Lesson 3/10 · 30%
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Sales Intelligence: Data-Driven Prospecting
1 The Data Stack for Prospecting 2 Intent Signals Explained 3 Building the Account Score 4 Technographic Targeting 5Hiring Signal Intelligence 6Visitor Intelligence Layer 7Dynamic Account Lists 8Prioritizing at Scale 9Coordinating with Marketing 10Measuring Prospecting ROI
Lesson 3 of 10

Building the Account Score

A scoring model that ranks accounts by purchase likelihood is one of the highest-value assets a sales team can build. This lesson walks through building one from scratch.

Step 1: Define Your Scoring Attributes

List every attribute that correlates with a successful closed-won deal in your business. Start by analyzing your last 30 closed-won customers and looking for patterns. Common high-correlation attributes:

  • Industry (specific verticals you win most in)
  • Employee count range
  • Technology stack matches
  • Funding stage and recency
  • Hiring signals (specific titles being hired)
  • Website visit behavior (page type, session depth, return visits)
  • G2 intent match

Step 2: Assign Weights

Not all attributes predict equally. Industry match and page visit behavior typically carry the most predictive weight. Assign points based on your analysis: industry fit (0 or 25 points), employee range (0 or 15), tech stack (0 or 20), pricing page visit (0 or 30), return visit (0 or 15), etc.

Step 3: Validate Against Historical Data

Score your last 50 closed-won and 50 closed-lost deals retroactively. If your model is working, closed-won deals should average 20–30 points higher than closed-lost. If they don't, adjust the weights until they do.

Step 4: Set Action Thresholds

Define: Score 80+ = immediate outreach (same day). Score 50–79 = standard queue (within 48 hours). Score 30–49 = low-priority queue (weekly review). Score below 30 = no immediate action, monitor only.

Key Takeaways
  • Build your scoring model from closed-won data patterns, not intuition
  • Validate retroactively against 50 closed-won and 50 closed-lost before deploying
  • Set explicit action thresholds (80+ = same day) so scoring drives behavior, not just reports
  • Recalibrate the model every 90 days as your market and product evolve
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