Lead Scoring: All About Getting More Bang for Your Lead Generation Buck.

What’s a qualified lead? Are qualified leads marketing ready or sales ready? Should 100% of the qualified leads result in conversions? Can a meticulous tracking and reporting system augment the efficiency of a lead generation program?
Quality is a paramount factor in lead generation; so is an effective lead scoring system. Since not all leads are equal, it is imperative to have a reliable methodology to gauge the quality of every lead that a program churns out. Experts in lead generation swear that a minuscule improvement in lead quality results in an astounding increase in sales productivity.
Lead scoring refers to a method where every prospect is assigned a point based on his interest in the product or service offered. These points are in turn based on a set of criteria defined jointly by the lead generation agency and the client’s marketing/sales team. The higher the score, the more likely a prospect becomes a customer. The scorecard could either have an alphabetical rating system (A,B or C) or a numerical system (1,2 or 3), where the first is a hot lead, second a warm lead and third a cold lead.
Both explicit and implicit information need to be considered while creating an accurate scoring model. The former usually refers to the basic data–designation, company size, vertical, location, etc. The latter is a lot more complex–it’s about tracking and analyzing a contact’s responses and behaviors. When a comprehensive scoring system is adopted, the true potential of every record in the database is realized. It’s also easy to figure out the list that needs to go to sales for immediate conversion, and the one that needs to go to marketing for further nurturing. What’s more, a provision has to be made for negative scoring too!
Different marketers and lead generation companies have different criteria for judging the quality of their leads. Some might focus more on the lead generation methodology, list quality and messaging perfection while keeping the scoring process simple. Some of the others might bank on an automated system that manages and simplifies the most complex of lead generation processes. So the most critical question now is: How can a business pick the right scoring system for its lead generation program? The answer is quite simple–it’s again a question of whether the business wants to do it now or do it slowly and steadily! The smartest marketers and business consultants are the ones who like to make it fast, sure and steady. In other words, they are the ones who know where and how to get more bang for their lead generation buck.