If you’re in B2B sales, you know the drill: too many leads, not enough time, and a nagging feeling you’re chasing the wrong ones. Manual lead scoring is a time sink, and let’s be honest, it’s rarely consistent. This post is for sales teams, managers, and anyone tired of spreadsheet chaos who wants to actually use automation to prioritize leads—without drowning in hype or complexity.
We’ll walk through how to set up automated lead scoring and prioritization in Superwave, what actually works, and what’s just noise. No grand promises—just a practical guide to help you stop wasting effort on the wrong prospects.
Why Bother Automating Lead Scoring?
First, let’s clear the air: automation isn’t magic. It won’t turn bad leads into good ones. But it will help you consistently spot which leads deserve your attention, and which should be politely ignored (or at least deprioritized).
The real benefits: - Save time: No more endless manual sorting or subjective gut-checks. - Stay consistent: Everyone on the team uses the same yardstick. - React faster: Hot leads don’t get lost at the bottom of the list. - Focus: Less context switching, more selling.
If you’re still scoring leads by hand, you’re probably missing out on some easy wins.
Step 1: Get Your Data in Order
Garbage in, garbage out. Before you set up anything in Superwave, make sure your lead data is clean and in one place. This is the most boring step, but it’s where most automations go to die.
What matters: - Contact details: Name, company, email, phone. - Firmographics: Industry, company size, revenue—whatever matters for your ICP (ideal customer profile). - Behavioral data: Website visits, email opens, demo requests, etc. - Source info: Where did this lead come from? (Web form, event, referral, etc.)
Don’t bother automating if: - Your CRM is a mess. - You have duplicate records everywhere. - Key fields are missing or wildly inconsistent.
Pro tip: Run a quick audit—pick 10 random leads and see if the info is usable. If half of them are junk, fix that first.
Step 2: Decide What “Good” Looks Like
Superwave can automate a lot, but you need to tell it what “good” means for your team.
Simple way to start: - Demographics: Is the lead in your target industry? Right company size? Decision-maker or intern? - Engagement: Have they opened your emails? Requested a demo? Visited your pricing page? - Intent signals: Did they ask a smart question on a webinar? Download a detailed whitepaper? (Not all downloads are equal.)
Don’t overthink it. Pick 3-5 attributes that actually matter. If you need inspiration, look at your last 10 closed-won deals and see what they had in common.
Things to skip: - Vanity metrics (like social media follows—usually meaningless in B2B). - Data you wish you had, but don’t.
Step 3: Build Your Scoring Model in Superwave
Now comes the fun part: translating your “good lead” criteria into something Superwave can automate.
3.1. Set Up Scoring Rules
- Open Superwave and go to the “Lead Scoring” section.
- Create a new scoring model.
- Add rules based on your chosen criteria. For example:
- +10 points if company is in “SaaS” industry.
- +5 points if job title contains “Director” or “VP.”
- +15 points if they requested a demo.
- -5 points if company size < 10 employees.
Be ruthless about what matters. If you give points for everything, you’re right back where you started.
3.2. Set Thresholds for Prioritization
Decide what score qualifies as “hot,” “warm,” or “cold.” This is more art than science, and it’ll take a few weeks to dial in.
Example: - Hot: 30+ points - Warm: 15-29 points - Cold: <15 points
Don’t obsess over the exact numbers right away. You’ll tweak them as you see real leads flow through.
Step 4: Automate Lead Routing and Alerts
Scoring is pointless if you don’t act on it. Superwave lets you trigger workflows based on lead scores.
What you can (and should) automate: - Assign hot leads to your best reps immediately. - Send instant Slack or email alerts for “hot” leads. - Move cold leads into a nurture sequence. - Schedule reminders for warm leads after a set time.
What to avoid: - Over-notifying. If reps get pinged for every mediocre lead, they’ll tune out alerts fast. - Complex routing logic that nobody understands. Keep it simple.
Pro tip: Start with just one or two automations—maybe an alert for hot leads and auto-assigning them. Layer on more later if you need them.
Step 5: Review, Rethink, and Adjust
No model gets it right the first time. The fastest way to lose faith in lead scoring is to “set and forget” a system that doesn’t match reality. Superwave gives you analytics—use them.
Every couple of weeks: - Check if your hot leads are actually converting. - Spot-check cold leads—are you missing any diamonds in the rough? - Ask your sales team for feedback. Are the scores making sense? Are they ignoring half the “hot” leads?
When to tweak: - If too many leads land in the same bucket. - If your team’s ignoring the scores. - If you’re seeing obvious mismatches (e.g., junk leads with high scores).
Don’t chase “perfect.” Good enough is good enough. Iterate as you go.
Honest Takes: What Works, What Doesn’t
What actually works: - Simple rules. The more complicated your model, the faster it breaks. - Regular feedback loops. Talk to your sales team. They’ll spot issues you won’t see in the data. - Automating follow-up, not just scoring. Scoring alone doesn’t move the needle—action does.
What doesn’t (or isn’t worth it): - Scoring everything. Not every click or open matters. Focus on buying signals. - Ignoring data quality. Automation amplifies messy data. - Blindly trusting the score. Use it as a guide, not gospel.
What to Ignore (For Now)
You’ll hear about AI-powered scoring, predictive models, and all sorts of “next-gen” features. Most of it is overkill unless you’re running a huge outbound team or have very sophisticated data. The basics get you 80% of the way there.
- Don’t chase fancy. Get the fundamentals working before experimenting with machine learning or third-party intent data.
- Don’t try to automate away all human judgment. Sales is still a people game.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate Fast
Automating lead scoring and prioritization in Superwave is about saving time and focusing on the right leads—not building a monument to complexity. Start with the basics, get your team’s input, and adjust as you go.
If you find yourself mucking with the model every day or losing trust in the scores, take a step back. Simple usually wins. Clean data, clear rules, and tight feedback loops will do more for your pipeline than any AI buzzword.
Ready to try it? Keep it basic, and don’t be afraid to tweak. You’ll save time, cut through the noise, and maybe—just maybe—enjoy chasing leads again.