Terms

Lead Scoring

Lead scoring is the process of assigning points to prospects to determine how likely they are to become a customer. These points are awarded based on a lead's characteristics, such as their job title or industry, and their behaviors, like visiting a pricing page or downloading a whitepaper. This system allows companies to prioritize their sales and marketing efforts on the most promising opportunities.

Benefits of Lead Scoring

Lead scoring boosts efficiency by helping sales and marketing teams prioritize their efforts. It provides a data-driven method to identify which prospects are most likely to convert. This alignment ensures resources are focused on high-value leads, ultimately increasing conversion rates and improving ROI.

Lead Scoring Models

Lead scoring models are frameworks used to rank prospects based on their perceived value. These models assign points to various attributes and actions, helping to separate hot leads from those who are just browsing.

  • Demographic: Scores leads based on explicit information like their job title, industry, or company size to see if they fit your ideal customer profile.
  • Behavioral: Assigns points for actions a lead takes, such as visiting your website, opening emails, or downloading content.
  • Purchase Intent: Focuses on high-value actions that signal a readiness to buy, like visiting a pricing page or requesting a demo.
  • Negative: Subtracts points for attributes or behaviors that indicate a poor fit, such as inactivity or being from a non-target industry.

Lead Scoring vs. Lead Grading

While both systems help qualify leads, they focus on different aspects of a prospect's value.

  • Scoring: This method ranks leads based on their engagement and interest level, such as website visits or email opens. It helps prioritize who is sales-ready right now, but a high score doesn't guarantee a good fit. This is ideal for companies with high lead volume needing to identify active buyers.
  • Grading: This system evaluates how well a lead matches your ideal customer profile using demographic and firmographic data. It ensures you target the right type of customer, though a high grade doesn't imply purchase intent. It's crucial for enterprises focusing on specific, high-value accounts.

Implementing Lead Scoring

This is how you can set up a basic lead scoring system.

  1. Align sales and marketing on the definition of a qualified lead.
  2. Analyze your best customers to identify key demographic and behavioral attributes that signal a good fit.
  3. Assign point values to each attribute based on how strongly it correlates with conversion.
  4. Establish a score threshold that determines when a lead becomes marketing-qualified (MQL) and is ready for sales.
  5. Continuously review and refine your model based on performance data and feedback from your sales team.

Common Challenges in Lead Scoring

Implementing an effective lead scoring system comes with several hurdles that can undermine its success.

  • Alignment: Ensuring sales and marketing agree on the definition of a qualified lead.
  • Maintenance: Continuously updating the model to reflect changing buyer behaviors and maintain accuracy.
  • Data: Relying on incomplete or inaccurate information, which leads to flawed scoring.

Frequently Asked Questions about Lead Scoring

How often should I update my lead scoring model?

Your model should be reviewed quarterly or semi-annually. Market trends and customer behaviors change, so regular updates ensure your scoring remains relevant. This keeps your sales team focused on the best possible leads and improves overall accuracy.

Can lead scoring be fully automated?

While platforms automate the scoring process, human oversight is vital. Regular analysis and strategic adjustments by your team are necessary to refine the model's accuracy and adapt to new market insights, ensuring it doesn't become outdated.

What's a good starting score for an MQL?

There's no magic number; it's unique to your business. Analyze the scores of past converted leads to set an initial benchmark. Continuously refine this threshold based on sales team feedback and performance data for optimal results.

Other terms

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Trigger Marketing

Trigger marketing uses customer actions or events to automatically send highly relevant, personalized messages at the perfect moment.

Trigger Marketing

Pain Point

A pain point is a specific, recurring problem your target customers face, causing them frustration, inefficiency, or added costs.

Pain Point

Multi-touch Attribution

Multi-touch attribution is a marketing analytics method that credits multiple touchpoints on the customer journey for a conversion.

Multi-touch Attribution

Targeted Marketing

Targeted marketing focuses on specific consumer groups whose needs align with your product, allowing for more personalized and effective messaging.

Targeted Marketing

Software as a Service

Software as a Service (SaaS) is a cloud-based model where users subscribe to an application and access it over the internet.

Software as a Service

Account-Based Analytics

Account-Based Analytics measures engagement and impact across target accounts, not just individual leads, to guide B2B sales and marketing efforts.

Account-Based Analytics

Infrastructure as a Service

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a cloud computing service that offers essential compute, storage, and networking resources on-demand.

Infrastructure as a Service

MEDDICC

MEDDICC is a sales qualification framework for complex B2B deals. It helps reps identify and validate key aspects of an opportunity to close more effectively.

MEDDICC

Channel Partner

A channel partner is a company that works with a manufacturer or producer to market and sell their products, software, or services to customers.

Channel Partner

Vertical Market

A vertical market is a niche where businesses cater to a specific industry or group of customers with specialized needs, not the mass market.

Vertical Market

Docker

Docker is a tool that packages applications and their dependencies into isolated environments called containers for easy deployment and scaling.

Docker

Call for Proposal

A Call for Proposal (CFP) is a document that solicits proposals, often through a bidding process, for a specific project or service.

Call for Proposal

Lead Generation Tactics

Lead generation tactics are the strategies and methods used to attract potential customers and convert them into leads for your sales team.

Lead Generation Tactics

Data Visualization

Data visualization is the practice of translating information into a visual context, like a map or graph, to make data easier to understand.

Data Visualization

Sales Enablement Technology

Sales enablement technology refers to software and tools that equip sales teams with the resources they need to close more deals efficiently.

Sales Enablement Technology

Omnichannel Marketing

Omnichannel marketing creates a seamless, unified customer experience by integrating a company's various communication and sales channels.

Omnichannel Marketing

Customer Data Platform (CDP)

A Customer Data Platform (CDP) centralizes customer data from all sources to create a complete, unified profile for each individual customer.

Customer Data Platform (CDP)

Subject Matter Expert

A Subject Matter Expert (SME) is an individual with profound knowledge and authority in a particular area, topic, or industry.

Subject Matter Expert

Needs Assessment

A needs assessment is the process of identifying the gap between a company's current state and its desired future state.

Needs Assessment

Email Deliverability Rate

Your email deliverability rate is the percentage of sent emails that successfully land in a recipient's inbox, rather than bouncing or going to spam.

Email Deliverability Rate

Incident Response

Incident response is an organization's systematic approach to managing and mitigating the aftermath of a security breach or cyberattack.

Incident Response

Follow-up

A follow-up is a communication sent after an initial interaction to continue the conversation, provide more value, or prompt a response.

Follow-up

Contract Management

Contract management is the process of creating, executing, and analyzing contracts to maximize performance and minimize financial risk.

Contract Management

Average Revenue per User

Average Revenue per User (ARPU) is a key performance indicator that calculates the average revenue generated from each user or subscriber.

Average Revenue per User

Lead Management

Lead management is the process of capturing, nurturing, and qualifying leads to guide them from initial interest to sales-ready.

Lead Management

Marketing Intelligence

Marketing intelligence is gathering and analyzing data about your market, customers, and competitors to inform strategic marketing decisions.

Marketing Intelligence

Clustering

Clustering is the technique of grouping similar items. In sales, it means segmenting leads by shared traits to better personalize outreach.

Clustering

Sales Pitch

A sales pitch is a persuasive presentation of a product or service, aimed at convincing a potential customer to make a purchase.

Sales Pitch

Private Labeling

Private labeling is when a company rebrands a product made by a third-party manufacturer and sells it as their own.

Private Labeling

Triggers

Triggers are predefined conditions that, when met, automatically launch a workflow or action, ensuring timely and relevant outreach.

Triggers

Data Hygiene

Data hygiene is the practice of ensuring your customer data is clean, accurate, and up-to-date by removing duplicates and correcting errors.

Data Hygiene

Amortization

Amortization is the process of spreading out a loan or the cost of an intangible asset over a specific period for accounting and tax purposes.

Amortization

Consumer

A consumer is an individual or entity that buys products or services for personal use, not for resale. They are the final user in a supply chain.

Consumer

Request for Information

A Request for Information (RFI) is a formal process for gathering information from potential suppliers before issuing a more detailed proposal.

Request for Information

Sales Forecast

A sales forecast is a projection of future sales revenue. It's a crucial tool for businesses to make informed decisions and allocate resources.

Sales Forecast

Churn

Churn, also known as customer attrition, is the rate at which customers stop doing business with a company over a given period.

Churn

Account-Based Selling

Account-Based Selling is a B2B strategy where sales and marketing treat high-value accounts as markets of one, using personalized outreach.

Account-Based Selling

Demand Capture

Demand capture is the strategy of engaging potential customers who are already actively looking for a solution that your company provides.

Demand Capture

Inbound Lead Generation

Inbound lead generation is the process of attracting potential customers to your business with valuable content and tailored experiences.

Inbound Lead Generation

Commission

A commission is a service charge paid to an agent for a transaction. It's typically a percentage of the sale, rewarding performance directly.

Commission

Omnichannel Sales

Omnichannel sales is a strategy that integrates all physical and digital sales channels to create a seamless, unified customer experience.

Omnichannel Sales

Predictive Lead Generation

Predictive lead generation uses data and AI to find prospects most likely to buy, helping teams focus their efforts on high-value leads.

Predictive Lead Generation

Webhooks

Webhooks are automated messages sent by an app when a specific event occurs. They push real-time data to another app's unique URL.

Webhooks

Buying Criteria

Buying criteria are the specific requirements and standards a customer uses to evaluate products or services before making a decision.

Buying Criteria

Dynamic Segment

Dynamic segments are self-updating lists that group contacts based on real-time data, ensuring your outreach is always timely and relevant.

Dynamic Segment

B2B Sales Channels

Learn about B2B sales channels, including types of B2B sales channels, strategies for effective channel selection, & integrating technology in B2B sales.

B2B Sales Channels

Page Views

Page views count the total number of times a page on your website is loaded. This metric is a key indicator of your site's overall traffic.

Page Views

Decision Maker

A decision-maker is an individual with the authority to make significant choices for a company, especially regarding purchases or strategy.

Decision Maker

Outside Sales

Outside sales reps sell products/services in person, traveling to meet clients and close deals face-to-face, outside of a traditional office.

Outside Sales

Sales Training

Sales training is the process of honing a salesperson's skills and knowledge to enhance their effectiveness and drive sales success.

Sales Training

B2B Data Solutions

Learn about B2B data solutions, including unlocking the power of B2B data, & key components of effective B2B data solutions.

B2B Data Solutions

Unique Selling Point

A Unique Selling Point (USP) is the distinct feature or benefit that sets your product, service, or brand apart from the competition.

Unique Selling Point

Workflow Automation

Workflow automation uses rule-based logic to run a sequence of tasks that would otherwise require manual human effort to complete.

Workflow Automation

Average Order Value

Average Order Value (AOV) tracks the average dollar amount spent each time a customer places an order on your website or mobile app.

Average Order Value

Inbound Sales

Inbound sales attracts interested prospects who've engaged with your brand, letting sales reps connect with warm leads instead of cold outreach.

Inbound Sales

Funnel Optimization

Funnel optimization is the process of improving each stage of the customer journey to maximize conversions and drive revenue growth.

Funnel Optimization

Sales Rep Training

Sales rep training is the process of equipping your sales team with the skills, knowledge, and tools to effectively sell and hit their targets.

Sales Rep Training

X-Sell

X-Sell, or cross-selling, is a sales strategy of selling additional, related products or services to an existing customer base.

X-Sell

Load Testing

Load testing is a type of performance testing that determines how a system behaves under both normal and anticipated peak load conditions.

Load Testing

Precision Targeting

Precision targeting is a marketing strategy that uses data to identify and reach a highly specific audience most likely to convert.

Precision Targeting

HTTP Requests

An HTTP request is a message sent by a client, like a web browser, to a server to ask for a resource, such as a web page or an image.

HTTP Requests

Salesforce Object Query Language

Salesforce Object Query Language (SOQL) is a query language used to search your organization's Salesforce data for specific information.

Salesforce Object Query Language

SEM

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is a digital marketing strategy that uses paid tactics to increase a website's visibility in search engine results.

SEM

Technographics

Technographics is data that outlines a company’s technology stack, helping B2B teams identify prospects based on the software and hardware they use.

Technographics

Always Be Closing

“Always Be Closing” (ABC) is a sales mantra meaning every action a salesperson takes should be with the ultimate goal of closing the sale.

Always Be Closing

Buyer Journey

The buyer journey maps the path a potential customer takes, from first learning about a product to the final decision to buy.

Buyer Journey

Sales Lead

A sales lead is a potential customer—an individual or organization that has shown interest in your company's products or services.

Sales Lead

Gated Content

Gated content is premium online material, like an ebook or webinar, that users can only access after providing their contact information.

Gated Content

Sales Operations Management

Sales Operations Management streamlines sales processes, tech, and data analysis to help sales teams sell more effectively and efficiently.

Sales Operations Management

Text message marketing

Text message marketing is a strategy where businesses send promotional messages, offers, and updates to customers via SMS or MMS.

Text message marketing

Referral Marketing

Referral marketing is a strategy that incentivizes existing customers to recommend a company's products or services to their personal network.

Referral Marketing

Sales Bundle

A sales bundle groups multiple products or services into a single offering, often at a discounted price to provide greater value to customers.

Sales Bundle

Below the Line

Learn about below the line, including key strategies for below the line marketing, & distinguishing above and below the line tactics.

Below the Line

Internal signals

Internal signals are data points from your own systems, like website visits or product usage, that indicate a customer's buying intent.

Internal signals

Elevator Pitch

An elevator pitch is a short, memorable summary of what you do, designed to be delivered in the time it takes to ride an elevator.

Elevator Pitch

CRM Enrichment

CRM enrichment is the process of adding third-party data to your existing customer profiles to make them more complete and accurate.

CRM Enrichment

Freemium

Freemium is a business model offering a product's basic features for free, while charging for advanced or supplemental features.

Freemium

Product-Led Growth

Product-Led Growth (PLG) is a business strategy where the product itself drives user acquisition, conversion, and expansion.

Product-Led Growth

Inside Sales Metrics

Inside sales metrics are quantifiable measures used to track the performance, activities, and effectiveness of an internal sales team.

Inside Sales Metrics

Firewall

A firewall is a digital barrier that protects a network by monitoring and controlling traffic, blocking unauthorized access and malicious content.

Firewall

Freemium Models

A freemium model offers a product's basic features for free, enticing users to upgrade to a paid version for more advanced capabilities.

Freemium Models

Sales Enablement Platform

A sales enablement platform centralizes content, training, and analytics to help sales teams engage buyers and effectively close deals.

Sales Enablement Platform

Edge Locations

Edge locations are globally distributed data centers that cache content close to users, reducing latency and delivering web content much faster.

Edge Locations

Return on Marketing Investment

Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI) measures the revenue generated by a marketing campaign relative to the cost of that campaign.

Return on Marketing Investment

Contact Discovery

Contact discovery is the process of finding accurate contact details for potential leads, including names, emails, phone numbers, and job titles.

Contact Discovery

Horizontal Market

A horizontal market is one where a product or service is designed to meet a common need for a wide array of customers, regardless of their industry.

Horizontal Market

Account

An account is a company or organization that you're targeting for sales. It can be a prospective, current, or even a past customer.

Account

Loss Aversion

Loss aversion is our tendency to feel the sting of a loss more acutely than the pleasure of an equivalent gain.

Loss Aversion

Customer Loyalty

Customer loyalty is a customer’s devotion to a brand, shown by their repeat purchases and engagement, driven by positive experiences and trust.

Customer Loyalty

Revenue Operations (RevOps)

Revenue Operations (RevOps) is a business function that aligns a company's sales, marketing, and customer service teams to drive predictable revenue.

Revenue Operations (RevOps)

Sales Dialer

A sales dialer is software that automates outbound calling for sales teams, allowing reps to connect with more prospects in less time.

Sales Dialer

Cross-Selling

Cross-selling is a sales tactic of encouraging customers to purchase products or services that are related to what they're already buying.

Cross-Selling

SPIN Selling

SPIN selling is a sales technique using a sequence of questions—Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-Payoff—to uncover a buyer's needs.

SPIN Selling

Customer Engagement

Customer engagement is the ongoing, value-driven relationship a business builds with its customers to foster brand loyalty and awareness.

Customer Engagement

Payment Gateways

A payment gateway is a service that authorizes and processes payments for businesses, acting as a secure link between the customer and the merchant.

Payment Gateways

Smarketing

Smarketing is the process of aligning your sales and marketing teams. This integration focuses on shared goals to improve lead quality and drive revenue.

Smarketing

Customer Experience

Customer experience (CX) is a customer's total perception of your business, based on every interaction across the entire customer lifecycle.

Customer Experience

Enrichment

Enrichment is the process of adding third-party data to your existing customer profiles to get a more complete picture of your leads.

Enrichment

Sales Demo

A sales demo is a presentation where a sales rep shows a prospect how a product or service works and solves their specific problems.

Sales Demo

Email Verification

Email verification is the process of confirming that an email address is valid and deliverable, which helps improve campaign performance.

Email Verification