Taking the time to map your lead scoring
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 4:40 am
It’s an iterative process that is constantly evolving into a more accurate representation of the quality and engagement of prospects so understanding that this is completely bespoke to you is key - there’s no template!
Once set up though, you can automate your lead distribution and expect marketing and sales processes to become a lot more streamlined and efficient.
A massive benefit to remember is that once the scoring and grading model is in place, your sales teams can work with marketing to define what an MQL actually looks like and they can use actual metrics to do this.
For example, they may say a prospect with over iceland dialing code 50 points in a particular scoring category with particular customer profile is an MQL and should be approached, therefore they can receive notific ations in real-time when this happens!
Scoring guide
What should the total lead score be before the leads are flagged as sales-ready?
The answer is, it’s completely contextual. Although, keeping it simple helps so most clients opt for 100.
As I’ve mentioned though, once you set a threshold for triggering your sales-ready leads, using the method above, it then becomes about assessing and adjusting your Pardot lead scoring approach by focusing on the quality of leads being followed up.
It’s extremely important to work with your sales team on defining what a sales-ready lead (MQL in Pardot’s eyes) actually is. The reason for this is because they’re the ones who will actually be receiving your leads!
So, arrange a meeting with them, get their feedback and incorporate it into your approach. Of course, sales will always tell you the best-case scenario so be realistic with their feedback and push back on them if they’re asking too much. Communicate with your sales team and work together to get your total lead score threshold right for your business.
I don’t have complete/fully developed buyer personas, how should I grade prospects?
Perhaps you only have partial buyer personas or even just basic demographic information you work with for marketing. If that’s the case, my first suggestion is, of course, to try to develop full and documented buyer personas because for any inbound marketing strategy to be successful, completely knowing your buyers is paramount.
Otherwise, set up a generic profile where you can pick out information and grade based on the data that applies to all of your personas. Things like revenue, employee size, job title tend to work quite well for a generic profile. You can get more granular with your profiles when you have more data!
What do I need to know when setting up a scoring and grading model in Pardot?
Pardot has a basic guide to setting up lead grading and lead scoring here. Following these instructions is pretty simple.
However, here are some best practices for Pardot lead scoring and grading:
Once set up though, you can automate your lead distribution and expect marketing and sales processes to become a lot more streamlined and efficient.
A massive benefit to remember is that once the scoring and grading model is in place, your sales teams can work with marketing to define what an MQL actually looks like and they can use actual metrics to do this.
For example, they may say a prospect with over iceland dialing code 50 points in a particular scoring category with particular customer profile is an MQL and should be approached, therefore they can receive notific ations in real-time when this happens!
Scoring guide
What should the total lead score be before the leads are flagged as sales-ready?
The answer is, it’s completely contextual. Although, keeping it simple helps so most clients opt for 100.
As I’ve mentioned though, once you set a threshold for triggering your sales-ready leads, using the method above, it then becomes about assessing and adjusting your Pardot lead scoring approach by focusing on the quality of leads being followed up.
It’s extremely important to work with your sales team on defining what a sales-ready lead (MQL in Pardot’s eyes) actually is. The reason for this is because they’re the ones who will actually be receiving your leads!
So, arrange a meeting with them, get their feedback and incorporate it into your approach. Of course, sales will always tell you the best-case scenario so be realistic with their feedback and push back on them if they’re asking too much. Communicate with your sales team and work together to get your total lead score threshold right for your business.
I don’t have complete/fully developed buyer personas, how should I grade prospects?
Perhaps you only have partial buyer personas or even just basic demographic information you work with for marketing. If that’s the case, my first suggestion is, of course, to try to develop full and documented buyer personas because for any inbound marketing strategy to be successful, completely knowing your buyers is paramount.
Otherwise, set up a generic profile where you can pick out information and grade based on the data that applies to all of your personas. Things like revenue, employee size, job title tend to work quite well for a generic profile. You can get more granular with your profiles when you have more data!
What do I need to know when setting up a scoring and grading model in Pardot?
Pardot has a basic guide to setting up lead grading and lead scoring here. Following these instructions is pretty simple.
However, here are some best practices for Pardot lead scoring and grading: