When you start to garner leads for your business, you will begin to wonder how you will know when one lead is serious while another is not.  Scoring your leads is an important process because you do not want to waste time on leads that will never go anywhere, but you also do not want to drop leads that might turn into sales if you nurture them long enough.  There are a number of different solutions that can help you score your leads and some of them work well while others do not.  If you use these lead scoring questions, however, you will better understand your lead and where it might end up in the future.

Before you make the initial call or contact, you will want to ask the following questions.  First, why does the prospect want to talk to you in the first place?  You might be able to solve a problem they have or they might have a question about your business.  If that is the case, give that lead a point.

Second, you will want to ask what is the title of the person that you will be calling?  If you will be talking to a few different people at the same time, who has the highest title?  If you are speaking with someone that has a high level of management, you will want to give that lead another point.

Third, find out if your lead has confirmed your appointment by email or in another manner.  If they have, they get another point.

The more points the lead has before you make the initial call or contact, the better chance you have of turning that lead into an actual sale.

Once you have made the call or contact, you will have more questions to ask to help you complete your scoring of that particular lead.

First, did the call or visit actually take place?  If your lead turned up for the appointment or was available when you called, they get a point.

Second, was the write up on the lead correct?  If your lead confirms the information you had about their problem or reiterates their question, they get another point.

And third, is the lead moving towards making a purchase?  If your lead seems to be taking steps towards becoming a customer, they get another point.  Sometimes, this is hard to judge, but after enough experience, you might be able to tell instinctually.

There will be some leads that get all six points in their favor and those are the leads you know are likely about to convert into sales.  If you have some leads that only have a few points, you will not likely want to pay as much attention to them as the ones that have 3, 4 or 5 points.  This point system is simple enough that you will not be bogged down by too many figures as you attempt to score all of your leads and contacts.