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Working Shared Leads with Sierra Lead Ponds (Agent Guide)

How to find, work, and claim leads from shared ponds

 

Are you a Manager or Primary Manager? Looking to set up Lead Ponds instead of working them?
Visit: Setting Up and Managing Sierra Lead Ponds (Manager Guide)

Summary

Lead Ponds in Sierra let multiple agents share access to unassigned leads — without causing duplicate outreach or confusion about ownership.

Instead of routing every new lead directly to one person, leads can live in a shared “pond” where agents can review them, begin working them, and claim them when appropriate.

This guide explains:

  • What Lead Ponds are

  • How to find and work pond leads

  • How claiming and approvals work

  • Best practices for using ponds effectively

Table of Contents

  1. What Lead Ponds Are

  2. Why They’re Useful

  3. Accessing Lead Ponds

  4. Understanding Lead States

  5. How to Work Pond Leads

  6. Best Practices

  7. FAQs

What Lead Ponds Are

A Lead Pond is a shared pool of leads that are not yet assigned to a specific agent.

Think of it as a waiting room for leads:

  • Visible to a group of agents

  • Owned by no one until claimed

  • Designed for fast follow-up and fair access

Teams often use Lead Ponds for:

  • New inbound internet leads

  • Inside sales / ISA teams

  • Zip-code or market-based groups

  • Recycling long-term nurture or inactive leads

Why They’re Useful

Lead Ponds help teams stay fast, fair, and accountable.

  • Faster response times — any available agent can jump in.

  • Fair distribution — no single agent automatically gets everything.

  • No duplicate outreach — only one agent can work a lead at a time.

  • Full transparency — all activity is logged and visible to managers.

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Accessing Lead Ponds

  1. Go to Leads → Leads Dashboard.

  2. Click the Pond Leads tab (or use the view / filter dropdown).

  3. Select a specific pond to see available leads.

💡 If you don’t see any ponds, your manager may not have added you yet.

Understanding Lead States

State What it Means Who Can See It
Not Working The lead is idle and available All agents in the pond
Working One agent is actively working it That agent + managers
Pending Approval Agent requested ownership Agent + managers

Important: If a claim request is submitted, the time limit no longer applies while the request is pending. The lead remains locked until a manager approves, denies, or the agent returns it to the pond.

Agents can resubmit a claim request if a previous request was denied or needs to be reconsidered.

How to Work Pond Leads

Start Working

Any permitted contact action places the lead into Working status.

Claiming

Click Claim Lead. If approval is required, the lead moves to Pending Approval.

Returning

You can return a lead to the pond at any time if it’s not a fit.

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Best Practices

  • Check ponds regularly.

  • Only work leads you can follow up on immediately.

  • Add notes for visibility.

  • Release leads you aren’t pursuing.

FAQs

  • Does Working mean ownership?
    No. Working is temporary. Ownership only happens when the lead is claimed or approved.

  • What happens if I do nothing?
    The lead may time out and return to the pond.

  • Why can’t I see a lead another agent is working?
    Because the system hides Working leads from other agents to prevent duplicate outreach.

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