A lead gets its SDM when it opens to bids, not when work begins

SDMs — the expert side of a lead is yours from the first bid, so you now get the lead the moment the customer approves their requirements and it opens to experts. A lead with no SDM is assigned the active SDM carrying the fewest leads from bidding through the survey, the assignment shows in the lead’s activity, and you get a notification and an email linking to the lead. A lead that already has an SDM keeps them, and Assign SDM on the lead still changes the SDM at any time.

Leads are no longer assigned an SDM when work begins. A lead that opens to bids while no SDM is active stays unassigned until someone uses Assign SDM.