If you’re swimming in leads from Techtarget but only a handful ever talk to sales, you’re not alone. Lead scoring is supposed to help, but it can feel like guesswork—especially if you’re new to how Techtarget structures its data and signals. This guide is for sales and marketing folks who want to set up lead scoring that actually works, without wasting hours on low-value tweaks or trying to impress the boss with fancy charts.
Let’s cut the fluff. Here’s how to set up lead scoring in Techtarget so you can focus on prospects who might actually buy—and skip the ones who are just kicking tires.
Step 1: Know What Techtarget Actually Tracks (and What They Don’t)
Before you build a scoring model, you need to know what’s in the box. Techtarget isn’t some magical “intent” machine. What you get are:
- Content consumption: Whitepapers, webinars, articles, downloads.
- Topic interest: What subjects people are reading about.
- Company and contact info: Sometimes detailed, sometimes... not so much.
- Engagement recency: When someone last interacted.
What you don’t get:
- Direct buying signals (like someone filling out your pricing form).
- Perfectly clean data—expect some duplicates or vague job titles.
- “Hot lead” fairy dust, no matter what the sales rep said.
Pro tip: Don’t try to score what you can’t measure. Stick to the signals Techtarget actually gives you.
Step 2: Define What a Qualified Sales Prospect Looks Like
Lead scoring isn’t just about activity—it’s about fit. Get sales and marketing on the same page:
- Firmographics: Industry, company size, region. Do you care if they’re a tiny startup? If not, don’t give them points.
- Role/title: Is “IT Manager” your sweet spot? Or do you need VP-level? Decide up front.
- Behavior: Multiple content interactions matter more than a single whitepaper download.
Write this down. You’ll use it as your cheat sheet when you build your scoring rules.
Step 3: Map Techtarget Data to Your Scoring Model
Now, turn those definitions into actual scoring rules. Here’s what usually works:
Assign Points Based on:
a. Demographics (Fit)
- Right industry: +10 points
- Target company size: +10 points
- Correct region: +5 points
- Job title matches target roles: +15 points
b. Engagement (Activity)
- Downloaded key asset (e.g., your buyer’s guide): +15 points
- Attended a webinar: +10 points
- Viewed 3+ pieces of content in a week: +20 points
- Recent activity (last 14 days): +10 points
c. Negative Points
- Generic email domain (“gmail.com”): -10 points
- Job titles like “Student,” “Consultant,” or “Other”: -15 points
- No activity in 60+ days: -20 points
Don’t overcomplicate this. You can adjust later. Start simple, or you’ll spend weeks in meetings arguing over whether “Director” is worth 12 or 14 points.
Step 4: Set Up Scoring in Techtarget (and Your CRM)
Techtarget isn’t your CRM, but you can usually set up basic scoring in their platform and sync the rest to your CRM or marketing automation tool. Here’s how to do it without losing your mind:
- Use Techtarget’s scoring tools:
- Most Techtarget products (like Priority Engine) let you assign weights to actions or fields.
- Plug in your point values for each field (from Step 3).
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Test with a few sample leads—see if the scores match your “gut feel.”
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Automate syncing:
- Set up integration to push scored leads into Salesforce, HubSpot, or whatever you use.
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Map the score field over (call it something like “TT Lead Score” so sales knows where it’s from).
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If your CRM does the heavy lifting:
- Use Techtarget’s raw data. Build your own scoring model using workflows or automation rules.
- Example: In HubSpot, create a custom property for TT Score, set up workflows to add/subtract points based on imported activities.
Watch out: Techtarget’s native scoring is sometimes basic. If you want more granularity, you’ll need to do it on your end.
Step 5: Set Your Thresholds—When Does a Lead Go to Sales?
Lead scoring is useless if you don’t act on it. Decide:
- What score makes a lead “qualified” enough for sales?
- Example: 50+ points = sales-ready
- Below 50 = nurture
- How will you notify sales?
- Automated alert? Assign task? Weekly report?
Be conservative at first. It’s better to send too few leads than to drown sales in junk. You can always lower the bar later.
Step 6: Test, Review, and Tweak
Here’s the not-so-secret truth: Your first version won’t be perfect. That’s fine.
- Check what sales thinks: Are the “high-scoring” leads actually good? Or are they just active students?
- Look at conversion rates: If nothing is converting, your scoring is off.
- Tweak monthly: Add/remove point values, change rules, drop signals that don’t predict real interest.
Ignore the urge to get fancy. Don’t add machine learning or predictive scoring right away. Most of the time, simple rules beat algorithms—at least until you have a lot of good data.
What to Skip (Unless You Love Wasting Time)
- Scoring based on vague “intent” categories: If you can’t explain what “intent level 3” means to a salesperson, don’t use it.
- Overvaluing single interactions: Someone who binges your content in a day is probably more interested than someone who downloaded a whitepaper six months ago.
- Manual scoring: Don’t make your team update scores by hand. Automate or skip it.
Pro Tips and Common Pitfalls
- Get feedback from sales early. If they ignore your leads, your score means nothing.
- Don’t trust the data blindly. Techtarget’s info is only as good as the people filling out forms. Always sanity-check.
- Keep it simple. Complicated models sound cool but rarely work better in practice.
- Document your rules. If you get hit by a bus (or just take a vacation), someone else should be able to follow your logic.
Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Don’t Chase Unicorns
Lead scoring in Techtarget is about separating the “maybe real buyers” from the noise. Start with clear, simple rules. Check if the best-scoring leads are the ones sales actually likes. Adjust as you learn. Skip the shiny features until the basics work.
At the end of the day, the best score is the one that gets sales talking to people who might actually buy. Don’t sweat the rest.