Direct Enrollment vs. Rotation

Choose the right mailbox assignment strategy for your use case: direct assignment to a specific mailbox or rotation across multiple team members.

The Two Approaches

When to Use Direct Assignment

Single Owner Workflows

Use Case: One person owns all leads from a specific source

Examples:

• Enterprise demo requests → Assigned to Senior Sales Rep
• Partner referrals → Assigned to Partner Manager
• Executive contacts → Assigned to VP of Sales
• Renewal reminders → Assigned to Account Manager

Personal or Custom Sequences

Use Case: Sequence is customized for a specific rep

Examples:

• Sequences that reference the rep's personal calendar link
• Sequences with personalized video (Loom/Vidyard)
• Sequences for a specific territory or vertical
• Executive outreach with personal introductions

Low Volume Workflows

Use Case: Not many contacts trigger this workflow

Why Direct Works:

• No need to distribute 5 leads per month across a team
• Easier to track and manage
• Less complexity in setup

Rule of thumb: If you expect less than 20-30 enrollments per month, direct assignment is probably fine.

Testing and Development

Use Case: Testing new workflows or sequences

Why Direct Works:

• Send test enrollments to your own inbox
• Easier to verify enrollment is working
• No risk of bothering other team members

When to Use Inbox Rotation

High Volume Lead Distribution

Use Case: Many leads need to be distributed fairly across a team

Examples:

• Inbound demo requests (100+ per month)
• Trial signups
• Contact form submissions
• Lead magnet downloads

Why Rotation Works:

• No single rep gets overwhelmed
• Fair distribution of opportunities
• Spreads workload evenly

Team Sequences

Use Case: Generic sequence that any team member can send

Examples:

• Standard product demo follow-up
• General nurture sequences
• Event follow-up templates
• Re-engagement campaigns

Workload Balancing

Use Case: Ensure no rep is overloaded or underutilized

Rotation Strategy:

• Equal Distribution: Everyone gets the same number of leads
• Custom Distribution: Weight distribution by capacity (e.g., Senior rep gets 40%, two junior reps get 30% each)

Coverage and Redundancy

Use Case: Ensure leads are always handled even if someone is out

Why Rotation Works:

• If one rep is on vacation, others still get leads
• No single point of failure
• Business continuity

Territory or Round-Robin Distribution

Use Case: Distribute leads geographically or by industry

Strategy:

1. Create multiple rotations (one per territory/industry)
2. Use workflow branches to route to the right rotation
3. Each rotation distributes among reps in that segment

Example:

• Rotation A: "West Coast Sales Team" (3 reps)
• Rotation B: "East Coast Sales Team" (4 reps)
• Workflow branches based on contact's state/region

Direct vs. Rotation Comparison

Decision Framework: How to Choose

Ask Yourself These Questions:

How to Implement Each Approach

Implementing Direct Assignment

1. Go to HubSpot workflows
2. Create or edit a workflow
3. Add the AutoSeq action
4. In the "Mailbox" dropdown, select a specific mailbox (e.g., "john@company.com - John Smith")
5. Save and activate workflow

That's it! All enrollments will use that mailbox.

Implementing Inbox Rotation

1. In AutoSeq: Create rotation strategy
   • Go to "Rotations" in sidebar
   • Click "Create Rotation"
   • Give it a name (e.g., "Inbound Demo Team")
   • Select mailboxes to include
   • Choose distribution method (equal or custom percentages)
   • Set rotation period (daily, weekly, monthly, lifetime)
   • Save rotation
2. In HubSpot: Use rotation in workflow
   • Create or edit workflow
   • Add AutoSeq action
   • In "Mailbox" dropdown, select your rotation (shows as "🔄 [Rotation Name]")
   • Save and activate workflow

Result: Enrollments are automatically distributed according to your rotation strategy.

Mixing Both Approaches

You can use both strategies in the same workspace:

Example Setup

Workflow 1: Inbound Demo Requests

• Uses rotation: "Sales Team Round Robin"
• Distributes evenly across 5 reps

Workflow 2: Enterprise Contacts (>$10M revenue)

• Uses direct assignment: sarah@company.com (Enterprise AE)
• All go to one person

Workflow 3: Partner Referrals

• Uses direct assignment: mike@company.com (Partner Manager)
• Specialized handling

Switching Between Direct and Rotation

From Direct → Rotation

Scenario: You started with direct assignment to one rep, but volume has grown and you want to distribute across a team.

Steps:

1. In AutoSeq, create a new rotation strategy
2. Include the original rep plus new team members
3. In HubSpot, edit the workflow
4. Change the mailbox field from direct mailbox to the rotation
5. Save workflow

What happens:

• Future enrollments use the rotation
• Past enrollments stay with the original rep
• No disruption to active sequences

From Rotation → Direct

Scenario: Volume decreased or you want one person to handle all leads.

Steps:

1. In HubSpot, edit the workflow
2. Change mailbox field from rotation to a specific mailbox
3. Save workflow
4. (Optional) Delete the rotation in AutoSeq if no longer needed

Advanced Strategies

Conditional Rotation Routing

Use workflow branches to route to different rotations based on criteria:

Example:

1. Trigger: Form submission
2. Branch 1: If "Company Size" = "Enterprise" → Rotation A (Enterprise Team)
3. Branch 2: If "Company Size" = "SMB" → Rotation B (SMB Team)
4. Branch 3: Else → Direct assignment to SDR team lead

Direct with Rotation Backup

Use workflow logic to handle overflow:

Example:

1. Check if primary rep's current enrollments > 50
2. If yes → Use rotation to distribute overflow
3. If no → Direct assignment to primary rep

Time-Based Rotation

Rotate based on when leads come in:

• Business hours leads → Rotation across full sales team
• After hours leads → Direct to on-call rep or queue for next day

Analytics: Direct vs. Rotation

Direct Assignment Analytics

What you can track:

• Total enrollments for that specific rep
• Success rate for that mailbox
• Performance of the sequence from that sender

Rotation Analytics

What you can track:

• Distribution across all mailboxes in rotation
• Compare performance between team members
• Verify fair distribution (should match percentages)
• Identify top performers

Troubleshooting

Direct Assignment Not Working

Problem: Enrollments failing when using direct mailbox

Solutions:

• Verify the mailbox owner has Sales Hub Pro
• Check email is still connected in HubSpot
• Ensure user hasn't been deactivated
• Sync data in AutoSeq to refresh mailbox list

Rotation Distribution Uneven

Problem: One person getting way more enrollments than others

Solutions:

• Check rotation period setting (maybe reset period)
• Verify custom percentages are correct
• Review analytics to see actual distribution
• Make sure all mailboxes in rotation are active

Rotation Not Showing in Dropdown

Problem: Created rotation but it's not in HubSpot mailbox dropdown

Solutions:

• Refresh the HubSpot workflow page
• Make sure rotation was saved in AutoSeq
• Check rotation has at least 2 mailboxes
• Verify workspace ID in HubSpot matches AutoSeq

Best Practices

Start Simple

• Use direct assignment for new workflows while testing
• Only create rotations once you validate the workflow works
• Don't over-complicate with too many rotations initially

Name Rotations Clearly

• ✅ "Inbound Demo - Sales Team"
• ✅ "SMB Leads - West Coast"
• ❌ "Rotation 1"
• ❌ "Test"

Regularly Review Performance

• Check rotation analytics monthly
• Ensure distribution is fair
• Compare sequence performance across reps
• Adjust percentages based on capacity changes

Document Your Strategy

Keep a simple doc listing:

• Which workflows use direct vs. rotation
• Why you chose each approach
• Who owns each rotation

Related Pages

• Inbox Rotation
• Workflow Enrollment
• Custom Workflow Action
• Rotation Analytics