If you’re tired of sales ignoring “hot” leads or marketing blaming sales for dropped balls, you’re not alone. Automating lead scoring in Demandbase can help bridge the gap—if you do it right. This guide is for marketers, sales ops, and anyone who wants to make lead scoring useful (and not just another dashboard no one trusts).
Let’s skip the fluff and get straight to making lead scoring actually work for your sales team.
1. Get Clear on What Sales Actually Cares About
Before you touch Demandbase, talk to your sales reps. I mean, really talk. Ask them:
- What makes a lead worth their time?
- What signals do they actually trust?
- Which leads do they never want to see again?
You’ll get a lot of opinions and maybe some venting. That’s good. Write it down. Your lead scoring is only as good as your sales team’s buy-in.
Pro tip: Don’t try to boil the ocean. Focus on scoring what matters most—like job title, company size, or engagement level. Ignore vanity metrics like “opened an email 3 times.”
2. Clean Up Your Data (or at Least, Know Where It’s Messy)
Demandbase is powerful, but it’s not magic. Garbage in, garbage out. Check:
- Are your CRM fields standardized? (e.g., “VP Marketing” vs. “V.P. of Marketing”)
- Is firmographic data (industry, company size) up to date?
- Are you capturing web engagement and intent data correctly?
You don’t need perfection, but you do need consistency. If you’re merging data from multiple sources, decide which one’s the “source of truth.” Document where gaps or quirks exist.
What to ignore: Don’t stress over every minor typo. Focus on the fields you’ll actually use for scoring.
3. Map Out Your Scoring Model on Paper First
Before setting anything up in Demandbase, sketch your scoring logic:
- Which attributes make a lead “good” (fit)?
- Job seniority, department, company revenue, geography, etc.
- Which behaviors show intent?
- Visited pricing page, attended a webinar, downloaded a key asset, etc.
- What’s a “qualified” score? (e.g., above 75/100)
Use a whiteboard, spreadsheet, or even a napkin. Keep it simple. The more complicated you make this, the less anyone will trust it later.
Pro tip: Ask sales to review your draft. If they don’t buy in now, they’ll ignore it later.
4. Build Your Lead Scoring Model in Demandbase
Now you’re ready to set up your scoring rules. Here’s how:
a. Set Up Attribute (Fit) Scoring
- Go to your Demandbase admin panel.
- Create rules for key firmographic and demographic fields.
- Example: +30 points if “Job Title” contains “Director” or higher.
- Example: +20 points if “Industry” matches your ICP.
- Assign points based on how much each factor matters to sales.
b. Set Up Behavioral (Intent) Scoring
- Add rules for meaningful actions:
- +15 points for attending a webinar.
- +25 points for visiting your pricing page.
- +10 points for opening more than 2 emails within a week.
- Use Demandbase’s intent signals, but don’t overvalue “soft” behaviors like “clicked an email.”
c. Set Decay Rules
- Leads go cold. Subtract points for inactivity over time.
- Example: -10 points after 30 days without engagement.
d. Test with Real Data
- Run your scoring model on a sample of recent leads.
- Does it flag the right people?
- Are obvious duds slipping through?
Iterate until it feels right—not perfect, just useful.
5. Automate the Workflow: Routing, Alerts, and Handoffs
Scoring’s useless if sales never sees the leads. Automate what happens when a lead crosses your threshold:
- Routing: Set up Demandbase to push qualified leads directly to the right sales queue or owner in your CRM (like Salesforce or HubSpot).
- Alerts: Trigger email or Slack alerts to reps when a lead is “hot.” Keep it short—no one reads essays.
- Tasks: Automatically create follow-up tasks in your CRM to prompt action.
What doesn’t work: Just dropping scored leads into a static report or spreadsheet and hoping reps check it. They won’t.
6. Make Sure Sales Sees the Score—and Knows What It Means
If your reps can’t see (or trust) the score, you’re wasting your time.
- Expose the score and top reasons (e.g., “+25: Visited pricing page”) in the CRM record.
- Give sales a one-pager explaining how the score is calculated—no black boxes.
- Get feedback. Are the scores matching reality? Are good leads still getting missed?
Pro tip: If reps keep ignoring the score, ask why. Sometimes, simple tweaks—like weighting job title more—can help.
7. Keep It Simple. Review and Tune Every Quarter.
No model is set-and-forget. Every few months:
- Pull a sample of “hot” leads that converted…and those that didn’t.
- Ask sales what’s working and what’s not.
- Adjust your scoring rules. Don’t be afraid to cut out stuff that isn’t predictive.
What to ignore: Fancy AI features that promise to “revolutionize” lead scoring but don’t provide clear value. Start simple and only add complexity when you need to.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
What works: - Building your model around what sales actually wants. - Using clear, simple rules—no wizardry required. - Automating handoffs so reps can’t miss a hot lead.
What doesn’t: - Overcomplicating your score with too many signals. - Ignoring data quality. - Assuming scoring will fix bad marketing or sales alignment.
Ignore: - Shiny features that distract from the basics. - Lead scores that no one looks at or trusts.
Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Don’t Sweat Perfection
Automating lead scoring in Demandbase isn’t about having the fanciest model—it’s about helping sales focus on the right people, faster. Start with what matters, automate the basics, and tweak as you learn. If you keep it practical and get buy-in from sales, you’ll actually see better alignment (and fewer eye rolls at your next pipeline meeting).
Get the basics right, and you can always get fancier later.