If you’re drowning in leads and want to actually do something useful with them—without getting lost in a maze of “AI-powered” dashboards—this is for you. We’ll dig into how to segment and nurture leads in Topo using engagement scores. No hype, just a practical guide for marketers, sales folks, and anyone who wants to get more out of their leads without reinventing the wheel.
Why bother with engagement scores at all?
Here’s the honest truth: not every lead deserves the same attention. Engagement scores are just a way to put a number on how interested someone is. If you treat all leads the same, you’ll waste time on looky-loos and annoy your real prospects.
Engagement scores help you:
- Focus on people who are actually interested
- Avoid spamming folks who barely know you exist
- Spot leads that need a nudge vs. the ones ready for a call
But—don’t get too obsessed with the number. Scores are only as good as the signals you feed them. Garbage in, garbage out.
Step 1: Get your engagement scoring right
Before you jump into segmenting or nurturing, make sure your engagement scoring in Topo isn’t just a random number generator. If you inherited a setup, double-check it.
Questions to ask:
- What actions increase (or decrease) the score? (e.g. opening emails, clicking links, attending webinars)
- Are your scores actually tied to buying intent, or just activity? (Big difference)
- How often do scores update? (Real-time is best, but daily works for most)
Pro tip:
Don’t assign big points for fluffy actions like “visited the homepage.” Weight things like demo requests, webinar attendance, or multiple email clicks higher.
What to ignore:
Vanity metrics—like social media follows—don’t usually mean someone wants to buy. Keep your scoring focused on actions that matter.
Step 2: Define your lead segments
Once you trust your engagement scores, it’s time to slice up your leads in a way that makes sense for your business. Most people overcomplicate this. Start simple.
Common segments:
- Hot leads: High engagement score, recent activity
- Warm leads: Mid-level score, some recent activity
- Cold leads: Low score, or haven’t engaged in a while
- Unqualified: Score doesn’t matter, they just don’t fit (wrong industry, student emails, etc.)
How to set thresholds:
- Look at your current lead database and pick score ranges that break things up logically. Don’t sweat the perfect number—just set a baseline and adjust later.
- Example:
- Hot: 70+
- Warm: 40–69
- Cold: 0–39
In Topo:
Use the filtering or smart list features to build these segments with clear rules. Test the filters before you hit “save”—you don’t want your CEO in the cold list by mistake.
Step 3: Build smart lists or dynamic segments in Topo
Topo has flexible list-building tools that let you segment leads automatically as their scores change. Here’s how to do it:
- Go to the Leads or Contacts section.
- Create a new Smart List (or Dynamic Segment).
- Set up rules based on engagement score ranges (e.g., “Engagement Score is greater than or equal to 70” for hot leads).
- Add extra filters if needed (industry, company size, last activity date, etc.).
- Save and name your segment. Be obvious—“Hot Leads – Q2” is better than “List 42.”
Pro tip:
Set up notifications or tasks for your sales team when someone moves into the “hot” segment. No one should sit in there for days without a follow-up.
What to ignore:
Don’t create a segment for every tiny score change (“51–55,” “56–60,” etc.). It’s overkill and just makes things harder to manage.
Step 4: Nurture leads differently based on their segment
This is where a lot of teams mess up—they send the same emails to everyone. That’s a fast track to unsubscribes and wasted effort.
For Hot Leads:
- Quick, direct follow-up—email, phone, LinkedIn.
- Offer something of real value (demos, trials, consultations).
- Don’t over-automate. Real humans should be involved.
For Warm Leads:
- Drip campaigns with content that answers common questions.
- Nudges to take the next step (sign up for a webinar, download a guide).
- Occasional personal outreach, but don’t be pushy.
For Cold Leads:
- Occasional check-ins with light, useful info.
- Invitations to relevant events (not generic blasts).
- Give them a way to re-engage—don’t just nag them.
For Unqualified Leads:
- Minimal effort. Maybe a quarterly newsletter, if that.
- If they become relevant later, great. Otherwise, move on.
Pro tip:
Review and refresh your nurture content every couple of months. Stale, generic emails don’t help anyone.
Step 5: Automate, but don’t “set and forget”
Topo’s automation tools can handle a lot of the grunt work, but don’t fall for the “set it and forget it” trap. Automations break, people change, and what worked last quarter might flop now.
What to automate:
- Assigning leads to the right segment as scores change
- Sending initial follow-up emails for hot leads
- Enrolling warm/cold leads into nurture drips
What not to automate:
- Every single touchpoint. Hot leads want a human, not a robot.
- Complex, multi-step sales conversations. Use automations to tee up the human, not replace them.
What to watch for:
- Out-of-date content or links
- Overlapping automations (don’t double-message leads)
- Leads getting stuck in a segment forever—set reminders to review regularly
Step 6: Measure, adjust, and keep it simple
No system is perfect from day one. The best teams check their segments and nurture flows regularly.
What to track:
- How many leads move from cold → warm → hot
- Response rates by segment
- Which nurture emails get replies or clicks
What to do if things aren’t working:
- Revisit your scoring model. Maybe you’re overvaluing weak signals.
- Adjust your segment thresholds if too many (or too few) leads are “hot.”
- Swap out nurture content that doesn’t get engagement.
Pro tip:
Don’t wait for a “quarterly review”—set aside 30 minutes every month to check your segments and flows. Small tweaks beat big overhauls.
Wrapping up: Don’t overcomplicate it
At the end of the day, segmenting and nurturing leads in Topo is about working smarter, not harder. Focus on real buying signals, keep your segments simple, and don’t automate away all the human touch. Start with the basics, see what works, and tweak as you go. The best systems are the ones you actually use.