If you’re drowning in leads but can’t tell which ones matter, you’re not alone. Lead scoring sounds great—until you try to actually do it. Most systems are either too basic (every click is a “hot lead!”) or too complicated (hello, machine learning rabbit hole). This guide walks you through setting up genuinely useful, automated lead scoring using advanced features in Rhetora. If you’re a marketer, sales ops person, or a founder who just wants to stop wasting time, this is for you.
Why bother with automated lead scoring?
Let’s be honest: manual lead scoring is a pain. Sales and marketing teams either ignore it or fudge the numbers. Automated lead scoring fixes that, but only if you do it right. Done well, you’ll:
- Spot the leads that actually convert, not just look busy.
- Save sales reps from chasing tire-kickers.
- Build real alignment between sales and marketing (without more meetings).
But don’t expect a magic bullet. Automated scoring is only as good as your setup and your data.
Step 1: Get clear about what a “good lead” actually means
Before even opening Rhetora, figure out what you want to score. Don’t just copy some generic model from a blog post. Ask your sales team: what makes a lead worth their time? Look at your own data.
Typical things to score: - Demographics: Job title, company size, industry. - Behavior: Website visits, email opens, webinar attendance. - Source: Where did they come from? (Referral, paid ad, etc.)
Pro tip: If you can’t explain why something should boost a lead’s score, leave it out for now. More factors ≠ better.
Step 2: Map your data sources to Rhetora
Rhetora’s advanced features are only helpful if your data actually flows in. You’ll need to hook up sources like:
- CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.)
- Marketing automation (Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign)
- Website analytics
How to connect:
Rhetora has built-in integrations for the big platforms. For oddball systems, you might need to use Zapier or its API. Test each connection—don’t assume data is coming in clean.
Honest take:
Garbage in, garbage out. If your CRM is a mess, automating lead scoring will just amplify the mess. Clean it up first.
Step 3: Set up custom fields and tags in Rhetora
Most off-the-shelf lead scoring tools treat all businesses the same. Rhetora lets you create custom fields and tags to fit your real criteria.
Examples: - Create a “Seniority Level” field if that matters more than just job title. - Tag leads from specific campaigns (“Q2 Paid Social”). - Add a field for product interest if you have multiple offerings.
Why bother?
Custom fields mean you can score what actually drives your business, not what some SaaS vendor thinks should matter.
Step 4: Build your scoring rules (the right way)
Now for the fun part. In Rhetora, you can set up scoring rules using its advanced rule engine. This means you can go beyond “clicked an email = +10 points.”
How to build smarter rules:
-
Mix firmographic and behavioral data.
Example: +20 points for “Director” title, +10 if they attended a demo, -15 if they unsubscribed. -
Set decay rules.
Automatically lower scores if a lead goes cold for X days. Keeps your sales team from chasing ghosts. -
Use negative scoring.
Take away points for red flags (e.g., personal email domains, unsubscribes, no activity in 30 days). -
Compound logic.
“If job title is Director AND company size > 500 AND attended webinar, then +40 points.”
Watch out:
Don’t build a rule for every possible action. You’ll end up with noise. Start simple, add complexity only if you see a clear need.
Step 5: Test your scoring model on real leads
Here’s where most people blow it: they set up a scoring model and never check if it works.
How to avoid that trap: - Run your model on real leads from the past 3-6 months. - Compare top-scoring leads with actual closed deals. - Ask your sales team: are these leads really better, or just more active?
If your top scorers look wrong:
Don’t panic. Tweak the rules, weights, or data sources. This is normal—think of it as version 1, not the final word.
Step 6: Automate actions based on lead scores
No point in scoring leads if nothing happens with the scores.
With Rhetora, you can: - Auto-assign hot leads to your best reps. - Trigger personalized email sequences for warm leads. - Notify sales instantly when a lead crosses a threshold. - Sync high-scoring leads back to your CRM for follow-up.
What not to do:
Don’t over-automate. Generic emails or spammy sequences will burn good leads. Use automation to help humans, not replace them.
Step 7: Review and improve (regularly)
Lead scoring isn’t “set it and forget it.” Data changes, buyer behavior shifts, and what worked last quarter might not work now.
How to keep your model sharp: - Set a monthly or quarterly review. Pull a few high and low scorers—are you still flagging the right people? - Check for bias. Are you overvaluing one source or action? - Ask sales for feedback. They’ll spot useless scores faster than any dashboard.
Pro tip:
Document your rules and why you set them. Future you (or your replacement) will thank you.
What works, what doesn’t, and what you can ignore
What works: - Combining behavioral and demographic data. - Regularly tweaking your model based on real results. - Using automation to trigger useful actions, not just busywork.
What doesn’t: - Treating all activity as equally valuable. - Setting up a complex model and ignoring it for a year. - Relying 100% on automation—there’s no substitute for real conversations.
Ignore this: - Fancy machine learning models unless you have tons of clean data and someone who knows what they’re doing. - Overly granular rules (“clicked link #3 on email #12”)—you’ll go nuts and it won’t help.
Keep it simple, and iterate
Setting up automated lead scoring in Rhetora isn’t rocket science, but it does take some upfront thought. Start simple. Use the advanced features when they actually make your life easier, not just because they’re there. Check your results, tweak what doesn’t work, and don’t be afraid to throw out what isn’t helping. Smart, simple beats complex and forgotten every time.