Lead scoring from 1 to 5: a simple method any sales team can use
Lead scoring answers one question: who do we call first. There are complicated methods with dozens of parameters, but most businesses need no more than a five-step scale everybody understands. Here is what it looks like and how to use it.
What each score means
- 5: interested and ready. Asked for a meeting, a quote or a call with a rep.
- 4: interested and a good fit, with a question or two still open.
- 3: unclear. Showed some interest, but something is missing.
- 2: not relevant now, maybe later.
- 1: not a fit, or not interested.
What to do with each score
The scale is worth something only if every step has an action. 4 and 5 are qualified leads: a rep calls them the same day. 3 goes to a person, who reads the summary and decides whether to move it up, move it down or try again. 1 and 2 are only recorded, so nobody calls them again by mistake.
This is exactly what ENIGMA Voice Bot does after every call: qualified leads, leads waiting for a decision, and leads that were only recorded.
How to write a good definition of a lead
The definition has to be something you can check on a call. "A serious customer" is not a definition. "A business owner with at least five employees, who gets enquiries by phone, and agreed to a demo this week" is. The more concrete it is, the more consistent the scoring, whether a person or a bot does it.
- One or two fit conditions (type of business, area, size).
- A sign of need (a problem they described in their own words).
- A step they agreed to (a meeting, a quote, a call back at a set time).
The common mistake: scoring by feeling
When every rep scores by gut feeling, one person's 4 is another person's 2, and the numbers mean nothing. The fix is to write the definition once and score everybody by it. That is also the advantage of automatic scoring: the same questions and the same ruler on every call.
Check the scoring once a week
Take ten leads that got 4 or 5 and see how many really moved forward. If few did, the definition is too soft. Then take ten that got 2 and listen to the calls: if good leads were missed, the definition is too strict. A small adjustment every week makes a large difference after a month.
Questions and answers
Why 1 to 5 and not 1 to 10?
Because on a short scale every step translates into one clear action. On a scale of 10 nobody knows the difference between a 6 and a 7.
Who should handle the leads that got 3?
A person, and quickly. These are the leads where reading the call summary is enough to decide.
Can a score change?
Yes. A lead that got 2 today can get 5 in six months. That is why you keep the record and do not delete it.
See it working on your own leads
ENIGMA Voice Bot calls the leads in your file, rates each one from 1 to 5 and keeps the recording and the transcript of every call.