Introduction: Why Strategy Matters in Lead Scoring
Lead scoring is a method used to rank leads based on their likelihood of converting into paying customers. It involves assigning scores to leads based on specific criteria, such as their engagement with your brand, demographics, or behavior, like opening emails, visiting your website, or downloading resources.
If your leads are scored effectively, the leads that match your ICP (ideal customer profile) and are most engaged with your brand will score highest. It will accurately reflect which of your leads are the highest quality and most likely to convert.
Lead scoring can be used to prioritize your sales efforts, ensuring that the most likely to convert leads get attention first. It can be used as a system to move your leads along the funnel, determining when they are MQLs (Marketing Qualified Leads), and then SQLs (Sales Qualified Leads.) This process helps your teams focus their time and resources on leads that are most likely to result in revenue, improving efficiency and sales outcomes.
It's technically simple to implement, but that's just 10% of the work. The real work comes in when defining how to build your score, what to give points to, and how to use it to really gauge your highest-quality leads. Lead scoring isn’t just about assigning points; it’s about creating a scoring system that reflects your ideal lead’s behaviors and traits. It takes a strategic approach to understand what makes a perfect lead - which differs from company to company. This article dives into what goes into building an effective scoring system, and tips for technically using it in your system.
The Two Lead Score Pillars: Demographics and Activity
Think of what makes your leads valuable. There's of course their implicit information - are they in your target location? Industry? Do they have the right job title? Are they a decision maker in the process? These are factors that define your ICP. If your lead matches them, then they are clearly more qualified. This is the 'demographic information.' But it only tells half the story.
The other half is how engaged they are. A lead is way more likely to close if they know your brand, and have engaged with it in the past. Perhaps they checked out your website, downloaded your ebook, opened your marketing emails, etc. This is the 'activity information.' And it is an important factor when scoring your leads.
To make lead scoring simpler and more effective, start by dividing the total score between two critical dimensions: demographics (who the lead is) and activity (how the lead engages with your company). The split doesn’t need to be equal—adjust the weighting to align with your business priorities.
Demographics
Demographics help you qualify leads based on their relevance to your business, who is your Ideal Customer Profile? Where are they from? Key fields you may want to score include:
- Title (seniority): Does this lead have decision-making authority?
- Title (keywords): Does their job title align with your target audience?
- Annual revenue: Is their company size a good fit for your product or service?
- Country: Are they located in a target market?
Activity
Activities show their level of interest and engagement. Focus on the ones that align with a higher likelihood of conversion, so may include:
- Webinar or event attendance.
- Downloading ebooks or other gated resources.
- Engagement with marketing emails (opens and clicks).
- Multiple website page views.
Combining these two factors provides a well-rounded view of lead quality. Demographics help you determine if the lead fits your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), focusing on attributes like job title, company size, or location. Meanwhile, activity measures their interest and engagement, such as attending events, interacting with emails, or visiting your website.
By balancing these dimensions, you ensure your scoring system identifies the right audience and those actively considering your product or service. This approach aligns marketing and sales efforts, improving efficiency and driving conversions.
Scoring the points
Now you know what to score, but how much should each one get? Assigning points in lead scoring is about clarity and focus. Here’s how to approach it effectively:
Keep It Simple
Set a total score of 100 points. This makes the system intuitive, manageable, and easy for sales teams to interpret.
Define the Threshold
Determine the cutoff for a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) and/or Sales Qualified Leads (SQL). For instance, leads scoring above 50 points can be classified as MQLs, ensuring your team focuses on high-potential opportunities.
Divide and Prioritize
Begin by splitting the score between demographic data and activity. The split doesn’t need to be equal—assign weights based on what best predicts conversion for your business.
Remember not all actions are equal. Overloading your scoring system with minor actions dilutes its effectiveness. Focus on meaningful engagement:
- High-value activities: Attending a webinar, downloading a case study, or interacting multiple times with your emails.
- Low-value activities: A single page view or opening an email without further interaction.
Ask yourself: What activities signal genuine intent? Once you identify these, score them accordingly.
Incorporate Negative Scoring
Don’t overlook disqualifying factors. Deduct points for attributes like irrelevant roles or non-target regions to prevent unqualified leads from cluttering your pipeline.
By thoughtfully distributing points, your lead scoring system will become a powerful tool to prioritize leads and drive meaningful sales results.
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Case Study: Rebuilding a Lead Scoring System
To close out, let’s explore an example of refining a lead scoring system to match evolving business needs.
A client’s lead scoring system was no longer delivering the clarity and efficiency their team needed. We had to rebuild a client’s lead scoring from scratch. The first thing we did was map out their old systems to see what was working well and note anything that stood out.
Challenge: Balancing Demographics and Activities
Two key areas for improvement stood out, that were holding back their ability to prioritize leads effectively.
Issue 1: Overweighted Demographics
One of the first things we noticed was an overemphasis on job titles. The system assigned 50 points to this single demographic property, automatically qualifying leads as MQLs. While job titles are important, this approach skewed the funnel by overlooking other critical indicators, such as location and annual revenue.
Solution
We restructured the scoring system to provide a more holistic view of lead quality:
Adjusted weightings for job titles to reflect their importance without overshadowing other factors.
Reallocated points to other key demographics, such as location and revenue, to create a more balanced and representative scoring framework.
Issue 2: Overweighted Activities
Another challenge was the high scoring of specific activities, such as booking a demo. In this case, a demo request earned 50 points, which also automatically qualified a lead as an MQL. While demo bookings signal high intent, they represent a direct conversion step rather than an indicator of lead quality or interest.
Solution
We separated demo bookings from the scoring system entirely:
- Removed demo bookings from scoring and implemented an automated workflow to mark any demo request as an MQL.
- Kept the scoring system clean and focused on prioritizing MQLs based on a combination of demographics and engagement.
- Clarified that lead scoring should prioritize MQLs while demo requests, which inherently qualify as MQLs, follow a distinct path.
Outcome
These refinements delivered a more balanced and effective lead-scoring system. By addressing both demographic weighting and activity tracking, we ensured the client could better identify and prioritize high-potential leads while keeping their processes streamlined and focused. This approach aligned their scoring system with their business goals, enabling more efficient collaboration between marketing and sales.
Bonus tips:
- Iterate and Improve
Lead scoring isn’t a one-time task. Continuously fine-tune your scoring system based on incoming leads and performance data to ensure it stays relevant and effective. - Track and Trace
Map out where your data originates and how it’s used in the scoring process. This clarity allows you to identify gaps or inconsistencies and refine your approach.
Let’s start with the 90% - Your Lead Scoring Strategy!
Building an effective lead scoring system isn’t about stuffing criteria into a scoring model. It’s about creating a strategy that reflects your unique business needs. By focusing on demographics, meaningful activities, and strategic weight distribution, you can prioritize high-quality leads that drive results. Ready to rethink your lead scoring strategy? Let's talk about how we can help you map and build an effective lead-scoring model.
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