What is Einstein Lead Scoring and how it works
2 min
Let’s play a game. Think of a 2-digit number between 1 and 100 where both digits are odd and different from each other. Ready? Go.
Is the number 37? Yes. Since I can clearly read minds please consider me your resident overlord. My tynarray would be benevolent tempered only by an occasional assassination.
Okay, Let us get serious now. My “guess” is based on statistical probability and human phsycology, so there is indeed a high chance you might have chosen the number 37. That is the magic of maths.
In medium to big enterprises, Sales agents deal with lots of leads. In today’s connected world, Sales agents may be swamped with Leads. Some arrive via social networks (twitter, facebook), some due to an event your company is hosting, others may come via recommendations or via marketing campaigns.
Sorting leads, however, is not a new problem. Sales agents figured out a way to focus on important leads a long time ago. The answer was Lead Scoring.
Lead Scoring Definition
In layman terms, Lead Scoring is a score assigned to a lead thereby ranking a prospective lead in relation to others. A higher lead score may mean a high likelihood of conversion. If a Sales team is swamped with leads, a lead score gives a handy indicator on leads to focus their attention on.
Lead Scoring Models
The issue, however, is creating a consistent lead scoring model is easier said than done. In the absence of a consistent framework for scoring leads, giving a rank to a lead was like me asking you to choose a random number at the beginning of this article.
- Some of the Issues regularly faced by enterprises are:
- Successful conversion patterns are sometimes not known or documented.
- The model is based on incorrect assumptions.
- Is based on stale data or non relevant data.
Imagine a lead scoring model from the Pre-Covid era where a store visit or an in-person meeting with a Sales agent would score a lead higher. That model would incorrectly score leads because buyer behavior has changed (as people are more comfortable buying online).
For lead scoring to provide value, it has to be smarter. Businesses need a full-time, intelligent system for monitoring successes and failures. One that automatically adjusts the scoring based on real-time data and results.
How Einstein Lead Scoring works
Einstein Lead Scoring is part of Sales Cloud Einstein and uses machine learning, data science to discover patterns in your lead conversion history. By using machine learning, Einstein Lead Scoring provides a simpler, faster, and more accurate solution than tradition rules-based lead scoring approaches.
Einstein Lead scoring gives each lead a score based on how well the lead matches the company’s conversion patterns.
- Einstein Scoring Model considers:
- Past converted leads, custom fields and activity data.
- Commonality of current lead with prior converted leads.
- Lead segment if segments have been configured.
Einstein lead scoring automatically adopts to changing patterns and as a result lead scores are refreshed multiple times a day.
If your organisation currently does not have enough conversion data, Einstein Lead Scoring will automatically switch to a global model i.e. it bases its score on similar industry types from various anonymized Salesforce customers. Over time, once your organisation has enough lead conversion data, it will switch to a local model.
Lead scores appears in the Einstein component on lead detail pages. The component also displays which of the lead’s fields are influencing the score. This gives an indication to the Sales rep about the score is calculated.
Salesforce Labs also provide a free managed package (Einstein Lead Scoring Value) to quantify the impact of priortizing leads with Einstein Lead Scoring.
Interested? I bet you are. Einstein Lead Scoring adds the magic dust of Aritifical Intelligence and machine learning to an overly complex and hard to get right leading scoring process.
It does not stop there. You can also score opportunities with Einstein Opportunity Score and even Accounts with Einstein Account Score.
If you are interested in finding out more regarding how Lead Scoring can help you transform your Sales process, here are some links to get started
- Salesforce Einstein Basics
- Sales Cloud Einstein Rollout strategies
- Understand how Sales Cloud Einstein works
Albert Einstein himself once said “I never think of the future - it comes soon enough.”