As businesses continue to grow and engage with more prospects, identifying which leads are worth pursuing becomes increasingly challenging. 

This is where lead scoring techniques come into play. 

Lead scoring helps businesses rank potential leads based on their actions and behaviors, making it easier to focus resources on those with a higher likelihood of converting into customers.

In this article, we will explore advanced lead scoring techniques in HubSpot, delving into how you can improve your qualification process and align your sales and marketing efforts to ensure qualified lead generation.

Why use lead scoring?

At its core, lead scoring is a methodology that helps sales and marketing teams evaluate the potential value of a lead. By assigning scores to leads based on various factors such as demographics, interactions with content, and behavioral data businesses can prioritise leads and better allocate their resources.

Using lead scoring best practices ensures your sales team is focused on the leads that have the highest likelihood of converting.

Lead scoring models offer benefits like,

• Guarantees that both teams are working on the right leads.
• Reduces time spent on unqualified leads.
• By focusing on high-quality leads, businesses experience higher conversion rates.
• You’ll waste less time and budget on low-priority leads.

Basic and advanced lead scoring in HubSpot

HubSpot makes it easy to set up basic lead scoring, but advanced techniques can take your sales process to the next level. 

Here’s how you can implement both.

Basic lead scoring

HubSpot’s lead scoring tool allows you to assign points to leads based on criteria like,

• Demographic information (age, job title, company size).
• Behavioral actions (email opens, website visits, form submissions).
• Engagement metrics (time on site, pages viewed).

A lead scoring model example might include awarding points for actions such as downloading content, attending a webinar, or scheduling a demo. 

Conversely, negative scoring can be applied when a lead unsubscribes from your emails or shows no engagement over time.

For example,

• +10 points, downloading an eBook or whitepaper.
• +5 points, visiting a product page multiple times.
• -10 points, no activity in the last 30 days.

This basic approach allows teams to identify which leads are "hot" and ready for the next stage of the funnel.

To take your lead scoring further, you can also create effective custom reports in HubSpot to better understand which metrics to prioritise in your lead scoring models.

Advanced lead scoring techniques

Advanced lead scoring models build upon the basics by integrating more complex and nuanced factors. 

Here are some advanced techniques to consider,

Behavioral-based scoring 

Lead behavior is one of the strongest indicators of intent. Actions such as attending webinars, engaging with email content, and visiting key landing pages all suggest a lead’s interest level. 

In HubSpot, you can adjust scores dynamically based on these behaviors.

For example,

• +15 points: Visiting the pricing page more than twice in a week.
• +10 points: Attending a product demo.

These actions reflect strong purchase intent and should be weighted heavily in your scoring model.

Implementing efficient data tagging and tracking through Google Tag Manager implementation can streamline the lead scoring process, ensuring precise user tracking.

Demographic and firmographic scoring 

It's essential to qualify leads based on demographics and firmographics—attributes like company size, revenue, job title, and industry can significantly impact a lead’s potential. 

For instance,

• +20 points: C-suite executives or decision-makers.
• +10 points: Companies in your target industry with revenues above $10 million.

By focusing on key attributes, you can ensure you're targeting leads with both the right needs and purchasing power.

Negative scoring

Negative scoring helps weed out leads that are unlikely to convert, based on factors such as inactivity or disengagement. 

Examples include,

• -10 points: Email bounce or unsubscribe.
• -5 points: Lack of website activity for over 60 days.

This helps you avoid wasting time on leads that are unlikely to turn into customers.

Time-based decay scoring

Over time, the value of a lead can diminish if they don’t engage. Time-based scoring decay reduces a lead’s score gradually if they haven’t interacted with your business for an extended period. 

For example,

• -2 points per month: For leads who haven’t opened an email in 60 days. This technique keeps your focus on engaged leads, ensuring your sales team doesn’t waste time chasing cold leads.

Predictive and AI-powered scoring

Using AI-based predictive lead scoring tools can help automate and improve lead scoring. These tools analyse historical data, helping identify which behaviors, demographics, and firmographics are most correlated with conversions.

HubSpot offers predictive lead scoring as part of its enterprise package, where AI continually learns and adapts to improve your scoring model over time.

Lead scoring best practices

To implement an effective lead scoring system, it’s important to follow lead scoring best practices that align with your business goals.

1. Businesses evolve, and so should your lead scoring model. Review your model every quarter and adjust based on feedback from sales and marketing.

2. Confirm your sales and marketing teams are aligned on what defines a qualified lead. Their input will help refine the scoring model, ensuring that both teams are focusing on the right prospects.

3. Don’t overcomplicate your lead scoring model with too many variables. Start simple, focusing on the actions and attributes that most directly correlate with conversions.

4. Not all leads are good leads. Incorporating negative scoring allows you to filter out leads that aren’t likely to convert, improving the efficiency of your sales team.

To get expert assistance in aligning your marketing and sales strategies, consider working with a HubSpot consulting agency to refine your lead scoring process.

Lead scoring model example in HubSpot

A simple lead scoring model example could look something like this in HubSpot.

This model can be customised based on your business needs, ensuring that the highest-scoring leads are always prioritised by sales.

Tools for lead scoring and tracking

In addition to HubSpot’s lead scoring feature, several other lead generation tools for B2B can help optimise the scoring process.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

Enables lead scoring based on professional data like job titles and company size.

ZoomInfo

Enriches lead data with firmographic and demographic details, helping you target the right prospects.

‍HubSpot extensions to enhance lead tracking and scoring can also provide more flexibility in automating and optimising the scoring process.

Clearbit

Provides detailed information about your leads, allowing for more precise lead qualification.

Using these tools, you can enrich your lead data and improve the accuracy of your scoring model.

Integrating lead scoring with simple lead tracking software

For small businesses or teams just starting out, simple lead tracking software can work well in combination with lead scoring. 

Tools like HubSpot CRM offer easy-to-use lead tracking features, making it easy to manage contacts and monitor their interactions. 

Consider integrating your lead tracking system with Google Analytics implementation services to analyse lead behavior more effectively for deeper insights.

These tools can integrate with your scoring model to help prioritise leads, ensuring that your team focuses on the most promising opportunities

Effective lead scoring in HubSpot is essential for modern businesses looking to optimise their sales funnel. By combining advanced lead scoring techniques like behavioral scoring, firmographic scoring, and AI-powered models, businesses can improve lead prioritisation, increase conversion rates, and drive better results from their marketing and sales efforts.

Whether you’re using HubSpot’s built-in tools or exploring other lead generation tools for B2B, adopting these advanced techniques will ensure that your business focuses on the highest-quality leads, improving both productivity and revenue.

Need help refining your lead scoring strategy? Schedule a free 30-minute consultation today and let us help you implement the right scoring model for your business!