If your sales team is buried in a pile of leads and everyone's guessing which ones to call first, you're not alone. Most B2B teams have more data than time, and the last thing anyone needs is another tool that promises to “revolutionize” your pipeline but ends up adding more noise. This guide cuts through the fluff and shows you, in plain English, how to actually use Theirstack to score and prioritize leads—without getting lost in the weeds or stuck in analysis paralysis.
Let’s get your team spending time on leads that matter, not just the loudest ones in the funnel.
Why Lead Scoring Matters (and What to Ignore)
Lead scoring is simple in theory: stack-rank your leads so reps spend their time where it counts. In practice? Most systems overcomplicate things, add “AI-powered” black boxes, or spit out numbers nobody trusts.
Here’s what you actually need from lead scoring:
- Clarity: Is this lead worth chasing—yes or no?
- Speed: Can your team see the score right where they work?
- Customizability: Can you change scoring rules as your strategy shifts?
- Trust: Do reps believe the scores, or are they just window dressing?
Ignore features that sound cool but don’t move the needle for your team. Endless data enrichment, “predictive intent signals,” or dashboards nobody uses? Skip it. Focus on what helps you act faster and smarter.
Step 1: Get Your Data House in Order
Before you even log into Theirstack, make sure your data isn’t garbage. Scoring tools are only as smart as the info you feed them.
What to check:
- Lead source: Do you reliably track where each lead came from?
- Contact info: Are emails, job titles, and company names accurate?
- Activity logs: Can you see who opened emails, booked demos, or replied?
Pro tip: Don’t wait until your CRM is “perfect”—that day never comes. Just clean up the basics so your scoring isn’t built on sand.
Step 2: Connect Theirstack to Your CRM (and Only What You Need)
Theirstack lives or dies on integration. The good news: setup is straightforward if you don’t overthink it.
To do:
- Connect Theirstack to your main CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, whatever you use).
- Pick the minimum data fields you want to sync: usually name, company, lead source, last activity, and any “fit” indicators (industry, company size, etc.).
- Don’t turn on every integration. If your reps never look at Twitter, don’t bother syncing social feeds.
The goal here is to get the basics working smoothly. You can always add more data sources later, but too much out of the gate slows everything down.
Step 3: Build a Scoring Model That’s Actually Useful
This is where most teams get stuck. Theirstack offers templates and “AI recommendations,” but skip those until you know what your best leads look like.
Start simple:
- Define your “ideal customer.”
- Which companies close fastest and stick around?
- What job titles make decisions?
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What actions (e.g., requesting a demo) actually predict a sale?
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Assign points to signals that matter.
- +10 if the company matches your ideal industry.
- +5 if the contact is a director or higher.
- +7 if they opened the last two emails.
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-5 if they’ve gone cold for 30+ days.
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Keep it to 3-5 signals at first.
If you need a spreadsheet to explain your scoring, it’s too complicated. -
Document your logic.
Write a quick note for your team: “A lead over 20 points is sales-ready. Here’s why.” No magic numbers, just common sense.
What to ignore:
Don’t obsess over “engagement” signals like Twitter follows or webinar signups unless you know they correlate with deals closing. More signals ≠ better model.
Step 4: Set Up Lead Routing and Alerts
Scoring is useless if nobody acts on it. Theirstack lets you trigger actions based on lead scores—use this to make your team’s life easier, not harder.
To do:
- Set up an alert for reps when a lead crosses your “ready” threshold (e.g., 20+ points).
- Route hot leads to the right rep based on territory or segment.
- Optional: Create a Slack channel for “hot leads” if that works for your team—but don’t create alert fatigue.
Pro tip:
Ask your reps how they want to be notified. If everyone ignores email alerts, try in-app or SMS. The point is to make taking action frictionless.
Step 5: Review, Tweak, and Don’t Over-Engineer
No scoring system is perfect out of the box. Theirstack makes it easy to adjust points and signals—use that flexibility, but don’t chase your tail.
How to iterate:
- Every few weeks, look at your closed-won deals. Did most have high scores? If not, tweak your model.
- Ask your reps: “Are the top-scored leads actually good?” If not, figure out what’s missing.
- Drop signals that don’t matter. Add new ones only if they’re easy to track and clearly helpful.
What to ignore:
Don’t get sucked into endless “model optimization.” Your sales process will change faster than your scoring can keep up, so focus on what’s working now.
Step 6: Keep It Transparent and Trustworthy
Lead scoring falls apart when reps don’t trust it or don’t know how scores are calculated. Theirstack lets you show the breakdown for each score—use it.
- Make sure everyone can see why a lead scored high or low.
- Encourage reps to flag leads that feel “off” so you can adjust your logic.
- Avoid “black box” scoring. If you can’t explain it in a sentence, it’s probably not helping.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Skip
Works: - Clear, simple scoring rules based on real sales history. - Tight integration with your CRM and alert system. - Regular check-ins with your sales team for feedback.
Doesn’t: - Overly complex models that nobody understands. - Chasing every “intent signal” just because you can. - Setting and forgetting—lead scoring needs tuning.
Skip it: - Features you don’t need right now (like automated enrichment or predictive AI scoring). - Data sources your team doesn’t use. - Fancy dashboards if nobody looks at them.
The Bottom Line: Start Simple, Stay Nimble
Theirstack can help your B2B sales team cut through the noise and focus on leads that actually convert—but only if you keep things grounded. Build a scoring model that makes sense, is easy to explain, and fits how your team works today. Iterate as you go, and don’t let “perfect” be the enemy of “good enough.”
If you keep it simple and adapt as you learn, you’ll spend less time guessing and more time closing real deals.