If your sales team is still sifting through spreadsheets or guessing which leads are worth their time, you're wasting hours you can't get back. Automating lead scoring means you spend less time sorting and more time closing. This is for sales managers, ops folks, and anyone tired of “just winging it.” If you’re ready to trade manual busywork for something that actually works, keep reading.
Below, I’ll walk through how to set up an automated lead scoring workflow using Experiense, a tool that promises to make this stuff less of a headache. We’ll cover what’s worth doing, what to skip, and some honest lessons from the trenches.
What’s Lead Scoring, Really? (And Why Bother Automating?)
Lead scoring is just a way to rank your prospects so you’re not stuck chasing every random signup or newsletter lurker. You assign points based on things that actually matter—like job title, company size, or whether they’ve opened your last three emails.
Why automate? Because manual lead scoring is slow, inconsistent, and super easy to mess up. Automation means: - Every lead gets scored the same way, every time. - Your sales team isn’t guessing who to call next. - You can tweak things as you go (without starting from scratch).
But don’t buy the hype that automation solves everything. A bad scoring model, even automated, is still bad. Garbage in, garbage out.
Step 1: Get Your Scoring Criteria Straight
Before you even open Experiense, get clear on what makes a lead actually valuable to your team.
- Talk to your best reps. Ask them what signals a “hot” lead vs. a tire-kicker.
- Look at your last 20 closed deals. What did those leads have in common? Industry? Company size? Downloaded a whitepaper?
- Don’t overcomplicate it. If you need 30 data points to score a lead, you’re overthinking it.
Typical scoring factors:
- Demographics (job title, company size, industry)
- Behavior (opened emails, booked a demo, visited your pricing page)
- Fit (do they match your ideal customer profile?)
Pro Tip: Start simple. You can always add complexity later. Resist the urge to “cover every scenario” on day one.
Step 2: Map Out Your Data Sources
Experiense can only score leads based on the data you give it. Figure out: - Where your lead data lives now (CRM, marketing automation, spreadsheets, etc.) - What’s missing or messy (bad emails, out-of-date job titles) - What you’ll need to sync or clean up before automating
Quick checklist:
- Is your CRM up to date?
- Are your form fields standardized? (“Job Title” vs. “Title” will trip you up.)
- Do you have tracking on key website actions (like demo requests)?
Don’t ignore data hygiene. Automating lead scoring with sketchy data just gives you bad scores faster.
Step 3: Set Up Your Scoring Model in Experiense
Now you’re ready to get your hands dirty. Log in to Experiense and head to the lead scoring section.
1. Create a New Scoring Model
- Give it a clear name (e.g., “2024 Sales Lead Score” — not “Test”).
- Decide if this is for all leads or a specific segment.
2. Add Your Criteria
- Use Experiense’s templates if you’re starting from scratch—they’re basic, but a good starting point.
- Assign points based on what actually moves the needle (e.g., +10 for “Director” job titles, +20 for “Requested a demo”).
3. Set Point Thresholds
- Decide what score qualifies as “hot.” Don’t be afraid to adjust this later—most people get it wrong the first time.
- Set up categories like “Hot,” “Warm,” and “Cold” leads. Keep it simple.
4. Test with Real Data
- Run a batch of existing leads through your model.
- See if your “Hot” leads are actually the ones sales wants to talk to.
- Tweak the points and thresholds based on feedback.
What to skip: Don’t waste time scoring for vanity metrics (like “followed us on Twitter”) unless you know it matters for your business.
Step 4: Automate Data Collection & Syncing
Even with a perfect scoring model, if your data doesn’t flow in automatically, you’ll end up back in spreadsheet hell.
How to keep data flowing:
- Use Experiense’s integrations with your CRM (like Salesforce or HubSpot). Set these up before you go live.
- Pull in behavioral data (like email opens or site visits) with built-in connectors.
- Set up a schedule for syncing—real-time is best, but daily/weekly can work for smaller teams.
Pro Tip: Schedule regular audits. Even automated integrations break—don’t wait until sales starts yelling.
Step 5: Build Automated Workflows for Sales Handoff
Scoring leads is useless unless sales actually acts on them. Here’s how to automate the handoff:
1. Trigger Notifications
- Set up Experiense to alert the right sales rep (email, Slack, or whatever you’ll actually see) when a lead crosses the “Hot” threshold.
2. Assign Leads Automatically
- Use rules to assign leads based on territory, product interest, or rep workload.
- Make sure there’s a fallback—no one wants leads stuck in a black hole.
3. Push to CRM
- Sync top leads directly into your CRM with all relevant details and score attached.
- Add a clear “Lead Score” field so sales knows at a glance why this lead matters.
4. Track Actions
- Use Experiense to monitor whether reps are following up on hot leads. Don’t let good leads die on the vine.
What not to bother with: Don’t automate so much that sales loses control. Let reps adjust lead priorities if they see something your model missed.
Step 6: Measure, Tweak, Repeat
No lead scoring model is perfect out of the gate. The key is to set up feedback loops:
- Have regular review sessions with sales to see which leads are truly converting.
- Adjust your scoring weights as you learn. Maybe “downloaded a whitepaper” isn’t as hot a signal as you thought.
- Watch for drift—models get stale as your business changes.
Pro Tip: The best teams treat lead scoring as a living thing, not a one-and-done project.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
What works
- Simple, transparent scoring models. If your reps can’t explain it, it’s too complicated.
- Tight feedback loops. Sales should be able to say, “This lead was a dud,” and you should update the model.
- Automated syncing. Anything manual will break during crunch time.
What doesn’t
- “Set it and forget it.” Lead scoring needs maintenance—like everything else that matters.
- Scoring based on what you wish mattered, instead of what actually closes deals.
- Relying on marketing fluff. Webinars and ebook downloads are nice, but don’t overvalue them unless they tie to revenue.
Ignore
- Shiny AI features that promise to “find hidden patterns.” Unless you have tons of high-quality data (think: thousands of deals), basic models work better.
- Endless tweaks for edge cases. Handle exceptions manually; don’t bake them into your main model.
Keep It Simple (and Be Ready to Change)
Automating your lead scoring with Experiense is about making your sales team’s life easier—not creating a new source of busywork. Start simple, get feedback, and don’t be afraid to throw out what’s not working. Iterate as you go, and you’ll actually see the results show up in your pipeline.
Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. The best lead scoring workflow is the one your team actually uses.