Stop me if this sounds familiar: your sales team is drowning in leads, most of which are dead ends. Or maybe you’ve got a trickle of inquiries and no clue which ones are actually worth chasing. This guide is for anyone who’s tired of gut-feel guessing and wants to use Empler’s automation to score leads—so you spend time on the right prospects and leave the tire-kickers behind.
Here’s a straightforward walkthrough for setting up automated lead scoring in Empler that actually helps sales, not just adds busywork. I’ll call out what’s useful, what’s fluff, and where to watch out for common mistakes.
Why bother with lead scoring? (And why most setups stink)
Lead scoring isn’t magic—it’s just a way to rank your leads based on how likely they are to buy. When it works, your sales team focuses on real opportunities. When it doesn’t, it’s just another spreadsheet no one trusts.
Most companies either: - Score based on gut feel (“I like this company’s logo!”) - Use one-size-fits-all templates from their CRM vendor
Automated lead scoring in Empler is better than both, but only if you take a few minutes to tune it to your business. Otherwise, you’ll chase the wrong leads and wonder why sales is still slow.
Step 1: Get clear on what a “good” lead actually looks like
Before you even open Empler, grab your sales team for a quick reality check. Forget marketing wish lists—ask them, “Which leads actually end up buying? What do they have in common?”
Look for: - Company size, industry, or region - Job title or department of the contact - Website behavior (e.g., requested a demo, visited pricing page) - Answers to qualifying questions (budget, timeline, authority)
Pro tip: Don’t overcomplicate this. Pick 3–5 signals that consistently show up in your best deals. Ignore the rest for now.
Step 2: Set up lead fields and tracking in Empler
Now, log into Empler. You need to make sure it’s actually capturing the data you need to score leads.
- Check your lead fields: Go to your lead or contact management section. Make sure you have fields for the attributes you picked in Step 1 (industry, job title, etc.). If not, create custom fields.
- Integrate with your website and forms: If you want to score based on things like “requested demo,” connect Empler to your web forms and tracking tools. This might be native or need a plugin—don’t skip it or your scores will be garbage.
- Sync data sources: If you pull in leads from other tools (LinkedIn, events, etc.), double-check that data lands in the right fields automatically.
Watch out: Automated scoring is only as good as your data. If your forms are full of junk or half your leads have missing info, fix that first.
Step 3: Build your lead scoring model in Empler
This is where most people get overwhelmed, but it’s not rocket science. Empler lets you set up scoring rules based on lead attributes and behaviors.
The basics:
- Assign points to positive signals: E.g., +10 if job title contains “VP” or “Director,” +5 if company size > 100 employees, +8 if they view your pricing page.
- Subtract points for negative signals: E.g., –10 if email domain is “gmail.com,” –5 if location is outside your market.
- Set up thresholds: Decide what score makes a lead “hot,” “warm,” or “cold.” Example: 20+ is hot, 10–19 is warm, under 10 is cold.
How to do it in Empler:
- Navigate to Lead Scoring: Usually under “Automation” or “Lead Management.”
- Create a new scoring rule: Add the criteria you identified earlier. Choose the field, the condition (e.g., “contains,” “equals,” “greater than”), and the point value.
- Set rule priorities: If Empler supports rule order or weighting, make sure the most important signals carry the most weight.
- Save and activate your scoring model.
Don’t get cute: Ignore “AI-powered” suggestions unless you’ve got tons of clean data and the model actually matches your sales process. Start simple; you can always tweak later.
Step 4: Test your scoring (before you unleash it on sales)
Here’s where most teams blow it—they turn on scoring, then wonder why “hot” leads never pick up the phone.
- Run the model on existing leads: See which ones come out as “hot.” Does that match what your reps already know?
- Spot-check results: Ask your sales team to look at a few “hot” and “cold” leads. Do the scores make sense?
- Tweak the rules: If you’re getting weird results (e.g., students with perfect scores, or great prospects marked cold), adjust your points or criteria.
Pro tip: Don’t aim for perfect. If your top 20% of leads are mostly solid, you’re in good shape.
Step 5: Set up workflows for sales follow-up
Scoring is useless unless it triggers action. In Empler, use automation to route leads based on their score.
- Assign hot leads: Automatically notify the right rep or team when a lead crosses your “hot” threshold.
- Send nurture emails to warm/cold leads: Set up drip campaigns for leads that aren’t ready yet, so they don’t fall through the cracks.
- Flag stale leads: If a hot lead hasn’t been touched in a week, remind someone to follow up.
Watch out: Don’t bombard your sales team with notifications for every tiny score change. Focus on meaningful transitions (e.g., when a lead becomes hot).
Step 6: Review and improve your scoring model every month
Lead scoring isn’t something you set and forget—at least, not if you want it to actually work.
- Check conversion rates: Are your “hot” leads really closing more? If not, your model needs work.
- Get feedback from sales: Are reps ignoring your hot leads? Ask why. Maybe your signals are off, or you’re missing something important.
- Update criteria as your business changes: New product? Entering a new market? Tweak your rules accordingly.
Pro tip: Don’t chase “perfect.” Good enough is good enough. Iterate as you learn.
What to skip (and what to watch for)
- Don’t overcomplicate scoring. More rules ≠ better results. Three strong signals beat ten weak ones.
- Ignore vanity metrics. Page views and social follows rarely predict sales unless you’ve proven otherwise in your own data.
- Be wary of “AI black box” scoring. If you can’t explain why a lead is hot, your reps won’t trust it.
- Don’t forget about data quality. Garbage in, garbage out. Make it easy for leads to give good info, and clean up junk when you spot it.
Wrapping up: Keep it simple, keep it useful
Automated lead scoring in Empler is worth setting up—if you keep it grounded in reality and actually use it. Start small, focus on what you know works, and treat your scoring model as a living thing, not a set-and-forget checkbox. You’ll save your sales team hours, close more deals, and avoid chasing your tail.
And remember: if you find yourself overthinking it, just ask your best sales rep what makes a good lead and start there. Iterate once a month. That’s all it takes.