Lead scoring is assigning a value to individual contacts according to how well they match the ideal customer and how ready they are to buy. Points are awarded for two types of signals: characteristics of the company or person, that is, industry, size, region and position, and behaviour, for example repeated visits to the price list, downloading materials or replying to an email. The point is not a complex model but a ranking – a salesperson should know who to call first when their time for the day is limited. Even a simple split into three tiers delivers most of the benefit. The model needs to be checked against reality regularly: if highly scored leads are not closing, the criteria are set wrongly and need to be rewritten based on which deals are actually being won.
See also: Lead qualification, Ideal customer profile, CRM implementation in a company.
