Round Robin Knowledge Base > What is round robin assignment?
What is round robin assignment?
First off, let's get some nomenclature out of the way. People use "round robin assignment" and "round robin distribution" pretty much interchangeably. So will we.
Round robin distribution works by assigning items to a group of two or more people in order. It works a lot like a card game. The dealer starts with one player, gives that player a card and then goes around the table, handing each player a card until some number of cards have been given out. This is a good way to evenly divide a large number of things (cards) among a small number of people (players). That's basic round robin distribution.
In sales, think of the cards as leads, opportunities, or accounts. And the players are sales reps. But unlike a typical card game that uses a set number of cards, the dealer may get new cards to hand out at any time. Playing the game usually involves players "using up" cards in their hand and getting assigned new ones, until there are no cards left. Round robin distribution in sales works a lot like that. We assign leads to reps and those leads get disqualified, they close, they go quiet, and so on. So, unlike a card game, we a) never stop playing the game since there are always new leads, and b) can't control when a new lead becomes available. Over time, players (reps) can end up with very different hands (books).
