Lead scoring is a process of evaluating the quality of leads, or potential sales. It helps you to decide which leads are worthy of pursuing and which leads are less valuable. This article discusses some lead scoring best practices that you can use to improve your lead scoring.
The practice of using content to find leads for your business is not a new idea. In recent years, the practice of lead scoring has become increasingly popular as people have discovered that the right content can help them acquire more clients. But what are some lead scoring best practices?
However, there are many people who are afraid of this method because they do not understand what it entails. Here, I am going to break down lead scoring and give you some of my best lead scoring practices so that you can smoothly implement this in your business!
Before we understand what are lead scoring best practices, let’s check out some lead scoring basics. Lead scoring is a method of prioritizing leads based on the likelihood that they will convert into customers.
The more likely you are to turn them into paying clients, the higher your lead score will be. The way this works is simple: You create an algorithm for each type of business (i.e., B2B, B2C) and assign points to it based on how much value you think it brings in terms of revenue or profit potential (or both).
Then, when someone fills out their contact form with information about what kind of business they are interested in, it's all tallied up and the higher your lead score is, the more likely you will be to get a response.
Lead scoring can help you identify which leads have the highest potential for conversion into clients – so that when someone fills out their form with information about what kind of business they're looking to buy from or sell to, only high-scoring opportunities go through.
To put it another way: The higher your lead score is on any given day, the better chance you'll have at getting a response.
Here are some Lead Scoring Models:
1. Lead Scoring Model - Is a scoring model that uses the maximum of three variables to calculate scores for lead qualification; it's simple and easy to use, just input your criteria (e.g: number of calls received in the last 30 days) and you'll get an accurate score for each contact!
2. Weighted Leads Score- This scoring method assigns different weights depending on certain factors such as business size or industry etc.
It also allows users to create custom weighting models within their account by simply dragging & dropping various fields from other tabs into one tab so they can be easily accessed.
3. Numerical Score - Is a scoring model that assigns numeric scores to each lead based on the data they provide such as their job title, company size etc.
It's simple and easy to use and allows users access all of their leads at once via a tab in one central dashboard!
4. Salesforce Leads- This scoring method uses the maximum value of both numerical score & weighting factors (e.g: number of calls received within last 30 days) when calculating your final score; it also comes with many pre built templates so you can easily create custom campaigns without having to manually input data!
5. Gravity Score - is a scoring model that assigns numeric scores to each lead based on the value of their stage in the sales process; it's simple and easy to use and allows users access all of their leads at once via a tab in one central dashboard!
The following are the top 7 lead scoring best practices that I have found in my experience as a Lead Scoring Specialist:
1. One of the lead scoring best practices is to not use quotas or other artificial constraints on your scoring process, especially if you do not want to risk losing high-quality leads for reasons outside of their performance on your web form.
Instead, focus instead on giving all qualified leads the same amount of attention and effort from start to finish with no regard for what they enter into the system initially (e.g., name) or how much information is provided during each step in scoring (e.g., email address).
2. Do not use the same scoring criteria for all leads in your system, or else you will end up with a lot of duplicate scores that are hard to manage and track.
Instead, create different rules for each lead type (e.g., new versus repeat) so that every qualified lead is scored using some unique combination of information entered into your web form at various points along the way during their interaction with you as well as any additional data they provide on subsequent follow-up calls or emails from within your CRM system (e.g., email subject lines).
3. Do not let scoring criteria get in the way of your lead nurturing process, especially if you want to keep high-quality leads from getting lost along the way.
Instead, use a simple and straightforward set of rules that allow for follow up calls or emails without regard to whether they are qualified (e.g., phone number) or have provided enough information (e.g., email subject lines).
4. If you do decide on using quotas as part of your scoring system, make sure that these targets are reasonable ones based on what is realistic given how many new leads come into your CRM system each day.
For example, if you have a lead scoring process that requires three calls or emails before qualifying a new lead as qualified, then set your quota at 3 and make sure it is not more than 20% of the total number of leads coming into your CRM system on any given day.
5. If you are trying to get people to act faster when they call in or email from within your CRM system, do not penalize them for being late in doing so because this could turn off some good prospects who may have been more likely to follow up with you in the first place.
Instead, find other ways of encouraging them that do not penalize for being late and will still get the same results as if they were early callers or emailers who are now getting penalty points for taking longer than expected to provide additional information about themselves after their initial contact with you.
6. If there is any way at all possible, try to avoid using quotas because these can lead people into thinking that it's OK just not following through on a call or email to you.
Instead, try to find other ways of encouraging people that are not based on the number of calls and emails they make but instead focus on whether their information is complete enough for you.
7. If your current CRM system does not have quotas built into it as part of its scoring processes, then consider adding such quotas so long as doing so will not negatively impact how good leads flow through your CRM system over time because these systems typically do need some way of encouraging people to follow up with you more than once.
In addition, if you do have quotas in place for your CRM system but they are not based on the number of calls and emails that people make to you (e.g., via auto-attendant or other automated means), then consider removing such quotas because this could lead some good prospects into thinking it is OK just not following through with a call or email to you.
You should always consider scoring your leads at the beginning of each month or quarter – this is what most people do in their businesses, so why not follow suit!
The main reason for doing this is that it allows you to see how many new contacts were made during the last 3 months (or whatever period you choose) and therefore helps with planning ahead.
It also means that any changes are easily identified as well as being able to see how the performance of your business has changed over time.
A lead scoring tool is used for the management of the lead process. The purpose of a lead scoring tool is to identify the best leads from which to get sales.
The main functions of a lead scoring tool include what type of call generates which response, and how likely it is that a desired action will be taken.
There are many different tools available on the market, each with their own set of features. Some also have integrated marketing automation capabilities. There are many different tools on the market, here we outline some of the best lead scoring tools for making a decision.
1. Adwerx- It is a CRM lead scoring tool that allows you to easily segment your leads and prioritize them.
Adwerx has a set of pre-built templates, which allow you to segment your leads according to one or more variables. This will assist in prioritizing and tracking your leads, which are often hard to track using a spreadsheet.
2. LeadScape- LeadScape is a lead scoring tool that runs on the CRM platform and allows you to score leads by assigning them different scores based on your needs.
LeadScore has an easy to use interface, which makes it suitable for both newbies and advanced users alike.
3. LeadSift- It is another CRM lead scoring tool that can be used with any software solution including Salesforce, Zoho or HubSpot (if you're using their marketing automation platforms).
It's also compatible with Google Analytics so tracking data from all of these tools will be combined in one place. LeadSift is a powerful lead scoring tool that allows you to score your leads using the same criteria used for CRM data.
4. LeadBox- It is an awesome lead scoring and management tool, which comes with great features such as integrated marketing automation capabilities (based on HubSpot), social media integration, email autoresponder functionality, content creation tools and more!
You can create custom templates in order to segment your contacts into different groups according to their needs or goals; this will allow you to easily prioritize them based on certain factors like budget or profit targets etc.
5. LeadDog- LeadDog is an amazing tool that comes with many features and can be used to manage your entire lead management process. It's also compatible with Salesforce, HubSpot and other CRM platforms.
It allows you to create custom templates for different types of leads such as; new prospects, qualified customers or existing clients etc. It's also possible to create custom fields for lead scoring and assign different scores depending on the type of contact.
6. LeadNest- It is an awesome CRM tool that allows you to manage your entire sales process from a single dashboard; it comes with prebuilt tools such as social media campaigns, email marketing automation, landing page creation etc.
You can even integrate LeadNest with Google Analytics so you'll be able to track each step in your funnel easily!
7. LeadsFeeder- It is another amazing CRM tool which allows you not only tracking data but also allowing users access their data via a mobile app.
It's easy to use and comes with great features such as; lead scoring, social media integration, content creation tools etc. It's also compatible with Salesforce, HubSpot and other CRM platforms.
8. LeadGator - It is another amazing tool that comes with many features such as lead scoring (based on the type of contact), content creation tools etc.
It's easy to use and integrates directly into your email marketing platform so you can easily create custom campaigns based on certain criteria!
9. LeadsInsight- It is an awesome tool that allows users to manage their entire sales process from a single dashboard; it comes pre built tools like social media integration, landing page creation etc.
You can even integrate LeadsIn sight with Google Analytics so you'll be able to track each step in your funnel easily!
10. Salesforce- It is the most popular CRM platform out there and it's also compatible with many other platforms such as; HubSpot, Marketo etc... It allows users to access their data via a mobile app or desktop application which makes it easy for sales reps to check on their progress at any time of day.
