Manual Lead Scoring: What You Need to Know

Manually calculate your lead’s score by dividing the number of positive interactions (i.e., sales-worthy actions) by negative interactions (i.e., unqualified actions).

There are many ways companies can automate scoring, but these three options work best:

1. Lead scoring with OrchestraAI
2. Scoring through Google Analytics (under Behavior>Site Content>All Pages)
3. Other CRM and marketing automation tools

With scoring, the more a lead interacts with you, the higher their score goes. This means leads interacting with your business across multiple platforms and downloading educational content will be ranked as sales-qualified leads.

Lead scoring inbound lead generation.

Inbound lead generation and Lead Management are becoming increasingly important for business marketing. 

When you nurture your leads with Lead Management, scoring can also benefit your business. 

Scoring allows you to evaluate how effective your lead-nurturing strategies are on each lead and the total number of leads successfully converted into customers (i.e., “sales pipeline”). 

Scoring also highlights which leads are worth your time and effort, so you can better know where to invest most of your resources.

At first, scoring might seem complicated, but it is quite simple. Scoring can be done through an automated tool like OrchestraAI.

Lead scoring through Google Analytics.

Another way to score with Google Analytics is by evaluating how different behaviors on your site affect the likelihood of a lead converting. Scoring sites with Data Studio would be an example of this scoring through Google Analytics.

When scoring through Google Analytics, it’s important to remember that Lead grading can’t be done automatically. You’ll need to track each lead manually and then score them based on their likelihood of conversion.

As with lead management, Data Studio should be used in conjunction with lead-nurturing strategies that nurture leads regardless of their score or behavior.

In this way, Data Studio can help you determine which leads are sales-worthy and which are not (and can be passed on to the sales team). 

Data Studio allows you to track each lead’s behavior on your site, and lead nurturing helps determine what content they should receive based on their score.

Types of lead scoring models

There are six different models of lead grading:

1. AIDA
2. Lead Value Model
3. Lead Conversion Rate Model
4. Lead Status Quo Model
5. Lead Volume Model
6. Lead Strength Model

The AIDA model is the oldest and most well-known lead scoring model. AIDA stands for Awareness, Interest, Desire, and Action. 

These four stages represent the process that leads to when buying a product or service.

The second type of scoring is Lead Value, which assigns varying values to leads based on their proximity to becoming a customer. 

This model is most commonly used by companies willing to invest more in their highest-value leads and less in low-value leads. 

Lead Value is a better predictor of a company’s bottom line because it correlates revenue with the price tag associated with acquisition rather than the number of sales closed. 

Lead value models are particularly useful when calculating ROI because they factor in how the lead was acquired and for what amount. 

Lead Value models differ from Scoring Models: Lead Strength in that Lead Value factors in a lead’s financial value, whereas Lead Strength does not.

This type of lead scoring model is used by companies that want to use data to predict future sales. 

These leads are grouped by those who have been shown to convert and those who have not. 

Lead Conversion Rate scoring is the most accurate of scoring models because it factors in volume and cost, unlike Lead Value. 

The Lead Conversion Rate considers the percentage of leads that convert to sales, as well as the cost associated with each lead. Lead Conversion Rates can be divided into five categories – A (the highest value), B, C, D, and E (the lowest value). 

Lead Conversion Rate models are especially effective due to their predictive nature, as they help companies optimize their marketing efforts to increase the conversion rate of each lead category.

Lead conversion rates can also be used for scoring models, such as the Lead Status Quo, by identifying which groups are cmost effective at onverting.

One of the major benefits of lead scoring is that scoring doesn’t focus on Lead Quantity, and scoring is more about Lead Quality:

Lead Interests and Lead Behaviors. 

In this aspect, scoring can be seen as a process whereby your Lead Score is calculated based on the Lead Metric and Lead Selection Method.

Lead Selection Method is the type of lead you would like to receive: web form submissions, phone calls, or responses to an email marketing campaign.

It is essential to distinguish between your customers and prospects.

Other scoring models:

Logistic regression lead scoring

Logistic regression lead scoring is a scoring method that calculates lead scores based on the lead metrics and the lead selection method. 

The lead selection method is the type of lead you want: web form, phone call, or response to an email marketing campaign. 

The Lead Score is calculated using the Lead Metric and Lead Selection Method, and then converted into a range of 0 to 1. Lead Selection Methods may not accurately reflect what you want, resulting in inaccurate Lead Scores.

The example below (see image) displays how logistic regression scoring can be used when using webform submissions as your Lead Selection Method:

(L) lead score;

(M) logistic regression equation;

(N) lead metric (in this example, Lead Quality)

Lead Score: A lead Score is a value between 0 and 1 based on the Lead Metric and Lead Selection Method.

Lead Metric: The lead metric can be unique to your business or industry; however, you will most likely use ‘Lead Quality’ for web form submissions. To keep the Lead Score simple, Lead Quality can be viewed as a measure of Lead Value. 

Lead selection method

If you’re unsure whether your lead selection method is accurate, ask yourself these questions: Does this accurately reflect what I want? Does this provide actionable lead data? 

Lead Quality is the lead metric that measures the maturity of lead interest and the level of lead engagement.

Advanced scoring strategies

Advanced lead scoring strategies are a crucial technique marketers use to make scoring more powerful. Scoring is assigning Lead Scores to Leads based on Lead behavior and scoring rules. 

It’s largely based on historical Lead data, but it can also be done proactively with lead grading rules that use predictive Lead scoring models. Advanced scoring techniques include:

• Value-based lead scoring: where not all Leads are created equal–scoring may vary if the Lead has been in contact with the company before.
• Predictive lead scoring: advanced methods of predicting which leads will become customers.
• Conversational lead grading: focuses on past customer-company interactions.
• Range-based lead scoring: evaluates lead scores based on the Lead’s score range.

Predictive lead scoring

Predictive lead scoring is the statistical process of assigning a probability to a lead’s potential to convert. Scoring can be calculated manually using scoring rules, but it is often automated with lead scoring software. 

Scoring has been widely used across various industries because it helps prioritize and qualify customers and leads based on their likelihood of becoming customers.

• Helps marketers focus on high-value customers who are most likely to become buyers;
• Determines how much time and resources should be allocated;
• Creates targets for marketing campaigns; and,
• Improves conversion rates by setting goals. OrchestraAI leads scoring to match its clients’ needs.

Importance of lead scoring for lead generation

Scoring is crucial for lead generation, particularly in the early stages.

Lead grading enables marketers to determine which leads are worth their time and resources, both in the short term and long term.

Lead scoring enables marketers to understand the quality of leads and predict their potential to close, resulting in more targeted lead generation campaigns that generate fewer non-qualified leads.

The ROI of lead scoring

As lead generation becomes increasingly competitive, scoring has become an essential component of the process. By providing the lead’s score, lead grading helps marketers identify which leads are worth their time and resources.

Scoring provides a lead score, which ranks the lead’s value compared to other leads. Scoring also provides a predicted lead value (i.e., the number of conversions or revenue it is expected to produce) and helps marketers create more effective plans for targeted lead generation.

This means less wasted money on non-qualified leads without having to spend significant amounts of time qualifying them. All of this ultimately translates to more ROI for your company.

Lead scoring with MatrixLabX and AISalesPad.

Here is an old legacy platform called HubSpot that has predetermined rather than dynamic inputs.

We calculate your Lead Score based on your lead selection method and Lead Metric, and then we personalize your scoring based on Lead Personalizer’s Lead Interest Categories.

Lead Interest Categories enable you to create a group of lead Interests that match specific demographic characteristics.

Why your business needs lead scoring

Lead scoring is a process that can be implemented to increase sales. A lead score is a way to use data to calculate sales-ready leads.

Lead scoring is beneficial because it helps you identify qualified leads and those not interested in purchasing from you.

Lead grading has been shown to increase sales for many businesses, making it an important topic to consider regardless of your business type.

Conclusion

Lead scoring for your company means asking questions about the lead’s past interactions with your company and assigning a lead Score based on the answer.

Leads graded also means determining how likely it is for this lead to purchase from you and adjusting the lead score as the prospect moves through your pipeline. 

A lead score platform has been shown to increase sales for many businesses, making it an important topic to consider if you want increased ROI in 2022 (and beyond). All of this ultimately translates into more ROI for your business!

Lead scoring is a confusing concept. How can you use data to calculate sales-worthy leads? The lead score system helps you quantify the lead’s potential lead scores and identify opportunities ready to be handed off to sales teams.

A lead score platform can help you automate lead nurturing, and lead scoring works best when paired with lead management. Lead scoring triggers different actions.

With SharpSpring, setting up and managing your customized lead score is easy. You get full control over how points are assigned for specific actions, giving you insight into which marketing campaigns work best and where your team should focus their efforts.

Get started today by signing up for a free trial of SharpSpring! We offer competitive pricing on our plans so everyone from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies can make the most of our marketing automation software.

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