{"id":18066,"date":"2022-11-09T03:52:23","date_gmt":"2022-11-09T00:52:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/?p=18066"},"modified":"2025-05-27T12:38:30","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T09:38:30","slug":"guide-to-lead-scoring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/guide-to-lead-scoring\/","title":{"rendered":"A Beginner\u2019s Guide To B2B Lead Scoring"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the ideal world, both inbound and outbound leads you\u2019ve generated would be ideal fits to start sales pitching to. The truth is, however, that we don\u2019t live in the ideal world, so from time to time, dead-end contacts or uninterested leads pop up in your list.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I don\u2019t want to paint a black picture here, but let me warn you: wasting time <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">on wrong leads and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">missing out on prospects ready for a deal can result in a <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">revenue<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> decrease and forthcoming <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/glossary\/customer-loyalty\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">customer loyalty<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> problems.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To avoid such consequences, successful companies hurry up to adopt a clever lead qualification process, where the lead scoring mechanism plays a pivotal role.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In one of the recent <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/lead-qualification-with-snovio\/#step_3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Snov.io guides<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, I\u2019ve already mentioned lead scoring as a lead qualification strategy. In this post, we\u2019ll talk about it in more detail and find out how to run an effective lead scoring process step by step.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"table-of-contents\">\n<p class=\"table-of-contents__title\">Outline:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#lead\">Lead scoring: definition and parameters<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#scoring\">Lead scoring vs. lead qualification<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#why\">Why is lead scoring important?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#successful\">Successful lead scoring step by step<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#tips\">5 tips on how to run lead scoring more effectively<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"lead\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lead scoring: definition and parameters\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So what is lead scoring?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Lead scoring<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a sales and marketing system for determining the business value of each generated lead. It\u2019s displayed as scores (hence the term) based on the predefined criteria showing how close the potential customer is to purchase and whether they require further <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/glossary\/lead-nurturing\/#:~:text=Sign%20up%20to%20Snov.io%20and%20skyrocket%20your%20sales%20today!&amp;text=Lead%20nurturing%20is%20responsible%20for,main%20needs%20of%20the%20audience.\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">lead nurturing<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The assessment of leads usually takes place according to<\/span><b> two groups of parameters, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">both of which should be evaluated if you want to build an accurate picture of your leads<\/span><b>:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>External<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (explicit) \u2013 identifiable demographic data about a lead or the information they usually tell you, for instance, their company size, location, industry, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/glossary\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">market segment<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, job title, and so on;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Internal<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (implicit) \u2013 information that pertains to the lead\u2019s behavior, such as their body language during a call, the number of visits to your company&#8217;s website, email opens, subscription to your newsletters, attendance of your events, and more.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p>IMPORTANT: Lead scoring shouldn\u2019t boil down to selecting only \u201chot\u201d leads and ignoring the rest of the database.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2 id=\"scoring\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lead scoring vs. lead qualification<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes lead scoring is confused with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/glossary\/lead-qualification\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">lead qualification<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but even though both practices aim to identify potential customers, there are points of difference between them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The goal of lead qualification<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is to determine whether a lead fits your ideal customer profile (ICP) and has a chance of becoming a long-term customer. Lead qualification helps you filter a clutter of contacts that have joined your database and focus on the right leads that will be further nurtured and introduced to the sales team.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The goal of lead scoring<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is to assess every lead with a value point (a numeric score) based on the criteria you\u2019ve previously determined as indicative of their readiness to buy. In other words, lead scoring is an accurate calculation-based way of lead qualification.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"why\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why is lead scoring important?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When implemented correctly, lead scoring can bring your company many benefits. In particular, it allows you to:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Save time and improve efficiency<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By using lead scoring, you can reduce the time spent on evaluating leads. You just need to indicate the main criteria for the lead quality and their weight in the final assessment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And with a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/best-sales-crm-software\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CRM<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or similar software, you\u2019ll be able to automate the process, focusing on personalization-based tasks. The system will evaluate potential customers, assign points to them, and automatically assign them to the sales department. As a result, company processes become more efficient, and your overall productivity grows.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/app.snov.io\/register?lang=en&amp;signup_source=blog&amp;signup_page=snov.io%2Fblog%2Fguide-to-lead-scoring&amp;cta_type=banner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-15685\" src=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/CRM-banner.png\" alt=\"Snov.io CRM banner\" width=\"800\" height=\"288\" srcset=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/CRM-banner.png 1532w, https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/CRM-banner-300x108.png 300w, https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/CRM-banner-1024x368.png 1024w, https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/CRM-banner-768x276.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Identify the right lead channels<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lead scoring allows you to understand which <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">marketing channels<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> bring you more qualified leads and reduce budget expenditures.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, imagine you have two channels, one of which brings you 200 leads while the other brings you only 30. On the surface, it seems that the first channel performs better. But as soon as you run lead scoring, it turns out that among the 200 leads you&#8217;ve generated with the first channel, only 20 are likely to become your customers. Meanwhile, among the 30 leads you\u2019ve gathered with the second channel, 25 appear sale-ready.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Conclusion: apparently, it\u2019s better to run an advertising campaign on the second channel as it has a lower cost of attracting potential customers.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Align sales and marketing<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When your company implements a distinct system of scoring leads, marketers will have a clear understanding of whether this or that lead is sales qualified and whether it&#8217;s the right time to pass them over to the sales team.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Therefore, lead scoring ensures a timely, well-organized lead handoff, keeps you away from any confusion that often arises when teams can\u2019t sync their processes, and, overall, strengthens <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/sales-and-marketing-alignment-smarketing\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sales and marketing alignment<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Increase revenue<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With lead scoring, sales reps know which leads should be given priority. Therefore, such leads will be timely followed up, given special attention, and approached in the most personalized way.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No surprise, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">38%<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of businesses claim they&#8217;ve got higher lead-to-opportunity conversion rates thanks to lead scoring. By sales pitching qualified leads, you&#8217;ll inevitably get more closed deals\u2026and higher revenue.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"successful\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Successful lead scoring step by step<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You may come across various lead scoring models offered by experts, yet there is no single <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">one <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to follow. Each company chooses its own way of evaluating leads based on the most important criteria.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/how-to-start-selling\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">B2B<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, even though you might find the right company as a potential customer, it doesn&#8217;t guarantee you&#8217;ll close the deal easily. You need to reach out to the right person. That is why you should focus more on a lead&#8217;s position and decision-making power in your lead scoring model.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s discuss how to run a successful lead scoring step by step.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 1. Create an ICP<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before evaluating leads, define the criteria your ICP should meet. For example, you can specify the industry your target company should belong to, its size and level (whether it\u2019s a startup, small business, or large enterprise), location, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">pain points<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> your product or service can solve, decision-making factors, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Getting these pieces of i<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nformation together enables you to narrow your reach and dedicate your time and effort to attracting companies that fit the ICP best.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s an example of an ICP from Snov.io:<\/span><\/p>\n<table class=\" aligncenter\" style=\"width: 94.391%;\">\n<thead>\n<tr style=\"background-color: #d1d1d1;\">\n<td style=\"width: 114.57%; text-align: center;\" colspan=\"3\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><b>Ideal customer profile template<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"background-color: #d1d1d1;\">\n<td style=\"width: 21.4373%; text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><b>Factors<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 66.8697%; text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><b>Example<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 26.2629%; text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><b>Your ICP<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #bfb2f7; width: 21.4373%; text-align: center;\"><strong>Industry<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 66.8697%; background-color: #f7f7f7; text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">B2B SaaS<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 26.2629%; background-color: #f7f7f7; text-align: center;\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #bfb2f7; width: 21.4373%; text-align: center;\"><strong>Location<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 66.8697%; background-color: #f7f7f7; text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">USA, China, Canada<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 26.2629%; background-color: #f7f7f7; text-align: center;\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #bfb2f7; width: 21.4373%; text-align: center;\"><strong>Size<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 66.8697%; background-color: #f7f7f7; text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">50-10 employees<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 26.2629%; background-color: #f7f7f7; text-align: center;\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #bfb2f7; width: 21.4373%; text-align: center;\"><strong>Growth level<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 66.8697%; background-color: #f7f7f7; text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Startup<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 26.2629%; background-color: #f7f7f7; text-align: center;\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #bfb2f7; width: 21.4373%; text-align: center;\"><strong>Budget<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 66.8697%; background-color: #f7f7f7; text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">$500-1500K<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 26.2629%; background-color: #f7f7f7; text-align: center;\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #bfb2f7; width: 21.4373%; text-align: center;\"><strong>Business objectives<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 66.8697%; background-color: #f7f7f7; text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">-To grow their customer base 50% each coming year<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">-To become the top web design service in 4 years<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 26.2629%; background-color: #f7f7f7; text-align: center;\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #bfb2f7; width: 21.4373%; text-align: center;\"><strong>Pain points<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 66.8697%; background-color: #f7f7f7; text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">-They don&#8217;t have a systematic approach to all business processes<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">-Cold email outreach has a low reply rate<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">-They have a relatively low brand awareness<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">-Marketing and sales are not aligned<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 26.2629%; background-color: #f7f7f7; text-align: center;\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #bfb2f7; width: 21.4373%; text-align: center;\"><strong>Decision-making factors<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 66.8697%; background-color: #f7f7f7; text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">-They make decisions based on facts, testimonials, case studies<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">-The decision-making is made by a team of top managers, not just by the CEO<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 26.2629%; background-color: #f7f7f7; text-align: center;\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #bfb2f7; width: 21.4373%; text-align: center;\"><strong>Channels for outreach<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 66.8697%; background-color: #f7f7f7; text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LinkedIn, email<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 26.2629%; background-color: #f7f7f7; text-align: center;\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 2. Analyze your target audience<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now you need to find out what your customers have in common and what made them convert. To do this, dive deeper into your analytics, namely:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review past deals to get information about the activities and campaigns that pushed the prospect to purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ask your current customers what made them make the final purchase decision.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Look at your lead\u2019s online activity and find out what they are doing on your website before becoming customers.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ask your sales team about what interests your <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/glossary\/targeting\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">target audience<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> most of all.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Test leads that have been already qualified for sales on how their demographics and behavior correspond to your ICP.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Here is what the results of your analysis may look like:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-18075\" src=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667952878.png\" alt=\"Analyze your target audience\" width=\"750\" height=\"319\" srcset=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667952878.png 550w, https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667952878-300x128.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The list can be as long as you need. Your goal should be getting a clear picture of your target audience and understanding how they mirror your ICP.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 3. Determine the scoring criteria<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At this stage, you should determine the main criteria (characteristics) for scoring to rank all your leads objectively.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remember two groups of lead scoring parameters? That\u2019s where they become your criteria to differentiate:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>External (demographic)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. List all the demographic criteria for assessing your leads based on the ICP you created earlier. For example, your <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">lead scoring template<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> may look like this:<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-18077\" src=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667953085.png\" alt=\"External (demographic) criteria\" width=\"750\" height=\"431\" srcset=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667953085.png 550w, https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667953085-300x172.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Internal (behavioral). <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">List all the lead activities you need to assess how they fit the ICP. Consider the following template you can steal for scoring the behavioral criteria of your leads:<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-18079\" src=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667953152.png\" alt=\"Internal (behavioral) criteria\" width=\"750\" height=\"409\" srcset=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667953152.png 550w, https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667953152-300x164.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 4. Assign point values<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As soon as you\u2019ve identified categories for scoring, you should think about how many points each of the criteria costs. Not all the criteria will be equally important \u2013 you should give more points to those that better contribute to deal closing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For instance, if, while analyzing your target audience, you&#8217;ve found out that leads who visit your webinars convert into paying customers more often, unlike those who open marketing emails, you should naturally give more points to &#8216;visited a webinar&#8217; than &#8216;opened a marketing email.&#8217;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Marketo<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> suggests splitting all criteria into four groups: <\/span><b>critical, important, influencing, and negative<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Take a look at a lead scoring model example from Marketo with the points assigned based on the importance of lead scoring criteria:<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_18081\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18081\" style=\"width: 812px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18081 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screenshot_4.png\" alt=\"Lead scoring criteria\" width=\"812\" height=\"736\" srcset=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screenshot_4.png 812w, https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screenshot_4-300x272.png 300w, https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screenshot_4-768x696.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 812px) 100vw, 812px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-18081\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Source: Marketo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As you see, negative points are given for the unwanted <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/glossary\/buyer-behavior\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">behavior<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of leads. It\u2019s a good idea to include them in your lead scoring model to better filter those leads who don\u2019t fit the image of an ideal customer.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>REMEMBER: Marketers and sales reps should agree on the importance of lead scoring factors and the numeric value of each criterion. If sales and marketing are at odds in this matter, you can miss out on many promising leads.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lead scoring template<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can apply the following lead scoring template, which includes both demographic and behavioral criteria. Feel free to change the criteria and the number of points based on their importance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-18084\" src=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667953786.png\" alt=\"Lead scoring template\" width=\"750\" height=\"1241\" srcset=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667953786.png 550w, https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667953786-181x300.png 181w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 6. Determine a threshold point value<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After completing the previous steps, you need to count the total and define the score range that means a lead is qualified for sales. I recommend using a scale of priority. For instance:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">30-45 points &#8211; high priority;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">15-29 points &#8211; average priority;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Less than 15 points &#8211; low priority.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s imagine we\u2019ve got a lead that we want to score based on the demographic factors stated in the template above:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-18086\" src=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667953877.png\" alt=\"Lead scoring template\" width=\"750\" height=\"466\" srcset=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667953877.png 550w, https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667953877-300x187.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Our imaginary lead has got 34 points, which indicates they are sales qualified and should be <a href=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/successful-outreach-with-snovio\/\">reached out<\/a> right away.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">#7. Automate processes<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I already expect the question: &#8220;Do I need to score each lead manually based on all these criteria? Are you crazy?&#8221;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Well\u2026although I have nothing against the popular Google Sheets, I need to admit that scoring leads manually is indeed a job you\u2019ll hardly cope with\u2026unless you\u2019ve got <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/best-sales-automation-tools\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">automation tools<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that will simplify the process.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For instance, with <\/span><b>ActiveCampaign<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, you can set the lead scoring rules that make sense for your business and score leads based on their personal and behavioral data.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_18088\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18088\" style=\"width: 850px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18088\" src=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667954179.png\" alt=\"ActiveCampaign\" width=\"850\" height=\"652\" srcset=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667954179.png 1094w, https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667954179-300x230.png 300w, https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667954179-1024x785.png 1024w, https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667954179-768x589.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-18088\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.activecampaign.com\/learn\/guides\/lead-scoring-best-practices-the-only-framework-you-need-to-get-started\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ActiveCampaign<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><b>HubSpot<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> lead scoring offers <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">two models: manual and predictive. While predictive lead scoring will show you the likelihood of a lead to close, manual lead scoring allows you to set your own criteria. As soon as you carefully select attributes for the criteria, the tool will assign numerical scores depending on their importance.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_18090\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18090\" style=\"width: 850px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18090\" src=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667954281.png\" alt=\"HubSpot\" width=\"850\" height=\"471\" srcset=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667954281.png 1000w, https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667954281-300x166.png 300w, https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667954281-768x425.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-18090\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hubspot.com\/products\/lead-scoring\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HubSpot<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And right after scoring, you can use <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/sales-crm\"><b>Snov.io free CRM<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to organize your lead base and focus on reaching out to those leads who are most ready to buy your product.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-18091\" src=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667954439.png\" alt=\"Snov.io CRM\" width=\"850\" height=\"308\" srcset=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667954439.png 1000w, https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667954439-300x109.png 300w, https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1667954439-768x278.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With <\/span><b>Snov.io Email Drip Campaigns<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, you can follow up with your sales-qualified leads as soon as they\u2019ve shown the top score and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/glossary\/lead-nurturing\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nurture<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> average-priority leads.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-banner default\">\n<p class=\"content-banner__title\">Email Drip Campaigns<\/p>\n<p class=\"content-banner__description\">Automate your email marketing for maximum productivity<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-banner__link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/app.snov.io\/register?lang=en&amp;signup_source=blog&amp;signup_page=snov.io%2Fblog%2Fguide-to-lead-scoring&amp;cta_type=banner\">Start using for free<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"content-banner__img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/\u0440\u043e\u0437\u0441\u0438\u043b\u043a\u0430-\u0456\u043c\u0435\u0439\u043b\u0456\u0432.png\" alt=\"Email Drip Campaigns\" width=\"224\" height=\"224\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"tips\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">5 tips on how to run lead scoring more effectively<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the final chapter, I&#8217;ve tried to accumulate recommendations on how to do lead scoring most efficiently. Consider these five tips next time while practicing lead scoring in your company.<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Evaluate both demographics and behavior.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Buyer behavior analysis is one of the crucial factors of successful deals, so don\u2019t neglect behavioral parameters while doing lead scoring.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Don\u2019t score on a whim. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Assign points to each category thoroughly based on the principles of your company previously, discussing them with the teams in charge (both marketing and sales).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Ask for customer feedback regularly.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Your current customers know better what has motivated them to purchase your product and stay with your company for long, so they can be your primary source of information while choosing the right criteria for lead scoring. Send your customers regular surveys to better understand their <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/glossary\/buyer-persona\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">buyer personas<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Track MQL (marketing qualified leads) conversion rates.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> This metric allows you to determine how many MQLs turn into SQLs (sales-qualified leads) or opportunities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Reconsider your lead scoring model from time to time.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Gather sales and marketing teams together (at least once a quarter) to discuss whether the existing lead scoring model works fine and how to adjust the scores so that the process brings better results.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wrapping up<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lead scoring is one of the best ways to qualify a lead and ensure both marketing and sales teams have the same vision on their readiness to buy. To make your lead scoring system uniform and effective, you need to establish regular cooperation between these departments and come to an agreement on lead scoring categories and their weight.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As doing lead scoring manually may be rather challenging, rely on specific tools that will help you simplify the process and save you precious time. And if you still hesitate about what platform to use to keep track of all your leads and contact the sales-ready prospects instantly (including <a href=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/linkedin-automation-tools\">LinkedIn sales automation<\/a>!), <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Snov.io<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> welcomes you on board!<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-banner default\">\n<p class=\"content-banner__title\">All-in-one sales solution<\/p>\n<p class=\"content-banner__description\">Find leads, build omnichannel cold campaigns and watch your business grow!<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-banner__link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/app.snov.io\/register?lang=en&amp;signup_source=blog&amp;signup_page=snov.io%2Fblog%2Fguide-to-lead-scoring&amp;cta_type=banner\">Start automating today<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"content-banner__img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/all-in-one.png\" alt=\"All-in-one sales solution\" width=\"224\" height=\"224\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Read on to get step-by-step instructions for implementing lead scoring and boost your sales. Lead scoring template is included.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":18067,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[472],"tags":[30,863,904],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18066"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18066"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18066\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36078,"href":"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18066\/revisions\/36078"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snov.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}