Lead Scoring - Thinking of Outputs First

I was on a webinar with Todd Davison of BullDog solutions the other day, and he had a great way of showing the outputs of lead scoring that I wanted to share as it gives a great conceptual model for how to think about lead scoring and what to do with the scored leads.

Todd used a 2x2 matrix to talk about lead scoring from the perspective of outputs. What you want to do with the leads once you have understood who they are.

For the leads that had a good ability to purchase (the "who"), AND a strong intent to purchase (the "how interested"), that's easy, those are sales ready. However, it's the other three corners of the 2x2 that get interesting.

Prospects with a good ability to purchase (the right "who"), but no displayed interest, should be nurtured. These are the execs who are in the right industry and could purchase, but are not showing interest yet.

For those with the right intent to purchase (the "how interested"), these are the keen interns; great interest, but not able to execute a purchase. These can be very valuable guides to an account, and can help you qualify and account and explore for other potential buyers with more decision-making abilities.

In the lower left corner, the individuals with neither a current interest, nor a current ability to purchase, are longer term candidates. Over time, with nurturing and thought leadership content, you can either build their interest enough to move them up the 2x2, or learn more about their role enough to qualify them to move to the right on the matrix.

Lead scoring is all about deciding on the next course of action with that lead, and by defining that output first, it clarifies some of the thinking about how you might want to score your leads.

The webinar with Todd is here (registration required) if you're interested, and it digs into a lot of topics related to scoring leads, nurturing, and understanding digital body language:
http://www.bulldogsolutions.com/bulldogma/frmRegistration.aspx?aid=60&bdls=18499


This question is one of 8 critical lead scoring questions to consider when thinking about a lead scoring system.