How Kantata optimized lead list uploads and assignments from days to hours with Complete Leads
Highlights
- Saved Marketing Ops weeks of manual processing time by automating complex lead-to-account matching and territory assignments
- Improved lead distribution precision by evaluating standard objects like leads and accounts, and custom Salesforce objects for comprehensive matching
- Reduced response times from days to hours by automating event-generated leads importing and processing
Overview
Kantata takes professional services automation to a new level, giving people-powered businesses the clarity, control, and confidence they need to optimize resource planning and elevate operational performance. Its purpose-built cloud software is helping over 1,500 professional services organizations in more than 100 countries focus on and optimize their most important asset: their people.
By leveraging the Kantata Professional Services Cloud, professionals gain access to the information and tools they need to win more business, ensure the right people are always available at the right time, and delight clients with project delivery and outcomes.
The Challenge
Manual lead-to-account matching created inefficiencies and errors
Initially, Kantata had a four-person team handling all inbound inquiries through a simple round-robin system. This approach worked for a smaller team but lacked the sophistication needed for larger operations.
When Kantata merged their inbound and outbound teams into a 20-person team, the existing round-robin system proved inadequate. This unified team had distinct territories, with each member’s territory varying by industry, company size, and geographic location. Salesforce’s out-of-the-box lead assignment rules couldn’t evaluate all the necessary variables to make accurate lead distributions.
To overcome this limitation, reps had to manually search for account records, open opportunities, and existing account ownership in Salesforce — every time a lead came in. This process was time-consuming and error-prone, causing delays in lead distribution and preventing the team from quickly responding to new opportunities.
Reps had to do manual checks every time they got a lead. It’s human, which means there’s going to be errors in the process.
Bobby Nunez, Marketing Operations Manager at Kantata
Lengthy post-event follow-up delayed response times
Distributing leads from list uploads, like those generated from event sponsorships and webinars, was a laborious and time-intensive process.
The process involved relying on BDR managers to identify the correct owner — an activity that typically took several days. This lengthy procedure hindered reps’ ability to respond quickly to new leads and delayed follow-up.
We had BDR Managers reading through excel spreadsheets and doing lead distribution one by one.
Bobby Nunez, Marketing Operations Manager at Kantata
The Solution
Any-object matching improved assignment accuracy
Unlike lead assignment rules in Salesforce, Complete Leads matches leads to any object.
Now when a lead enters Salesforce, Complete Leads references data on both standard and custom objects to determine the most accurate assignment. For example, Complete Leads can:
- Match leads to other leads to prevent duplicates;
- Match leads to accounts to check for open opportunities and existing relationships; and
- Match leads to custom territory objects related to the account to determine the correct territory and sales rep for assignment.
This ensures that leads are always clean and assigned to the right owner for follow up.
What we liked about Complete Leads is that it can look at both the lead object and across to others objects so you can utilize multiple pieces of data in Salesforce to make distribution decisions.
Bobby Nunez, Marketing Operations Manager at Kantata
Streamlining post-event lead processing for faster responses
Traction Complete transformed the process from 3-4 days to 3 hours.
Bobby Nunez, Marketing Operations Manager at Kantata
Complete Lead’s automatic matching capabilities and comprehensive assignment rules allowed Kantata to automatically clean, match, dedupe, and assign records from list uploads. This automation reduced Kantata’s lead processing time from several days to just a few hours.
Complete Leads also enabled Kantata to run Salesforce reports by account name to ensure that no two reps received the same account, further improving lead distribution accuracy and reducing the potential for rep conflict.
Ensuring fair and efficient lead distribution with detailed reporting
Everyone wants to ensure team members are getting fair lead distribution…and Complete Leads made it really easy.
Bobby Nunez, Marketing Operations Manager at Kantata
Complete Leads provided Kantata with valuable insights for territory planning and fair lead distribution. By pulling monthly history log reports looking at how Compete Leads distributed leads, the team could quickly identify where leads came from.
For example, reporting showed how many leads were generated per segment. This insight was crucial for ensuring that each BDR received their fair share of leads. If one rep had significantly more leads than another, the reports could help identify if territories needed to be adjusted or marketing spend needed to be increased in a specific segment.
The Final Word
Complete Leads empowered Kantata to automate and optimize their lead-to-account matching and territory assignments, cutting processing times from days to just hours. With improved lead distribution precision and automatic matching across both standard and custom objects, the team reduced manual effort, eliminated errors, and responded to leads faster than ever before. This allowed Kantata to save valuable time, improve assignment accuracy, and ensure fair distribution for their growing team.
