Based on research on lead scoring here is a summary of why scoring is important and how to effectively score leads using a weighted method lead scoring.
Qualifying leads is important because not all leads are created equal. Some leads require more attention than others and based on the score each lead will receive various levels of attention and contact. For example a score of:
· 130-150 means that a qualified (preferred) customer is ready to see a sales presentation
· 100-129 a sales call is needed
· 80-99 prospect needs nurturing and an email from sales/marketing is needed
· 40-79 prospects are interested to learn more send a direct mail piece with necessary information
· 20-39 a prospect that is not worth the effort, keep in the mailing list but don’t bother nurturing
· 0-19 politely decline service or ignore
Qualifying leads can be done using various methods of communication such as asking qualifying questions in the web site questionnaire such as the ones used by RightNow and other companies (see appendix 1.1 and 1.2), via email, phone and others.
As the number of leads grow it is crucial for the company to develop an automation system that will automatically generate an appropriate response based on the score each lead receives. For example if there was a product inquiry from a customer using our website, and based on his or her responses to the online questionnaire he or she gets a score of over 120. The lead will be moved on high priority list and an email will be sent out to sales reps to contact the lead. To work more efficiently and avoid confusion it is helpful to assign each sales rep an industry or geographical location to work with.
A well thought out lead scoring system will help us close more sales and more importantly close the right kind of sales if the 80/20 rule applies. If 80% of our revenue is generated by 20% of our customers from a specific industry or of a specific size/type than we must spend more time nurturing those in top 20% relative to the ones in the rest 80%.
Numeric lead scoring Vs. Hot/Cold or A/B/C scoring
A numeric relative lead scoring (mentioned above) as opposed to others (hot, warm, cold or A B and C) allows us to ignore psychological issue of categorizing each lead thus saving time and allowing us to know exactly who rates higher on the chart and directly compare the two leads.
There are two categories of information that will help us score leads using weighted method, they include explicit and implicit information.
The explicit information includes:
Budget - Is the purchase budgeted, and what size of budget does the prospect have available.
Authority/ Title - Does this person have the authority to make the purchasing decision?
Company Size / Revenue – How big is the company, how much is their annual revenue?
Returning Business – Is it an existing business/returning customer; if so is it a profitable one?
Geographic Location – Where is this customer located? Do we have sales rep in their location?
Industry – Have we worked in this industry before, how profitable are we in this industry?
Product Interest – Are they looking for hardware, software or complete solution?
Lead Source – where did the lead came from (direct e-mail/phone call to our sales/marketing or a mass email list we were in)
Implicit Information includes:
Need - How important is the product or solution to the company. How deep is their pain?
Timeline – Is the customer ready to buy the product? When is the purchase likely to be?
Emphasis on Brand Value – Is this customer conscious about its company’s brand?
Interest Level – How interested is this customer? Does he/she sound excited about our solution?
Weighted method lead scoring chart:
| Criteria | 0-3 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 |
| Budget | | $1,000- $2,500 | $5,000-$10,000 | $15,000- $30,000 | $50,000-$80,000 | $100,000 + |
| Authority, | | Recommend Sales Person | Specify Tech Rep / IT | Use | Approve Manager | Purchaser VPs and Senior Executives |
| Company Size / Revenue | | 500K -1Mill | 25Mill-50Mill | 100 Mill-250Mill | $500 mill -1Bill | 5 Bill + |
| Timeline | | Undecided | 12 months + | 7-12months | 3-6 months | Less than 3 months |
| Returning | | Yes, but was not a good business | No | Yes | Yes, was a good business | Yes, was a cash cow |
| Emphasis on Brand Value ( Brand Conscious) | | Not at all | Somewhat | Average | Above Average | Very Brand Conscious |
| Product Need Urgency | | Just for show, to say that we have it | Somewhat Important, we are ok without it | Important, we need this product to be efficient | Necessary | Can’t do business without this product |
| Geographic Location | | | Overseas | USA | USA with Nanonation Sales Rep in that state / region | |
| Industry / or Defined Target | | | | Tourism: example Royal Caribbean | | |
| Interest Level | | Low | Average | Above Average | High | Very High |
| Products Interested In | | Hardware Deal | Software Deal | Software + Hardware | Complete Solution | Complete s/n + Support Purchase |
| Lead Source | | Mass Email To Companies | Trade Show Interest | Direct e-mail to a sales rep | Direct phone call to sales/marketing | In person |
Based on this chart each lead can have a score of anywhere from 0 being the worst, to 144 being the best. The scores will help our sales reps rank and prioritize their opportunities, which will help boost productivity.
Please note a different scoring chart for implicit and explicit information may be required. Some criteria is more important than others, thus should weight more in the chart (i.e. two customers receive a score of 115 but one has $100k+ budgeted for our product the other has $10K.)
Appendix 1.1 Note in the red box RightNow’s qualification questions:
http://blogs.salesforce.com/blogs/2005/07/use_lead_scorin.html
http://www.nysia.org/events/past/2005/Lead%20Generation.pdf
http://www.leaddogs.com/MarketingArticles/ScoringYourLeads.aspx
http://theinnovativemarketer.blogs.com/ideas/2006/04/how_to_get_star.html
