Lead scoring that sales believes: Fit, intent and decay, with a scoring sheet
A lead score sales trusts has two parts kept apart: fit, for who the lead is, and intent, for what they did lately, with intent points halving over time. This sheet lists the attributes and behaviors to score, a points column to fill in, the rules for setting the threshold, and a calculator that shows how a lead's score decays toward the line.
- Document
- Template
- Written by
- Take the Market Desk
- Inputs
- Example inputs, yours to replace
- Explained in
- Lead Scoring Model Template
Lead score with decay calculator
Worked example, with the default inputs
Today the lead scores 54.4: 30 for fit and 24.4 left of 40 intent points. It is above the threshold of 50 for about 4 more days without new engagement.
score = fit + intent × 0.5^(days ÷ half-life)
days left above the line = half-life × log2(intent ÷ (threshold − fit)) − days
How to use it
Set the points by looking backward: pull the leads that became opportunities in the last two quarters and the ones that did not, and give points to the attributes and actions that separate them. A model built from opinions in a meeting tends to reward activity, not buying.
Review the model every quarter against the same question: of the leads above the threshold, how many did sales accept, and how many became opportunities.
Fit: who the lead is (points do not decay)
| Attribute | Value | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Industry | In your target list | |
| Company size | Employees or revenue band you sell to | |
| Role | Buyer or champion titles | |
| Seniority | Decision-maker level | |
| Region | Markets you serve | |
| Technology in use | A system your product works with | |
| Disqualifier | Student, competitor, existing customer | negative |
Intent: what the lead did (points halve every half-life)
| Behavior | Points | Cap per period |
|---|---|---|
| Demo or contact request | Enough to cross the threshold alone | |
| Pricing page visit | ||
| Product or comparison page visits | ||
| Webinar attended live | ||
| Content download | ||
| Email click | ||
| Reply to an email |
Rules
- Threshold
- Score makes a marketing qualified lead. Set it where the leads above it convert to opportunities at a rate sales agrees is worth working.
- Hand-raises skip the score
- A demo or contact request routes to sales immediately, whatever the score.
- Half-life
- Intent points halve every days. Choose a fraction of your typical time from first engagement to opportunity.
- Caps
- Cap points per behavior per period, so a hundred email opens cannot make a lead qualified.
- Fit floor
- A lead below fit score is never an MQL, however active.
Lead score with decay
A lead score that sales believes separates who the lead is (fit) from what they did (intent), and lets intent fade. Enter the fit points, the intent points earned, the days since the last engagement, the half-life of intent and the score that makes a marketing qualified lead. The calculator returns today's score and how many days the lead has before it falls below the line. The calculator at the top of this page runs it with your numbers.
How it is worked out
score = fit + intent × 0.5^(days ÷ half-life)days left above the line = half-life × log2(intent ÷ (threshold − fit)) − days
- fit
- points for who the lead is: industry, size, role, region; they do not decay
- intent
- points for what the lead did: visits, downloads, replies; they halve every half-life
| Decayed intent | 40 × 0.5^(10 ÷ 14) = 24.38 |
|---|---|
| Score | 30 + 24.38 = 54.38 |
| Days left | 14 × log2(40 ÷ (50 − 30)) − 10 = 4 |
Today the lead scores 54.4: 30 for fit and 24.4 left of 40 intent points. It is above the threshold of 50 for about 4 more days without new engagement.