How N-able stopped losing leads by cutting routing time from 2 hours to 2 minutes
From manual processes and inconsistent SLAs to reliable routing, complete visibility, and more meetings booked across their go-to-market motion.
N-able supports MSPs and IT professionals worldwide, giving SMB and mid-market companies the tools to manage and secure their IT environments.
When Andreea Barbu joined N-able’s Marketing Operations team, she took over one of the most important parts of their GTM engine: opportunity routing. At that point, they relied on a third-party vendor to manually route every record in their funnel.
But as the lead volume grew, the manual routing process couldn’t keep up.
As N-able’s Senior Advisory Marketing Operations Manager, Andreea oversees the entire lead flow, from implementing technology and integrating systems to onboarding users, maintaining routing rules, and tracking performance across the sales organization.
When routing was manual, and leads slipped through
Before Chili Piper, a third-party vendor had to manually process every marketing-generated opportunity. With N-able’s complex logic based on region, customer type, sales type, and countless exceptions, the work piled up fast.
It was obvious the old system couldn’t scale. When inbound volume spiked, opportunities would get stuck in the routing queue.
Even when opportunities were finally routed, N-able still struggled with both speed and accuracy.
“ And if the routing was not accurate even after that delay, the prospect was most likely already discussing with a different vendor that was quicker to respond.”
The operations team had no real traceability. If Sales asked why a record was routed incorrectly, someone had to spend hours to figure it out, with no guarantee of a clear answer.
Slow assignments weren’t just inefficient. They put N-able’s pipeline at risk.
What N-able needed from their routing
N-able needed a routing solution that could automate the process end-to-end, stay easy to manage, integrate cleanly with Salesforce and Marketo, and improve both accuracy and visibility.
Most of all, they needed to improve their speed to lead.
“You don’t need a report to understand when speed-to-lead improves. Everyone sees it directly.”
The difference Chili Piper made
When her manager suggested Chili Piper, Andreea compared it with other tools. However, the trial made it the obvious choice.
“The manual routing versus the tool Chili Piper provided was a very big difference… a no-brainer for us.”
What stood out the most was the user-friendly interface.
“When you log into the platform, it's easy to understand it, easy to find what you're looking for, easy to make changes.”
The N-able team also appreciated the real-time log of what happened, why it happened, and what changed.
This alone removed hours of guesswork that the team had accepted as normal.
Early wins with Distro
The moment Chili Piper’s Distro went live, the impact was immediate. Every record was processed, missed assignments disappeared, and SLA improvements were so clear that Andreea didn’t even need a dashboard to see them.
In fact, Chili Piper was so fast that Andreea’s team had to update several internal processes to keep up.
And their new system’s reliability was just as important.
"Once you succeed in setting it up, you know for a fact everything will work. That’s something that lets you sleep better at night because you know there’s no one else that can mess up the process.”
Andreea Barbu, Marketing Operations at N-able
What routing looks like today
N-able now runs Chili Piper across their Sales and Marketing teams. Distro routes all marketing opportunities and handles Contacts and Leads. ChiliCal automates scheduling between SDRs and AEs, replacing spreadsheets and manual rotation.
Concierge schedules meetings at roadshows, trade shows, and field events.
Before Chili Piper, only reps attending the events could book meetings, and the process wasn’t very efficient. They used personal Outlook calendars with no visibility for Ops, and many prospects walked away without speaking with the right expert.
With Concierge, it was very easy. You didn’t need to be a salesperson to book a meeting… everything is set up in the backend, and it does the magic for them. We definitely increased the number of meetings booked at events.”
Routing time reduced by 98%
Before Chili Piper, routing took 2 to 2.5 hours on average and much longer on weekends or during high-volume spikes. Now, routing time is down by 98 percent and takes less than 2 minutes.
And the speed stays consistent.
“With Chili Piper, we stay the same regardless of the volume.”
N-able also books more meetings, especially at events, and routing is more consistent with fewer investigations. On top of that, the team now has faster SDR outreach, a smoother funnel, and a cleaner, more scalable rules framework.
“We realized some of our routing logic was redundant… and we could combine and adjust things to serve us even better. That was not possible with a human… Chili Piper expanded the horizon.”
Why Andreea Recommends Chili Piper
"It takes a lot of headaches from you.”
For Andreea, ease of use comes first. Even for complex logic.
“Once you understand the tool, it’s not rocket science. Everything is there at your disposal.”
She also points out real-time logs and visibility.
“You can see everything in real time… why something didn’t match… you don’t need to wait for someone to flag an issue.”
Ready to improve your speed-to-lead?
If you’re still routing manually or dealing with delays, Chili Piper can help you route faster, book more meetings, and give your team complete visibility - just like N-able.
Taylor Jennings is Head of Research at Chili Piper. She is passionate about asking questions (sometimes too many) and understanding user needs. Outside of work, you can find her exploring one of our beautiful National Parks, reading a book, or trying out a new brewery.
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