When most people start implementing inbound marketing, they’re primarily worried about getting enough new leads in the funnel.
But once you have a lot of leads, you need to figure out who‘s really interested in your product and who’s just starting to look around.
That’s where lead scoring comes in. In this article, I’ll share lead scoring models for you to consider, important data to look at, and best practices for effective lead scoring.
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What is lead scoring?
Lead scoring is the process of assigning values, often in the form of numerical “points,” to each lead you generate to evaluate the likelihood of them becoming a customer.
You can score your leads based on multiple attributes, including the professional information they‘ve submitted to you and how they’ve engaged with your website and brand across the internet.
This process helps sales and marketing teams prioritize leads, respond to them appropriately, and increase the rate at which those leads become customers.
Learn more about the concept of lead scoring in the video below:
Why is lead scoring important?
You may be wondering if lead scoring is outdated or if it’s still a relevant sales method. The short answer is lead scoring is as important today as it has been for years.
The methods may have evolved, but the purpose of lead scoring continues to be essential for sales and marketing teams.
For starters, lead scoring allows you to prioritize and focus your efforts on leads that are the most likely to convert to customers.
Plus, says Osborne, without a lead scoring model in place, you could be losing business to the competition.
“Savvy competitors have learned to swarm on the best opportunities as soon as they identify them,” he says, “giving those prospects the highest level of personalized attention and service to win those crucial deals.”
Lead Scoring Models
Lead scoring models ensure the values you assign to each lead reflect their actual compatibility with your product.
Many lead scores are based on a point range of 0 to 100, but every model you create will support a particular attribute of your core customer.
1. Demographic Information
Are you only selling to people of a certain demographic, like parents of young children or CIOs? Ask demographic questions in the forms on your landing pages, and you can use your leads’ answers to see how well they fit in with your target audience.
How to Calculate a Basic Lead Score
There are many different ways to calculate a lead score, but I think the simplest way to do it is this:
Is one lead score enough?
If you have one core customer right now, a single score suffices. But as your company scales, you’ll sell to new audiences.
With some marketing platforms, you can create multiple lead-scoring systems, giving you the flexibility to qualify different sets of contacts in different ways.
Improve Your Sales With Lead Scoring
Scoring your leads can go a long way in determining which leads are good fits and interested in your offering and which might need more nurturing before being sales-ready.