If your sales team is tired of chasing dead-end leads, you’re not alone. Most teams waste time on folks who were never going to buy in the first place. Setting up lead scoring rules in Arti can help, but only if you do it thoughtfully. This guide is for people who want a no-nonsense way to qualify leads—without getting lost in buzzwords or building a system so complicated no one actually uses it.
Let’s walk through, step by step, how to set up lead scoring in Arti so you can spend less time sorting and more time closing.
Why Bother with Lead Scoring?
Before you dive in, a quick reality check: lead scoring isn’t magic. It just helps you sort prospects so you’re not flying blind. The goal is to flag leads that are both interested and a decent fit, so you don’t waste hours on tire-kickers.
Lead scoring works best when: - Your team gets more leads than they can handle - You want to focus on quality, not just quantity - You have enough data to tell the difference between a good and bad lead
If you’re just starting out or only get a handful of leads a week, skip the scoring for now. But if you’re drowning in leads—or your boss keeps asking why sales are slow—read on.
Step 1: Figure Out What Actually Makes a Good Lead
Don’t just copy someone else’s scoring model. Every business is different. The best scoring rules are based on what actually predicts a sale for you.
Start with real, historical data. - Who became a customer in the last 6-12 months? - What did they have in common? (Industry, job title, company size, website actions, email engagement, etc.) - What did leads who didn’t buy have in common?
Be honest about what matters. Sometimes, the real signals aren’t what you expect. For example: - “Downloaded a whitepaper” might not mean much if half your buyers never touch your content. - “Requested a demo” is usually a strong sign, but only if your demos don’t have a ton of no-shows.
Don’t overthink it. Pick 3-5 criteria you’re confident actually help (or hurt) a lead’s chances.
Pro tip: If you’re guessing, start simple. You can always tweak your rules later.
Step 2: Map Your Criteria to Arti’s Fields
Arti lets you build scoring rules based on the information in your CRM, forms, or tracked behavior. The trick is to match your “good lead” criteria to data you actually have.
Examples of data you can score on: - Job title or role (e.g., “CTO” or “Marketing Manager”) - Company size (e.g., “over 100 employees”) - Website actions (e.g., “visited pricing page”) - Email engagement (e.g., “clicked a campaign link”) - Custom fields you’ve set up (e.g., “has budget”)
What not to score: Avoid using fields that are rarely filled out, inconsistent, or just plain noise. If your reps ignore a field, so should you.
Reality check: If you don’t reliably capture a data point, don’t build a scoring rule around it—it’ll just lead to garbage results.
Step 3: Assign Points That Actually Reflect Value
This is where most people mess things up. The points you assign should reflect how important each action or trait is in predicting a sale.
Keep it simple: - Assign higher points to criteria that are strong buying signals (e.g., “Requested demo” = +30) - Use lower points for weak signals (e.g., “Opened an email” = +5) - Subtract points for red flags (e.g., “Competitor domain” = -20)
Example scoring breakdown: - Job title matches target persona: +20 - Company size > 100 employees: +10 - Clicked pricing page: +15 - No phone number provided: -10 - Used free email (gmail.com, etc.): -15
Don’t get cute. Resist the urge to use weird numbers (“+7.5 for webinar attendance”). Rounding keeps things readable.
Pro tip: Start with round numbers in increments of 5 or 10. You’re not baking a cake—precision is overrated here.
Step 4: Build Your Scoring Rules in Arti
Now you’re ready to set up your rules in Arti. Here’s how to get it done:
- Go to the Lead Scoring section in your Arti dashboard.
- Create a new scoring rule. Name it something obvious, like “2024 Lead Scoring.”
- Add your criteria. For each one:
- Select the field you want to score (e.g., “Job Title”)
- Set the condition (e.g., “contains ‘director’”)
- Assign the points
- Set negative scoring rules for traits you want to avoid.
- Save and activate the rule.
Pro tip: Don’t add every possible rule at once. Start with your top 3-5 signals. You can always add more as you see what works.
Step 5: Test and Tune Before You Trust It
Don’t flip the switch and assume your new scoring rules are perfect. Garbage in, garbage out. Here’s how to sanity-check your setup:
- Run your new scoring rules on last quarter’s leads. Who comes out on top? Are those the folks who actually closed?
- Spot-check edge cases. Are any obviously bad leads getting high scores, or vice versa?
- Get feedback from your sales team. They’ll notice if the scores don’t match reality.
If it’s way off, adjust your points or criteria. Sometimes, a field you thought was important turns out to be useless.
What to ignore: Fancy AI “auto-score” features that promise to do it all for you. They rarely work out of the box and often need just as much tweaking as your manual rules.
Step 6: Set Up Alerts and Automations (Optional, but Useful)
Once you’ve got basic scoring working, you can use it to trigger alerts or automations. Here’s what’s actually helpful:
- Notify your team when a lead crosses a threshold. E.g., “If score > 50, send to SDR for fast follow-up.”
- Route or prioritize leads based on score. High scorers go to your best reps; low scorers get slower, automated follow-up.
- Don’t over-automate. Resist the urge to “set and forget.” You’ll miss out on good leads that don’t fit your model, and chase bad ones that game the system.
Automations are great, but only if you’re keeping an eye on what’s actually happening.
Step 7: Review and Improve Your Scoring Rules Regularly
Lead scoring isn’t “set it and forget it.” Check in every month or quarter:
- Are high-scoring leads actually converting?
- Are you missing out on any that don’t score well?
- Has your ideal customer profile changed?
- Are you collecting new data that could improve scoring?
Tweak your rules as your business evolves. If something isn’t working, kill it.
Pro tip: Keep a changelog of your scoring tweaks. That way, when things get better (or worse), you know why.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Don’t Overthink
Good lead scoring in Arti isn’t about building the fanciest system—it’s about helping your team focus on the right leads. Start simple. Use real data. Ignore what doesn’t matter. And don’t be afraid to change things up when reality doesn’t match your expectations.
The best lead scoring models are living documents, not stone tablets. Keep it updated, keep it useful, and you’ll spend more time selling to people who actually want to buy. That’s the whole point.