How To Set Up A Lead Scoring System in 7 Easy Steps

Yesterday, I wrote about a new study by Eloqua showcasing how effective lead scoring really is in helping companies drive revenue. Today I am going to outline 7 steps to set up a lead scoring system for your company.

1. Criteria.

Most of us are familiar with BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline) criteria for evaluating leads and have been using it for years. This is called explicit criteria. But since most “buyers are liars” today, this data isn’t always the most reliable. More marketers are using implicit or behavioral data as an additional gauge. Criteria such as website visits, email clickthroughs, white paper downloads, etc. can be more indicative of true buying intent, and when married with explicit data, provide a more well-rounded view of the value of the lead. To get started, sit down with your sales team and come up with a written definition of a lead that everyone can agree on, using the above criteria.

2. Weight Attributes

The next thing you need to do is weight the criteria. Since not all items should be given equal consideration - for example, the decision maker might have more value than the buying timeframe - you need to set up a weighting system. The easiest way to do this is by leveraging a LIPERT scale of 10 points. Give 10 points to the criteria deemed most indicative of buying intent, and 1 to the least. If title is one of your categories, you can assign 8 points to the decision maker, 7 points to an executive, 6 to a manager, and 5 to a gatekeeper.

3. Develop Rating System

The next thing you need to do is build your scale and determine your rating system. The easiest way to do this is to take the high end of each of your criteria from step two and add them together. For example, say you had 5 criteria, worth 10, 9, 8, 7 and 6 points respectively. You would add them all up to get a total point value of 40. Next, determine what percentage are your “A” or “Hot” leads. Usually, the top 20% is a good start. So, leads from 32-40 points would be a “A” lead. Keep going until you get to your C leads. Anything below that should go straight into lead nurturing programs.

4. Determine Actions Based On Rating

The next thing you need to do is determine what actions should be taken for each type of lead. “A” leads can go straight to the sales team, while “B” leads go to inside sales and “C” leads go to nurturing. Or, you can have the “A” leads go to inside sales for further qualification before they are routed to sales. The possibilities are endless, but once you define them, ensure you have a platform in place to apply the rules consistently.

5. Monitor and Adjust

No lead scoring system will be 100% accurate right off the bat. It takes many companies 6-9 months of continuous tweaks to get it right. Communicate regularly with your sales team and monitor your conversion rates once the system is enacted. Whatever you do, don’t make too complicated of a system with loads of criteria. It will be too difficult to manage and maintain. Start small and incrementally add criteria until you have a system that both sales and marketing are completely confident in.

6. Build Your Porftolio

Once you start scoring and distributing your leads, maintain a portfolio, similar to a stock portfolio of how well your leads perform. Monitor length of time it takes for different rated leads to move through your funnel and convert, along with the corresponding dollar values. This will help you maintain a holistic view of your lead performance. Just because leads are B’s, C’s, and D’s today, doesn’t mean they won’t turn into ‘A’s somewhere down the road and convert into revenue.

7. Report on Financials

Your CRM system is the best vehicle for this. Monitor your lead to opportunity, lead to close, opportunity to close and average revenue per deal both before and after lead scoring starts. This will be the truest gauge on how well lead scoring is performing for your organization.