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Lead scoring in HubSpot: Best practices, tips and getting started

2 mins read

The Manchester HUG in August was an incredible event. Three talks, three individuals with a wide range of experience and 46 like-minded attendees, all ready to learn about all things HubSpot and inbound marketing.

 

For those who don’t know and are maybe reading this for the first time, HUG stands for HubSpot User Group. (If you do know what HUGs are, click here to jump to the good stuff.)

In the words of HubSpot, “HubSpot User Groups (HUGs) are free, in-person quarterly meetups that are open to all HubSpot users. HUGs are typically hosted by a local HubSpot Agency Partner and are designed to help you master all things strategy and software.”

First up, we had Andrew, our very own Head of Inbound. Andrew is the go-to in the Digital 22 office for all things Inbound. Some even call him Sir Andrew, Lord of Inbound. He’s been implementing HubSpot and supporting sales and marketing teams for over four years.

andrew@2x

Andrew spoke to the room about lead scoring. The why and how to do it.

You can watch the video above for the full talk but here are some of the key takeaways...

Why should you do lead scoring?

Lead scoring best practices

How to get started

Why should you do lead scoring?

The State of Inbound report from HubSpot shows that sales professionals are interested in improving the efficiency of their sales funnel and reducing the length of the sales cycle.

Hubspot research graph

So, what better way than with lead scoring? The HubSpot score is one metric to rule them all.

HubSpot score contributor examples

The reasons for lead scoring quite simply:

  • It helps to qualify prospects.
  • It can help to generate SLAs between marketing and sales and helps to remove the friction caused by opinions on leads.
  • It helps to identify the right prospects quickly and also disqualify bad fits.
  • It helps marketing teams measure the quality of leads and can simplify the reporting.
  • It shortens and automates the sales cycle and improves efficiency.

Lead scoring best practices

There are three pillars of lead scoring and if you can cover all three, you’ll nail it.

Remember:

  • The lead scoring you set up today may not be the lead scoring that it needs to be. Think of lead scoring as a test and review it quarterly.
  • If you’re using this to create an SLA and you go it alone, it isn’t going to work. Make sure that more than just the marketing team is involved and that you get buy in on key milestones. 

These are some key takeaways, but Andrew discussed this at the HUG. Watch the video for more!

3 Pillars of Lead Scoring

If someone matches your preferred persona, you could score them +40 points. But if someone identifies as a bad-fit persona, you could score them -30.

Considering all of the above will help you make sure that your leads are a good fit for your company. 

How to get started

So now you understand why lead scoring is important and what the best practices are, how can you get started?

Start small in a spreadsheet and make sure you consider the three pillars mentioned above. You can find out more by watching the video above.

HubSpot Score locator

Screenshot 2019-08-15 at 11.28.34

Lead scoring should be a priority for you and your business to make sure you are getting the right leads through, but there are many other things you should consider too. 

In the August HUG, lead scoring, personalisation and SEO were just some of the topics that you could sample at a HUG, but there are many more.


If you’re thinking, ‘I need to attend one of these, but Manchester is too far away for me!’ well don’t worry. HUGs happen all over the world, so there’s bound to be a HUG local to you. But if Manchester is a suitable location, you can sign up to the next HUG in November using the button below.