Lead scoring
Lead scoring is the practice of assigning a numeric value to each lead based on how well they fit your ideal customer profile (demographic/firmographic fit) and how engaged they are (behavioral signals like email opens, site visits, demo requests). The score ranks leads so sales works the hottest ones first.
How it works
You assign points for fit attributes (right title, right company size) and for behaviors (opened a pricing page, replied, booked). Scores accumulate and decay over time; once a lead crosses a threshold it is routed to sales as sales-ready.
Why it matters
Reps have finite hours. Scoring focuses them on the leads most likely to convert and gives marketing an objective, shared definition of when a lead is ready to hand off — reducing the friction and disputes at the marketing-to-sales boundary.
How Autocloz handles it
Autocloz captures the engagement signals lead scoring depends on — opens, clicks, replies and calls across every channel — in one activity timeline, so fit and behavior data live together on the same contact record.
FAQ
What is the difference between fit and engagement in lead scoring?
Fit (or demographic/firmographic) scoring measures how closely a lead matches your ICP; engagement (or behavioral) scoring measures their actions and intent. Strong models combine both — a high-fit, high-engagement lead is the priority.
Do I need AI for lead scoring?
No. Rule-based point systems work well and are transparent. Predictive (AI) scoring can find non-obvious patterns at scale, but it needs enough historical data to train on and should still be validated against real conversion.
Related terms
Lead enrichment is the process of automatically adding missing data to a lead or company record — job title, company size, industry, verified email, phone, LinkedIn, technographics — from third-party data sources, so reps can segment, personalize and prioritize without manual research.
An Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is a description of the company that gets the most value from your product and is easiest to win and retain — defined by firmographics like industry, company size, revenue, geography and technology stack. It targets accounts (the company), distinct from a buyer persona, which describes the individual within the account.
A Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) is a lead that has shown enough interest and fit — through behaviors like downloading content, attending a webinar or repeated site visits — that marketing deems it worth passing to sales for follow-up. It is more engaged than a raw lead but not yet vetted by a salesperson.
Intent data is behavioral information that signals a company or person is actively researching a product, category or solution — indicating they may be in-market to buy. It includes first-party signals (activity on your own site and content) and third-party signals (content consumption and search behavior across a data provider's network of sites).