How to Create an Effective Lead Scoring Model

On the surface, scoring leads sounds like a simple proposition. By prioritizing the leads you receive via inbound marketing and other sources, you can direct your sales efforts toward only those leads who are likely to turn into paying customers. So if scoring leads makes so much sense, why are so few B2B businesses engaging in the practice?

A DIFFICULT PROCESS

According to a 2014 study, only one third of B2B marketers (36 percent, to be exact) engage in lead scoring. This is despite the fact that companies who engage in effective lead scoring have a 192 percent higher lead qualification rate, meaning that they generate almost three times as many sales-qualified leads than those who do not do lead scoring. So why aren't more marketers taking advantage of this clearly beneficial marketing tool?

It's because it’s difficult to implement. You may have noted that in the previous paragraph, we qualified the use of effective lead scoring. Of the companies who engage in the practice, not everyone actually gets it right. To learn how lead scoring can benefit your business, we first have to explain just what is the difference between effective and ineffective lead scoring.

WHAT MAKES LEAD SCORING EFFECTIVE?

Effective lead scoring is based on a simple philosophy: to target only those leads who are most likely to buy, you have to determine just who those leads are. You have to establish a process in which your leads get individual points (“scores”) based on actions that they may have taken, related to a purchase. For example, a lead who signs up for a trial version of your service, or inquires about your products, is more likely to buy, so you should monitor and assign points based on these pre-sale actions taken.

Which leads us to the next question: just how do you determine which customer actions are most likely to be indicators of sales-readiness?

The answer, of course, depends on your individual industry, target audience, and product. Purchasing agents from manufacturing companies are likely to behave much differently than higher education institutions looking for a new marketing software. The former may indicate sales qualification by inquiring specifically about the pricing of your product, while the latter’s request for an institution-wide demonstration of your software is a clear indication of potential willingness to buy.

Regardless of your industry or product, effective lead scoring should begin with a specific lead scoring model and strategy.

ESTABLISHING YOUR STRATEGY

First, you should examine and define the various stages that your leads are in. One good approach is to focus on four stages:

1. Wrong fit (unlikely to ever buy)
2. Wrong time (good prospect who won’t buy anytime soon)
3. Generally interested (needs more specific information about your product)
4. Sales-qualified lead (ready to be approached with a sales message)

Based on a lead’s score, he or she will fall into one of these categories and you will know what step to take next.

The next step is to develop the actual scoring system. This is the most complex aspect of building a lead scoring strategy. What value do you assign to an opened email from your company, versus a newsletter subscription?

Generally, you should keep this as simple as possible:

• A “cautious visit” (such as an opened or clicked-on email or a blog view) should receive the lowest amount of points.
• A “user investment” (such as filling out a form with personal information or attending a webinar) should receive more points.
• A “user-initiated inquiry” (via phone or email) should receive the highest amount of points.
• Negative points should be given for any lead who marks your emails as spam, hides your posts on social media, or takes any other action that actively shows disinterest in your company.

Finally, you should continuously evaluate your strategy. The best way to do this is to reverse-engineer your failed lead-to-sales conversions: if a lead became sales-qualified through lead scoring but failed to convert to a sale, just how did he get to the point of qualification? Maybe you rated some initial interactions too highly, or didn’t assign enough value to the most obvious indicators of sales-qualification. One failed conversion may be an exception. But as soon as you detect a trend, you should revise your lead scoring system.

Remember, as is the case for all marketing, your lead scoring strategy should never be set in stone. As you gain intel on how your sales-qualified leads are converting, you should take action to make sure that more of the leads-turned-customers reach the qualified stage. That’s why continuous evaluation should always be a part of your strategy.