Shark Tank Basics in Shape
Lead Management and Routing
Learn how leads enter Shape, get organized, & move through your workflow.
Shark Tank Basics in Shape
A walkthrough of how Shark Tank recaptures neglected leads and protects your pipeline.
This video explains how Shark Tank works inside Shape, but more importantly, how it protects revenue, increases speed-to-contact, and creates accountability without micromanagement. Below is a breakdown of what you saw in the video, paired with the real business impact behind each step.
What Shark Tank Is and How Teams Use It
Shark Tank is Shape’s safety net for lead coverage. Historically, it was designed to recover neglected leads after a rep has had a fair chance to work them. Today, some teams also use it intentionally as a live distribution method.
Both approaches are valid, and Shape supports either strategy.
Shark Tank as a Neglected Lead Catch
In its most common setup, Shark Tank activates after a lead has already been assigned.
Once a lead is distributed, Shape monitors activity on that record. If the assigned user doesn’t take action within the rules you define, the lead becomes eligible for Shark Tank.
What qualifies as “neglected” is fully configurable. Teams often use:
- No outbound calls or texts
- No status changes
- No record opens
- Inactivity over a set time window (minutes, hours, or days)
When those conditions are met, the lead is automatically pulled back into Shark Tank so someone else can work it.
Shark Tank as an Active Distribution Method
Some teams use Shark Tank immediately, instead of traditional assignment.
In this setup, new leads are pushed directly into Shark Tank the moment they enter the system. Any eligible user can claim the lead, making it ideal for:
- High-velocity inbound leads
- Sales floors focused on speed to contact
- Teams that prefer first-available ownership instead of round-robin
This turns Shark Tank into a real-time “claim queue” rather than a recovery tool.
Why Teams Use Shark Tank
- Assigned leads don’t sit untouched in someone’s name
- High-intent opportunities stay visible and actionable
- Speed-to-contact improves without manual oversight
- Coverage gaps are automatically filled
Whether it’s catching leads that slipped through the cracks or intentionally routing leads to whoever is ready now, Shark Tank keeps your pipeline moving and ensures opportunities don’t quietly die.
Competitive Lead Recovery
When a lead meets your neglect criteria, it moves into the Shark Tank where other users can claim it.
How this improves performance
- Users are motivated to work leads before someone else takes them
- Managers don’t need to constantly police follow-up
- Lead ownership becomes action-driven instead of static
This creates healthy competition while protecting the business from lost opportunities.
Pull Queue View
Pull Queue is a blind-pull experience designed to prevent overlap and keep teams moving quickly.
Instead of browsing a list, users click Get Lead, and Shape automatically serves the next eligible lead from Shark Tank. The lead opens immediately, ready to be worked.
Because the pull is blind, users can’t cherry-pick. They commit to working whatever comes next.
If the lead isn’t worked according to your rules, for example no call, no status change, or no activity, Shape can return it to Shark Tank for redistribution.
How Pull Queue Works
- User clicks Get Lead
- Shape assigns the next eligible Shark Tank lead
- Lead opens instantly for action
- Inactivity triggers re-entry into Shark Tank based on your rules
When Pull Queue Works Best
- Larger teams where overlap is a risk
- High-volume inbound lead flow
- Speed-to-contact focused workflows
- Fair distribution without manual sorting
Pull Queue keeps reps focused, prevents duplicate effort, and ensures leads keep circulating until someone actually works them.
List View
List View is a shared lead pool that multiple users can see and work from at the same time.
Instead of a blind pull, users can review key details and even take action directly from the list. This makes it great for collaboration and visibility, but it also introduces some risk if the team is not aligned on how it should be used.
Leads are only reassigned when someone clicks Claim, but calls, texts, emails, and notes can still be made before claiming.
How List View Works
- Users see available Shark Tank leads in a shared list
- Key details are visible without opening the record (name, source, purpose, state, last activity)
- Calls, texts, emails, and notes can be done directly from the list
- Clicking Claim formally assigns the lead to the user
When List View Works Best
- Aged or recycled lead pools
- Training environments for newer agents
- Teams that need visibility before deciding who should take a lead
- Scenarios where quality and context matter more than speed
Important Consideration
Because multiple users can work the same lead without claiming it, List View can lead to over-touching if expectations are not clear. Without a claim-first workflow, the same contact may receive multiple calls or messages in a short period of time.
For teams that need strict ownership and zero overlap, Pull Queue is usually the better option.
Configuring How Leads Enter the Shark Tank
Lead flow into the Shark Tank is fully configurable. You can create multiple Shark Tanks and define exactly which records qualify.
What this gives you
- Controlled redistribution without over-pulling
- Predictable lead flow
- Flexibility across teams and record types
You control assigned versus unassigned records, record types, and daily pull caps across all Shark Tanks.
State Licensing and Smart Safeguards
State licensing ensures users only receive leads they are eligible to work.
Shape checks the State Eligibility field in each user’s profile and matches it against the lead’s state before making that lead available in the Shark Tank.
In mortgage workflows, this logic follows a clear hierarchy:
- If a subject property address exists, Shape uses that state
- If no subject property is present, Shape falls back to the present address state
This safeguard applies to both Pull Queue and List View, ensuring compliance no matter how leads are accessed.
Key Benefits
- Prevents licensing and compliance issues
- Avoids users spending time on leads they cannot legally work
- Keeps Shark Tank queues clean, relevant, and actionable
By filtering eligibility before assignment or visibility, Shape helps teams move faster without cutting corners.
Visibility and Access Control
Shark Tank visibility is fully configurable, allowing you to create different lead pools for different types of users.
Each Shark Tank can be restricted by user, team, department, so only the right people can see and work the leads inside it. This makes it easy to support multiple workflows without everything ending up in one shared queue.
Common Use Cases
- Separate Shark Tanks for senior team members vs. newer agents
- Dedicated pools for inbound leads, aged leads, or recycled opportunities
- Team-based Shark Tanks for branches, regions, or specialties
Why Access Control Matters
- Prevents overlap and accidental double-work
- Keeps lead pools purposeful and easy to manage
- Ensures users only see opportunities that match their role
With clear visibility rules in place, Shark Tank becomes a targeted tool instead of a catch-all bucket.
Status Changes and Automation on Assignment
When a lead is pulled from the Shark Tank, Shape can automatically update its status.
What this unlocks
- Drip campaigns can start immediately
- Shark Tank activity becomes reportable
- Time-to-recovery and ownership are trackable
This turns lead recovery into measurable performance data.
Scheduling and Availability
Shark Tanks can be scheduled to appear only during specific days and hours. Outside of those hours, the Shark Tank is hidden entirely.
This is intentional.
By limiting availability, teams are trained to focus on their assigned pipeline first before pulling from shared lead pools. Shark Tank becomes a recovery and overflow tool, not a primary crutch.
A few important notes:
- Shark Tank schedules run on the company’s timezone, not the individual user’s
- When outside scheduled hours, the Shark Tank is unavailable to all users
- Ideal for aligning lead access with real staffing coverage
Controlling Access Through Timing:
- Encourages reps to work their owned leads first
- Prevents premature or excessive lead pulling
- Keeps shared lead access structured and intentional
Locked Columns and Controlled Visibility
Locked columns apply specifically to Shark Tank list views. Pull Queue remains a true blind pull, with no preview until the lead is assigned.
For list-based Shark Tanks, admins control exactly which fields are visible. Users see only what you allow, rather than building their own columns or scanning for preferred leads.
Operational Effects
- Prevents cherry-picking and bias
- Keeps lead evaluation consistent across the team
- Reduces noise and unnecessary data exposure
This balance allows teams to collaborate visually when needed, while still protecting fairness, focus, and process integrity.
Prioritization Rules
Prioritization rules control the order in which leads surface inside the Shark Tank. This prevents users from working the wrong opportunities first and keeps recovery efforts focused where they matter most.
For example, many teams choose to prioritize:
- Newer leads that have gone untouched for a short period, since speed still matters
- Leads with fewer call attempts, so fresh opportunities are worked before exhausted ones
- Recently re-engaged contacts, such as someone who opened or clicked an email
- High-intent records, like completed applications or active inquiries that stalled
- Aged leads, that meet specific criteria, such as strong credit or higher loan amounts
By layering rules intentionally, you can ensure the Shark Tank always presents the best next opportunity, not just the oldest or loudest one.
Best practices
- Define what “neglect” actually means for your team
- Build rules gradually and validate results before adding more
- Revisit ordering as your volume, staffing, or strategy changes
When done right, the Shark Tank becomes a smart recovery queue, not a dumping ground.
The Bigger Picture
The video covers how the Shark Tank works. The real value is what it changes operationally.
- Faster outreach on leads that would have otherwise stalled
- Consistent follow-up without constant management oversight
- Clear visibility into what was missed, recovered, or reassigned
- Less wasted lead spend from unworked opportunities
- Stronger accountability based on actual behavior, not assumptions
Wrap Up
Shark Tank is a revenue protection system built directly into Shape. It ensures leads never quietly die and that opportunities are always available to someone ready to act.
When configured with clear prioritization and intent, it becomes one of the most effective ways to increase conversion using the team you already have.
