The logic is quite simple. When an organization’s sales team does well, the organization does well. It might be one step closer to profitability, for example. Or perhaps a recently closed deal now allows the company to open up that second office.

Given the impact a sales team has on an organization’s bottom line, it’s no surprise that so many businesses attempt to implement some type of lead scoring process. Unfortunately, these processes are often flawed from the onset as a direct result of focusing on lead activity rather than lead engagement. If you’re perplexed by that last sentence then you, too, are likely a victim of the most common lead scoring mistake. 

Activity vs. Engagement

Activity is something that any visitor to your website or recipient of your email can do. For example, anybody can browse the various pages on your site, and anybody can open your e-blast. 

Engagement, on the other hand, is a much stronger indicator of someone’s actual interest level. While anybody can peruse your website, only those visitors that are truly engaged will fill out a form or use a live chat feature. Similarly, email clicks are more telling than email opens. The same logic applies to both paid and organic social media promotions. 

Focusing on engagement also allows organizations to segment their leads into lifecycle stages. Visitors that fill out a form for an eBook, for instance, are typically categorized as a “marketing qualified lead” (MQL). Visitors to the eBook landing page that do not complete the form, however, will remain “prospects.” Organizations focusing exclusively on the activity in their lead scoring are missing the chance to get a meaningful assessment of how qualified visitors really are. 

Using Engagement and Activity Together

Though engagement is an important component of any lead scoring criteria, activity cannot be completely ignored. Imagine a member of your sales team getting a list of marketing qualified leads that downloaded an eBook from your website. How do they prioritize their outreach?  

That’s where activity comes into play. A rep knows to prioritize a MQL that has a higher lead score as a result of more activity across your website over a MQL that has exhibited less activity. You can essentially think about a visitor’s lifecycle stage as being an initial qualification, with the lead score being a tie breaker. 

Ready to start refining your lead scoring process? You can contact us here.