Lead Scoring Check Up Process For Continuous Accuracy

Lead scoring methodologies are an imperfect science. You meet with Sales, build common definitions, and assign scores based on your current buying process. However, buyer behaviour changes, there are shifts in the market and your lead scoring system becomes inaccurate. Hence, it is important that you don’t set it and forget it.

Instead, arrange regular meetings with Sales to determine how well the lead scoring system reflects reality. Their feedback allows you to measure insight against the scores and interesting CRM information. Determine whether “hot” leads truly convert better than other lead categories. And do it every 3-6 months depending on your sales cycle.

Here’s how:

Lead scoring check up process

• Have a look at the lead scores currently in your database. How many leads have scores between 0-10, 10-20, 90-100, etc. Where do the majority of your leads lie? Do any outliers indicate scoring methodology errors? Is a scoring decay mechanism in place?
• Have you introduced any new collateral and have these been scored correctly?
• Compile a list of new opportunities created since the last time you did a check up. Which online behaviours repeatedly led to an opportunity? Which content performed best? Your marketing automation system should be able to tell you this.
• Evaluate the accuracy of self-reported BANT information collected from forms. Use data from qualified Sales leads and actual sales to compare actual BANT figures against self reported ones. do not add BANT variables to scoring unless you know it is relevant.
• Compile a list of disqualified Sales leads and see which assets they favour. This can then be compared with the assets favoured by opportunities and scores adjusted accordingly.
• Realise the difference between active and latent bahaviours.
• Look at your latest wins of your target market, evaluate their demographic scores against the qualification threshold. If they fall below it then you need to adjust your scoring accordingly.
• Assess who in the buying organisation was pivotal to the closed deal and their job function. Make sure your demographic scoring reflects this. A common mistake is to overestimate the C-Suites influence over buying decisions.

Remember that buying behaviour will never be 100% predictable. It will depend on many different factors such as size, industry etc. Public companies, enterprises and mid-market all have different buying approaches, therefore a well segmented database provides more accurate models.

Click here for 8 Lead Scoring Pitfalls You Must Avoid For An Accurate Model.

Sources

Marketo: The Definitive Guide To Lead Scoring

CMO Essentials: 3 Ways You Are Doing Lead Scoring Wrong

Spear Marketing: Top 10 B2B Lead Scoring Mistakes, by Howard J. Sewell