Sales teams waste a ton of time chasing the wrong people. If you’re slogging through leads in spreadsheets or hoping your CRM’s “hot lead” flag actually means something, you’re not alone. This guide is for sales managers, marketing leads, and anyone stuck sorting the good leads from the tire-kickers. We’ll walk through how to set up lead scoring in BetterContact so you can stop guessing and start talking to people who might actually buy.
No fluff, no vague “AI-powered” promises—just a clear, step-by-step setup, with tips on what actually matters and what’s just noise.
Why Automated Lead Scoring Isn’t Magic (But It Helps)
Before you dive in, know this: automated lead scoring is only as good as the signals you feed it. It’ll help your team prioritize, but it won’t fix a broken sales process or make people reply to your emails. Still, it’s a huge step up from sorting leads by gut feeling.
When it works:
- You’ve got enough leads coming in that you need to triage.
- Your sales process is repeatable (not totally bespoke for every deal).
- You actually act on the scores—don’t just set it and forget it.
When it doesn’t:
- Your data’s a mess (missing emails, wrong numbers, no activity tracking).
- You don’t close the loop—if no one updates lead status, the scores get stale.
If that sounds like your world, let’s get into it.
Step 1: Get Your Data House in Order
Automated scoring only works if your data isn’t garbage. Before you even touch settings, check these basics:
- Consistent data entry: Make sure new leads are getting all the fields filled in—email, company, source, etc.
- No duplicate contacts: Merge or delete obvious dupes. Duplicates will mess with scoring and reporting.
- Track real activity: If you’re not logging calls, emails, and site visits, you’re flying blind. Connect your email/calendar tools or whatever you use—don’t rely on memory.
Pro tip:
Garbage in, garbage out. Before you spend time on scoring, spend 30 minutes cleaning up your most recent 100 leads. You’ll thank yourself later.
Step 2: Decide What Makes a Lead “Hot” for Your Team
Every business is different. Forget what some SaaS blog says—figure out what actually predicts a sale for you.
A few common signals: - Demographics: Job title, company size, industry. - Behavior: Opened your last email? Booked a demo? Visited your pricing page? - Source: Referral, LinkedIn, trade show, cold web form. - Timing: How recently did they engage? - Negative signals: Generic emails, never responds, unsubscribed.
How to pick your signals:
- Look at your last 20 closed deals. What did they all have in common?
- Ask your sales team what makes a lead “look good” (you’ll get real answers).
- Don’t overthink it. Three to five key signals is plenty to start.
What to ignore:
- Vanity signals like “downloaded a whitepaper” unless you know those folks actually buy.
- Anything you can’t track reliably—if you’re not sure the data’s there, leave it out for now.
Step 3: Map Your Lead Scoring Rules in BetterContact
Now you’ve got your signals, let’s turn them into actual rules in BetterContact. The good news: the platform’s scoring is flexible, but not so complicated you’ll get lost.
3.1. Find the Lead Scoring Settings
- Go to your BetterContact dashboard.
- Navigate to Settings > Lead Scoring (sometimes under “Automation” or “Scoring”—they move stuff around, so check both).
- Click Create New Score Rule or similar.
3.2. Set Up Your Score Criteria
For each signal, create a rule. Example:
- Job Title = “CTO” or “VP Engineering” → +20 points
- Company Size > 100 employees → +15 points
- Clicked a pricing link in last 7 days → +25 points
- Came from LinkedIn ad → +10 points
- Never opened any emails → -30 points
Be realistic about point values:
Don’t make every rule +100 or -100. Spread the points so you can actually tell a “warm” lead from a “hot” one.
3.3. Set Score Decay (Optional, but Smart)
People get cold. Use score decay so leads lose points over time if they stop engaging. In BetterContact, you can usually set:
- Decay rate (e.g., lose 5 points for every week of inactivity)
- Triggers (e.g., reset decay if they open an email)
It’s not perfect, but it keeps your list fresh.
3.4. Save and Test
Don’t just hit save and hope. Run a few test leads through the scoring to see if the numbers make sense. If your “hottest” leads aren’t coming out on top, tweak your rules.
Step 4: Put the Scores to Work
A score is just a number until you use it. Here’s how to make sure your team actually benefits:
- Set up Smart Views: In BetterContact, create filtered lists like “Hot Leads (Score > 70)” or “Needs Nurturing (Score < 30).”
- Route automatically: Assign leads to reps based on score. No more cherry-picking or “who gets this one?” debates.
- Trigger workflows: Use scores to start automated emails, reminders, or even Slack alerts for high scorers.
What NOT to do:
- Don’t hide the scores from your team or keep things mysterious. Let reps see why a lead is “hot” or “cold”—transparency helps buy-in.
- Don’t treat the score as gospel. It’s a starting point, not the final word.
Step 5: Review, Adjust, and Don’t Get Lazy
Lead scoring isn’t “set it and forget it.” Every few weeks, check if your rules are still working.
- Are the right leads making it to sales? If not, tweak the rules.
- Is your team ignoring the scores? Find out why—maybe the rules don’t match reality.
- Are you missing new signals? Maybe webinar attendees are closing lately—add that in.
Pro tip:
Ask your reps for feedback. If they say the score “makes no sense,” listen. The best scoring systems are built with real-world input, not just what sounds good on paper.
What to Skip (For Now)
You’ll see CRM vendors pushing “AI lead scoring” or “predictive analytics.” Here’s the truth:
- Most SMBs won’t see huge gains from black-box AI scoring versus a solid, rule-based system.
- If you don’t have thousands of leads a month and tons of closed-won data, keep it simple.
- Fancy integrations or “intent data” sound good, but if you can’t explain it to your sales team in one sentence, skip it.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Automated lead scoring in BetterContact isn’t rocket science, but it’s easy to overcomplicate. Start with clear, simple rules based on what actually converts for you. Clean up your data. Use the scores to drive action, not just reporting. And don’t be afraid to adjust as you learn.
You’ll close more deals by focusing on the right leads—not by fiddling with a hundred scoring rules or buying into the latest CRM buzzword. Start simple, see what works, and keep tuning as you go. That’s how you actually move the needle.