I admit. I may have lost many six-figure deals because the marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) weren’t sales-ready.
Our CRM showed 300 “hot” leads – but only 8% converted to sales-qualified leads (SQLs).
The culprit?
A lead-scoring model that prioritised form-fills over buying intent signals like G2 competitor comparisons or compliance checks.
It wasn’t that marketing wasn’t doing its job. It was that we were looking at the wrong scoreboard.
What Traditional Scoring Gets Wrong
The default scoring logic most start-ups inherit or copy from a blog usually goes something like:
- +10 for downloading an eBook
- +20 for attending a webinar
- +50 for filling out a contact form
But here’s the problem: intent lives outside your content. A lead reading a competitor’s reviews on G2 is way closer to a buying decision than one downloading your third whitepaper. A prospect checking GDPR implications on your pricing page at 10 p.m.? Worth more than a webinar sign-up any day.
We built a lead model that favoured what was easy to track, not what mattered.
The Signals That Actually Convert
Here’s what we started tracking that changed everything:
- Third-party validation: Visits from review sites (G2, PeerSpot), especially competitor comparison pages
- Tool overlap: Leads browsing integration or compatibility docs
- Regulatory concern: High engagement with compliance pages (GDPR, SOC 2)
- Return visits to pricing or demo: Not just frequency, but velocity – visits close together in time
- Referral paths: If a lead comes from a security Slack group or Reddit, they’re doing serious vendor research
Once we weighted these more heavily, our conversion from MQL to SQL nearly tripled. Because the leads weren’t just “engaged”—they were evaluating.
Aligning the Model with the Real Buyer Journey
Marketing wanted quantity. Sales wanted quality. Our new scoring model forced alignment.
We added a qualification layer:
- Must match ICP (firmographic fit)
- Must show intent (behavioural signal)
- Must not be a student or vendor spy (you know the drill)
And we introduced decay logic: a lead’s score drops over time unless they take new actions. No more forever-hot zombies in the pipeline.
Practical Takeaways
- Start with your last 10 closed-won deals. What did they do before they bought? Model that.
- Assign heavier weight to external behaviours: G2, pricing, security docs.
- Introduce decay. Force freshness.
- Run quarterly audits. Don’t let marketing optimise for vanity MQLs.
Most lead scoring models are spreadsheets that make marketing feel good. Yours should make sales money.
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