Commercial Real Estate Lead Routing: Auto-Assign by Territory, Asset, or Deal Size

Commercial real estate teams receive leads from multiple sources: websites, portals, referrals, cold calls, and more. But here's the challenge: not every lead should go to the same person. A $50 million office building inquiry needs a different agent than a $500K retail space. A lead in downtown needs a different territory specialist than a suburban lead. Faster response times dramatically improve conversion, making automated routing essential.

Manual lead routing means delays, missed opportunities, and leads falling through the cracks. The solution? Automate lead routing based on rules: territory, asset type, deal size, or any other criteria that matters to your team.

The Commercial Real Estate Lead Routing Challenge

Commercial real estate is different from residential in several ways that make lead routing critical:

1. Specialization Matters

Commercial agents often specialize in:

• Asset types: Office, retail, industrial, multifamily, land
• Territories: Downtown, suburbs, specific neighborhoods or cities
• Deal sizes: Small deals ($100K-$1M), mid-market ($1M-$10M), large deals ($10M+)
• Transaction types: Leasing, sales, development

A lead for a 10,000 sq ft office space downtown shouldn't go to an agent who specializes in suburban retail. A $20 million industrial sale shouldn't go to someone who handles $500K deals.

2. Response Time is Critical

Commercial prospects move fast. If you don't respond within hours (or even minutes), they'll move on to the next broker. But if leads sit in a shared inbox waiting for manual assignment, response times suffer.

3. Team Collaboration is Essential

Commercial deals often involve multiple team members:

• Lead agent (primary contact)
• Specialists (financing, legal, due diligence)
• Support staff (research, marketing, admin)

The right lead needs to go to the right person at the right time.

4. Compliance and Auditability

Commercial real estate requires detailed record-keeping:

• Who handled which lead?
• When was the lead assigned?
• What was the response time?
• What was the outcome?

Manual routing makes this hard to track. Automated routing creates an audit trail automatically.

How Automated Lead Routing Works

Here's the complete flow:

1. Lead arrives (email, form, portal) → 2. System parses lead information → 3. Applies routing rules → 4. Assigns to agent → 5. Notifies agent → 6. Logs assignment → 7. Tracks response time

Step 1: Lead Arrives

Leads can come from multiple sources:

• Website contact forms: "Interested in leasing 5,000 sq ft office space"
• Email inquiries: Direct emails to your team
• Portals: LoopNet, CoStar, Crexi inquiries
• Referrals: Partner referrals, client referrals
• Cold outreach: Responses to your marketing campaigns

All leads end up in your shared inbox or lead management system.

Step 2: System Parses Lead Information

The automation system extracts key information from the lead:

• Property interest: Address, property type, size
• Deal details: Lease vs sale, square footage, budget
• Location: City, neighborhood, territory
• Contact information: Name, email, phone, company
• Timeline: Urgency, move-in date, closing date
• Source: Where the lead came from

AI-powered parsing: The system uses AI to understand context, even if the information isn't perfectly structured. For example, it can identify "downtown office space" from a free-form message.

Step 3: Apply Routing Rules

The system applies your routing rules to determine who should handle the lead:

Rule examples:

• If property is in "Downtown" territory → Route to Agent A
• If asset type is "Industrial" and deal size > $5M → Route to Agent B
• If deal size < $500K → Route to Agent C
• If source is "Referral" → Route to Agent D
• If no match → Route to default agent or round-robin

Rule priority: Rules are evaluated in order. The first matching rule wins.

Step 4: Assign to Agent

The system assigns the lead to the appropriate agent:

• Creates a task or ticket in your system
• Adds the lead to the agent's pipeline
• Logs the assignment with timestamp

Step 5: Notify Agent

The agent receives a notification:

• Email notification: "New lead assigned: 10,000 sq ft office space downtown"
• In-app notification: Alert in your CRM or lead management system
• SMS (optional): For urgent leads or after-hours

Notification includes:

• Lead summary
• Why they were assigned (which rule matched)
• Key information (property, deal size, contact info)
• Link to view full lead details

Step 6: Log Assignment

Everything is logged for compliance and reporting:

• Lead source
• Assignment timestamp
• Assigned agent
• Routing rule that matched
• Lead information

Step 7: Track Response Time

The system tracks:

• Time from lead arrival to assignment
• Time from assignment to first response
• Time from first response to next action

This helps you measure routing efficiency and agent performance.

Routing Rule Types

1. Territory-Based Routing

Route leads based on geographic location:

Example rules:

• Downtown (zip codes 10001-10010) → Agent A
• Brooklyn (zip codes 11201-11256) → Agent B
• Queens (zip codes 11101-11697) → Agent C
• Outside NYC → Agent D

Use cases:

• Agents specialize in specific neighborhoods
• Local market knowledge matters
• Compliance with territorial agreements

Implementation:

• Extract address or zip code from lead
• Match against territory definitions
• Route to assigned agent

2. Asset Type Routing

Route leads based on property type:

Example rules:

• Office → Office leasing team
• Retail → Retail specialists
• Industrial → Industrial team
• Multifamily → Multifamily team
• Land → Land development team

Use cases:

• Agents specialize in specific asset types
• Different expertise required (office leasing vs industrial sales)
• Compliance with asset-specific regulations

Implementation:

• Extract property type from lead (keywords, form fields, AI analysis)
• Match against asset type definitions
• Route to specialized team

3. Deal Size Routing

Route leads based on transaction value:

Example rules:

• Deal size < $500K → Junior agents or support team
• Deal size $500K-$5M → Mid-market team
• Deal size $5M-$20M → Senior agents
• Deal size > $20M → Principal or executive team

Use cases:

• Different agents handle different deal sizes
• Experience level matters
• Commission structures vary by deal size

Implementation:

• Extract budget or deal size from lead (explicit or inferred)
• Match against deal size thresholds
• Route to appropriate team

4. Source-Based Routing

Route leads based on where they came from:

Example rules:

• Website form → General team
• LoopNet → LoopNet specialist
• Referral → Referral coordinator
• Cold email → Business development team

Use cases:

• Different sources require different handling
• Referral relationships need special attention
• Portal leads need quick response

Implementation:

• Identify lead source (email domain, form field, tracking parameter)
• Match against source definitions
• Route to assigned handler

5. Urgency-Based Routing

Route leads based on timeline or urgency:

Example rules:

• Move-in date < 30 days → Urgent team
• Move-in date 30-90 days → Standard team
• Move-in date > 90 days → Nurture team

Use cases:

• Urgent leads need immediate attention
• Long-term leads can be nurtured
• Different follow-up cadences

Implementation:

• Extract timeline from lead (move-in date, closing date, urgency indicators)
• Match against urgency thresholds
• Route to appropriate team

6. Round-Robin Routing

Distribute leads evenly across agents:

Example rules:

• Office leads → Round-robin among office team (5 agents)
• Retail leads → Round-robin among retail team (3 agents)

Use cases:

• Fair distribution of leads
• No specialization required
• Load balancing

Implementation:

• Track which agent received the last lead of this type
• Assign to next agent in rotation
• Reset rotation periodically

7. Skill-Based Routing

Route leads based on agent expertise:

Example rules:

• "Medical office" keywords → Agent with medical real estate experience
• "Restaurant" keywords → Agent with restaurant leasing experience
• "Warehouse" keywords → Agent with industrial expertise

Use cases:

• Agents have specialized knowledge
• Complex deals need specific expertise
• Better conversion with right expertise

Implementation:

• Analyze lead content for keywords or topics
• Match against agent skill profiles
• Route to most qualified agent

Setting Up Automated Lead Routing

Step 1: Define Your Routing Rules

Start by documenting your current manual routing process:

1. List your agents/teams: Who handles leads?
2. Identify specializations: What does each agent/team specialize in?
3. Document current routing logic: How do you currently decide who gets which lead?
4. Identify pain points: Where does manual routing break down?

Example routing matrix:

Territory	Asset Type	Deal Size	Assigned Agent
Downtown	Office	< $1M	Agent A
Downtown	Office	$1M-$10M	Agent B
Downtown	Office	> $10M	Agent C
Brooklyn	Retail	Any	Agent D
Queens	Industrial	Any	Agent E

Step 2: Configure Routing Rules in Your System

Set up routing rules based on your matrix:

Rule configuration:

• Condition: What criteria must be met? (e.g., "Territory = Downtown AND Asset Type = Office AND Deal Size < $1M")
• Action: What should happen? (e.g., "Assign to Agent A")
• Priority: What order should rules be evaluated? (e.g., "Rule 1, then Rule 2, then Rule 3")
• Fallback: What if no rules match? (e.g., "Assign to default agent or round-robin")

Testing: Test each rule with sample leads to ensure they work correctly.

Step 3: Set Up Lead Parsing

Configure how the system extracts information from leads:

• Email parsing: Extract information from email content
• Form parsing: Extract information from form submissions
• Portal parsing: Extract information from portal notifications
• AI analysis: Use AI to understand context and extract implicit information

Key fields to extract:

• Property address or location
• Property type or asset class
• Square footage or size
• Budget or deal size
• Timeline or urgency
• Contact information

Step 4: Configure Notifications

Set up how agents are notified of new assignments:

• Email notifications: Send email when lead is assigned
• In-app notifications: Show alert in your CRM or system
• SMS notifications: Send text for urgent leads
• Slack/Teams integration: Post to team channel

Notification content:

• Lead summary
• Why they were assigned
• Key information
• Link to view full details

Step 5: Set Up Response Time Tracking

Configure tracking to measure routing efficiency:

• Time to assignment: How long from lead arrival to assignment?
• Time to first response: How long from assignment to first contact?
• SLA tracking: Are you meeting your response time goals?

SLA examples:

• Urgent leads: Response within 1 hour
• Standard leads: Response within 4 hours
• Nurture leads: Response within 24 hours

Step 6: Test and Iterate

Test your routing rules with real leads:

1. Monitor assignments: Are leads going to the right people?
2. Check response times: Are agents responding quickly enough?
3. Gather feedback: What do agents think about the routing?
4. Adjust rules: Refine based on what you learn

Best Practices for Commercial Real Estate Lead Routing

1. Start Simple, Then Add Complexity

Don't try to build the perfect routing system on day one. Start with 2-3 simple rules, then add more as you learn what works.

Example progression:

• Week 1: Route by territory only
• Week 2: Add asset type routing
• Week 3: Add deal size routing
• Week 4: Add urgency-based routing

2. Always Have a Fallback

Not every lead will match your rules perfectly. Always have a default:

• Assign to a general team member
• Use round-robin among available agents
• Flag for manual review

3. Review and Adjust Regularly

Routing rules aren't set in stone. Review them regularly:

• Weekly: Check if rules are working as expected
• Monthly: Analyze which rules generate the best outcomes
• Quarterly: Adjust based on team changes, market changes, or performance data

4. Track What Works

Measure routing effectiveness:

• Assignment accuracy: Are leads going to the right people?
• Response times: Are agents responding quickly?
• Conversion rates: Which routing rules generate the best outcomes?
• Agent satisfaction: Do agents feel leads are distributed fairly?

5. Maintain Audit Trails

Commercial real estate requires detailed record-keeping. Your routing system should log:

• When each lead was received
• Which rules were evaluated
• Why each lead was assigned
• Who handled each lead
• Response times and outcomes

6. Handle Edge Cases

Not every lead fits neatly into a rule. Plan for:

• Ambiguous information: What if you can't determine territory or asset type?
• Multiple matches: What if a lead matches multiple rules?
• Agent unavailability: What if the assigned agent is out of office?
• Lead escalation: What if a lead needs to be reassigned?

Measuring Routing Success

Track these metrics to measure your routing system's effectiveness:

Assignment Metrics

• Assignment accuracy: Percentage of leads assigned to the correct agent (based on your criteria)
• Time to assignment: Average time from lead arrival to assignment
• Fallback rate: Percentage of leads that don't match any rule (need manual assignment)

Response Metrics

• Time to first response: Average time from assignment to first contact
• SLA compliance: Percentage of leads that meet response time goals
• Response rate: Percentage of leads that receive a response

Conversion Metrics

• Tour booking rate: Percentage of leads that book tours
• Deal closing rate: Percentage of leads that close deals
• Conversion by routing rule: Which rules generate the best outcomes?

Team Metrics

• Lead distribution: Are leads distributed fairly across agents?
• Agent workload: Are some agents overloaded while others are underutilized?
• Agent satisfaction: Do agents feel the routing is fair and effective?

Common Challenges and Solutions

Challenge 1: Incomplete Lead Information

Some leads don't provide all the information you need to route them (e.g., no address, no property type, no budget).

Solution:

• Use AI to infer information from context
• Ask for missing information in an automated response
• Route to a general team member who can qualify the lead
• Flag for manual review if critical information is missing

Challenge 2: Overlapping Territories or Specializations

Sometimes a lead could match multiple agents (e.g., downtown office that's also a large deal).

Solution:

• Set rule priority (e.g., deal size takes precedence over territory)
• Use "AND" conditions to be more specific (e.g., "Downtown AND Office AND > $5M")
• Route to the most senior or experienced agent
• Notify multiple agents and let them coordinate

Challenge 3: Agent Availability

What if the assigned agent is out of office, on vacation, or at capacity?

Solution:

• Check agent availability before assigning
• Route to backup agent if primary is unavailable
• Use round-robin among available agents
• Escalate to team lead if no one is available

Challenge 4: Changing Rules

Your routing rules will change as your team grows, specializations shift, or market conditions change.

Solution:

• Make rules easy to update (no code changes required)
• Version control your rules (track changes over time)
• Test rule changes before deploying
• Communicate changes to your team

Getting Started

Ready to automate your commercial real estate lead routing? Here's how to start:

1. Document your current process: How do you currently route leads? What works? What doesn't?

2. Define your routing rules: What criteria matter? Territory? Asset type? Deal size? Source?

3. Choose your automation tool: Look for solutions that support flexible routing rules and integrate with your existing tools.

4. Set up lead parsing: Configure how the system extracts information from leads (email, forms, portals).

5. Configure routing rules: Start with 2-3 simple rules, then add more as you learn.

6. Set up notifications: Ensure agents are notified promptly when leads are assigned.

7. Test with real leads: Monitor assignments and adjust rules based on what you learn.

8. Track metrics: Measure assignment accuracy, response times, and conversion rates.

9. Iterate: Refine your rules based on performance data and team feedback.

Compare ROI across different lead sources with our lead source calculator.

The Bottom Line

Commercial real estate lead routing is critical for success. Manual routing means delays, missed opportunities, and leads falling through the cracks. Automated routing ensures every lead goes to the right person at the right time, with full auditability and faster response times.

The key is starting simple and iterating. Don't try to build the perfect system on day one. Start with basic rules, learn what works, and add complexity over time. The best routing system is one that your team actually uses and that generates better outcomes than manual routing.

Learn more about Propel's lead routing automation. For Outlook users, see our Outlook integration guide which includes routing capabilities. Learn more about getting started with Propel.