Inbound triage

Inbound Triage

Overview

Speed kills in inbound. A lead contacted within 5 minutes is 100x more likely to convert than one contacted after 30 minutes. Yet most teams route leads manually, respond in hours, and wonder why inbound doesn't convert.

This skill designs an automated inbound triage system: enrichment on form fill, ICP qualification in seconds, routing to the right rep, and SLAs enforced from moment one. The output is a complete inbound workflow that captures every lead and routes it faster than any human team.

When to Use

• "Set up inbound lead routing"
• "How should we handle demo requests?"
• "Qualify our inbound leads automatically"
• "Build an MQL to SQL handoff process"
• "Speed up our lead response time"
• "Design an inbound qualification workflow"

Authoritative Foundations

Inbound triage follows Winning by Design's SPICED lifecycle model, which maps the full customer journey from first contact through expansion. The inbound stage sits at the critical handoff between marketing (MQLs) and sales (SQLs).

SiriusDecisions' Demand Waterfall framework establishes that clear MQL/SQL definitions with automated routing correlate with 20%+ higher conversion rates and 30%+ faster sales cycles.

Dharmesh Shah (HubSpot) — Engage stage. Inbound triage is the operational Engage leg of the flywheel: speed-to-lead, enrichment on form fill, and fit-based routing (not volume-based MQL inflation). Canonical playbook → references/dharmesh-shah-hubspot-inbound.md · Pattern 27 step 4.

Prerequisites

• ICP defined (what makes a lead qualified)
• CRM system (HubSpot, Salesforce, or Attio)
• Enrichment provider for real-time lead enrichment on form fill
• Lead scoring model (see lead-scoring skill)

Step-by-Step Process

Phase 1: Define Lead Stages

Stage	Definition	Qualification Criteria	Owner
Lead	Any identified contact	Has email, some interest signal	Marketing
MQL	Fits ICP + engaged	Firmographic fit + behavior threshold	Marketing → SDR
SQL	Ready for sales conversation	MQL + explicit buying signal or demo request	Sales
PQL (if PLG)	Used product, upgrade potential	Trial/freemium + usage threshold	Product + Sales
SAL	SQL accepted by rep	Sales confirms qualification	Sales

Phase 2: Build the Triage Workflow

Website visitor intent (company ID): Anonymous visits identified via reverse-IP (website-visitor-identification) feed account-level intent scores. Route to MQL only when ICP + engagement thresholds pass — not on every visit. Person-level visitor alerts use separate guardrails; default path is company ID → SDR research queue. Playbook: website-visitor-identification/references/visitor-identification-playbook.md.

1. Form fill triggers enrichment. Webhook from form (HubSpot, Typeform, custom) fires enrichment on submit. Within 15 seconds, the lead is enriched with firmographic and contact data.

2. ICP filter runs. Enriched data feeds into ICP scoring. Leads that don't fit the ICP get an automated nurture email and are routed to the marketing nurture track.

3. MQL scoring. Leads passing ICP filter are scored on engagement signals: pages visited, content downloaded, demo requested.

4. Routing. MQLs above threshold route to SDR within 15 minutes. Demo requests route directly to AE with calendar hold.

5. SLA enforcement. Track response time, 2nd touch time, 3rd touch time. Alert manager when SLAs are breached.

Phase 3: Speed-to-Lead SLAs

Touch	Target Time	Action
1st touch	<5 minutes	Auto-response with calendar link + qualifying question
2nd touch	<15 minutes	Value drop + booking link
3rd touch	<2 hours	Nudge + social proof
4th touch	Same day	Call + personalized email
5th touch	24 hours	Final attempt before nurture

Phase 4: Exceptions and Escalation

• Enterprise leads (>target ACV): immediate AE assignment, skip SDR
• Partner referrals: warm intro process, founder or AE handles
• Support disguised as sales: route to support, don't waste SDR time
• Competitors/spam: auto-archive, suppress from future routing

Output Format

Inbound triage workflow diagram + SLA document:

# Inbound Triage Workflow

Form Fill → Enrich (15s) → ICP Filter → Score → Route → SLA Enforcement

Routing rules:
- Demo request + ICP fit → AE calendar hold (5 min)
- MQL + score >60 → SDR (15 min)
- MQL + score 40-60 → Nurture track
- Non-ICP → Marketing nurture
- No enrichment data → Manual review queue

SLA dashboard:
- Response time by rep
- MQL→SQL conversion rate
- SQL→Opportunity conversion rate
- Lead leakage (where leads drop out)

Quality Check

• Lead stages defined with clear qualification criteria
• Enrichment completes within 15 seconds of form fill
• SLAs defined and tracked for every touch
• Routing rules documented and automated
• Escalation paths for exceptions
• Weekly SLA review cadence established

Common Pitfalls

1. Manual routing. Every minute of manual routing is a minute the lead waits. A lead contacted in 5 minutes is 100x more likely to convert than one contacted in 30 minutes. Automate routing end-to-end.

2. No enrichment before routing. Routing an unenriched lead means the SDR wastes time researching basic info. Enrich on form fill automatically.

3. Vague stage definitions. When MQL means different things to marketing and sales, leads bounce between teams. Define stages with hard criteria.

4. SLA theater. Defining SLAs without tracking and enforcement means they're aspirational. Automate alerting when SLAs are missed.

5. Over-qualifying inbound. An inbound lead who took the time to fill a form has already self-qualified to some degree. Don't make them jump through more hoops — get them to a human.

Execution Artifacts

• references/framework-notes.md — Named frameworks and reference tables
• templates/output-template.md — Deliverable shell for agent output
• scripts/check-output.py — Lightweight deliverable validator

Related Skills

• website-visitor-identification: Company/person visitor ID → MQL routing
• lead-scoring: Build the scoring model that powers triage decisions
• pipeline-management: Manage leads after they enter the pipeline
• crm-integration: CRM setup for automated routing and enrichment