Office.
Exclude members currently busy is off by default. Turn it on to skip reps who are busy on their calendar when the lead arrives, for example in a meeting.
Pause assignments, in a member’s row menu on the queue, takes a rep out of rotation until you select Resume assignments.

Work hours don’t gate a workflow’s Round-Robin node. A lead that arrives at night goes to a rep right away, and only paused, out-of-office, and, with the toggle on, busy reps are skipped. See Availability.

Build the speed-to-lead workflow

This example assigns every new inbound Salesforce Lead to a rep in a queue named Inbound Reps, messages the rep in Slack, and alerts a sales manager when the Lead’s status hasn’t changed after 15 minutes. HubSpot differences follow the steps.

Add the trigger

In Workflows, create a workflow and add the CRM Record Created trigger. Set CRM to Salesforce and Record to Lead. Add a Condition for inbound leads, for example Lead Source is Web.

Enrich the lead

Add Enrich Data. Set Enrichment target to Both and pick a provider or waterfall in Enrichment source. Leave Email / Domain (optional) empty, and Default uses the Lead’s email from the trigger.

Assign a rep

Add Round-Robin and set Queue to Inbound Reps. The queue’s policy picks an available member, and later nodes get that rep as Latest assigned user.

Write the owner

Add Update Record. Set Platform to Salesforce, Record Type to Lead, and Record to update to the Lead’s record ID from the trigger. Under Fields, add Owner ID and choose Latest assigned user under Round robin. You can write enriched fields here too, such as title or company size.

Alert the rep in Slack

Add Send Slack Message. In Recipients, choose Latest assigned user, so the rep gets a direct message. In Message, type {{ to insert the lead’s name, title, company, lead source, and the company size from Enrich Data, so the rep can act without opening the CRM first.

Add a task and a sequence (optional)

Add Create Activity. Set CRM to Salesforce and Type to Task. Under Fields, map the subject and due date, set OwnerId to Latest assigned user, and set WhoId to the Lead’s record ID from the trigger. Leave Associated record (optional) empty for a Lead, because it fills the task’s WhatId, which Salesforce doesn’t accept for Leads.To start outreach from the rep’s mailbox, add a sequencing node such as Add to Outreach Sequence with Sending mailbox set to Latest assigned user. See Send routed leads to sales sequences.

Wait

Add Time Delay and set it to the time you give a rep to respond, for example 15 minutes.

Read the Lead again

Add Match Record. Set CRM to Salesforce and Record to Lead. Under Match Details, match the Lead’s ID to the record ID from the trigger. Match Record searches Salesforce when it runs, so it sees what the rep changed during the delay.

Escalate leads nobody worked

On the Match branch, add Multi-Branch with a branch named Not worked, where Status from this second Match Record still equals Open - Not Contacted, or the value your team uses for new leads. On Not worked, add Send Slack Message with the sales manager in Recipients, or a channel such as #lead-escalations in Slack channels. Insert the lead’s name and the assigned rep. Leave Else empty, so worked leads end the run.

Test and publish

Set the delay to 1 minute while you test, because a test run waits out the Time Delay too. Select Test, choose the CRM Record Created trigger, fill in the email and record ID of a test Lead, and select Run Test. Then set the delay back, select Publish, and check that the status next to the deployment switch reads Live. A new workflow goes live when you first publish it. If the status reads Paused, turn the switch on.

A test performs real actions. It changes the Lead’s owner, counts the routing assignment, sends the Slack messages, creates the task, and can enroll the Lead in the sequence. Use a test Lead and a test sequence.

The re-check works only when reps change the status on first contact. Check a field that the rep changes and this workflow doesn’t. The owner, for example, is written by the workflow, so it says nothing about whether the rep acted.

Reassign a lead nobody worked

To route the lead again instead of, or after, alerting a manager, continue the Not worked branch:

Add a second Round-Robin with a different queue, for example Inbound Backup. A second Round-Robin on the same queue can pick the same rep again.
Add Update Record that sets Owner ID to Latest assigned user. It now holds the rep from the second Round-Robin.
Add Send Slack Message with Latest assigned user and the manager in Recipients.

Each owner write counts as 1 assignment. The first rep keeps the assignment from the first Round-Robin, and the new rep gets 1 from the backup queue. Both appear in Routing under Assignments, on the Object assignments tab. To take the turn back from the first rep, an admin can give them a Custom calibration of -1. See Calibration. A sequence started earlier keeps the first rep as the sender. Default has no node that removes a person from a sequence, so change it in your sequencing tool.

Start from a form

When the lead comes from a form Default tracks, the workflow creates the CRM record:

Add the Form Submission trigger and set Connected Form to your contact-sales or content form. The form must be approved and mapped first. See Your forms.
Add Match Record for a Salesforce Lead, matching the Lead’s email to the email from the form. On Match, the person already has an owner: add Send Slack Message to the matched Lead’s owner, so a repeat form fill doesn’t change the owner.
On No Match, add Enrich Data and Round-Robin, then Create Record with Platform set to Salesforce and Record Type set to Lead. In Mapped Fields, map the name, email, and company, and set Owner ID to Latest assigned user.
Continue with the Slack alert, the optional task and sequence, Time Delay, and the re-check. A form has no Lead ID of its own, so use the ID from Create Record wherever the steps above use the trigger’s: set the task’s WhoId to it, and match the re-check Match Record on it.

To keep personal email addresses and poor fits away from your reps, add the checks from Qualifying inbound leads before Round-Robin.

Salesforce and HubSpot differences

	Salesforce	HubSpot
Record to watch and re-check	Lead or Contact	Contact
Owner field in Update Record and Create Record	Owner ID	Contact owner
How new records reach Default	Salesforce pushes them to Default.	HubSpot notifies Default through Default’s HubSpot app.
Task node	Create Activity with Type set to Task	Create Engagement with Engagement type set to Task, and Associated record type set to Contact
Re-check match	The record’s ID	The contact’s record ID
Field to check	`Status`, for example `Open - Not Contacted`	`Lead Status`, for example `New`
Sequence sender	The sender field of any sequencing node	Enroll in HubSpot Sequence, with Sending HubSpot user set to Latest assigned user

HubSpot’s Create Record has no Update on conflict, so in a form workflow the Match Record check is also what stops a repeat fill from creating a second contact. For the full routing setup in each CRM, see Salesforce routing and HubSpot routing.

Check that speed to lead works

In the workflow, select Runs. A run waiting in Time Delay shows Suspended. Open a run: the Round-Robin step reads Assigned to and the rep, Show data under Update Record shows the owner it wrote, and the Multi-Branch step shows the status check with TRUE or FALSE. See Run logs.
In Routing, select Assignments, then Object assignments. The row shows the record, the rep, the queue, and the time. Open Source opens the run that made it. See Routing logs.
In your CRM, the record shows the owner, the task, and, after the rep acts, the new status.

Default records the routing side of speed to lead: when the run started, when each node ran, and when the rep was assigned. It doesn’t record when the rep first contacts the lead. That lives in your CRM, in the lead’s status changes and activity history. To count leads nobody worked in time, send the escalation to a dedicated Slack channel, or add Update Record on Not worked to set a field of your own, such as a checkbox, and report on it in your CRM.

Troubleshoot speed to lead

What you see	What to check
The run fails at Round-Robin	Default couldn’t pick a rep, for example because the queue is turned off or every member is paused or out of office. The run log shows the reason. Admins can get a Slack alert for failed runs with the workflow Error Log notification. See Workspace notifications.
The rep is picked, but the CRM owner doesn’t change	Map the rep’s Salesforce User ID or HubSpot Owner ID in Settings → Users.
The rep gets no Slack message	Map the rep’s Slack User ID in Settings → Users. The Send Slack Message step in the run log names recipients without a Slack mapping.
Leads escalate even though the rep called	The rep didn’t change the field the re-check reads. Agree on the field reps update on first contact, or check a different one.
Leads escalate overnight and on weekends	Time Delay counts clock time, and work hours don’t gate Round-Robin. Send escalations to a channel your managers check, or use a longer delay.
1 lead starts 2 runs	A form workflow created the record and a CRM Record Created workflow started too. Add a Condition to the CRM trigger that leaves those records out.
The reassigned lead goes back to the same rep	Reassign from a different queue.

​Speed to lead at a glance

​Choose the trigger

​Setup for speed to lead

​Decide who counts as available

​Build the speed-to-lead workflow

​Reassign a lead nobody worked

​Start from a form

​Salesforce and HubSpot differences

​Check that speed to lead works

​Troubleshoot speed to lead

Speed to lead at a glance

Choose the trigger

Setup for speed to lead

Decide who counts as available

Build the speed-to-lead workflow

Reassign a lead nobody worked

Start from a form

Salesforce and HubSpot differences

Check that speed to lead works

Troubleshoot speed to lead