Lead Scoring and Grading in Account Engagement
A scoring and grading model for Account Engagement that sales actually uses: built from real buying signals, tested against past deals and tied to a clear handoff process.
Most Pardot lead scoring problems are not technical. The default point values reward activity rather than intent, nobody agreed what a qualified lead is, and grading was never configured. Sales learns to ignore the numbers, and marketing loses its best argument for the leads it sends.
GeekMidst sets up scoring and grading in Account Engagement (formerly Pardot) as a joint marketing and sales decision, then builds it so it can be measured and adjusted.
Score and grade do different jobs
- Score measures interest. It rises with actions such as form submissions, pricing page visits or webinar attendance, and should fall when a prospect goes quiet.
- Grade measures fit. It is a letter grade calculated from profile criteria such as industry, company size, job function or region.
- Handoff uses both. A high score with a poor grade is usually a researcher or student. A good grade with a low score is a target account that needs nurture, not a sales call.
Depending on your edition, Account Engagement also supports scoring categories, which let you track interest separately for different product lines or business areas. They are useful when one company buys more than one thing, and unnecessary when you sell a single product.
An illustrative starting model
| Signal | Example weighting | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Demo or contact request form | High | Direct buying intent |
| Pricing page visit | Medium to high | Evaluation behaviour |
| Webinar attendance | Medium | Active engagement with content |
| Email click | Low | Interest, but easily inflated |
| Email open | None or very low | Unreliable because of privacy features in mail clients |
| Careers page visit | Negative | Usually a job seeker, not a buyer |
| No activity for an agreed period | Score reduced | Keeps old interest from looking current |
How we design the model
Start from past deals
We compare the activity and profile data of prospects who became opportunities with those who did not, to see which signals separated the two groups. Where history is thin, we agree a hypothesis with sales and plan to review it after a few months.
Configure grading properly
We build one or more profiles with criteria that match your ideal customer, make sure the fields behind those criteria are captured on forms or enriched reliably, and assign profiles by automation so each prospect is graded against the right one.
Add decay and negative signals
Without decay, a prospect who was active two years ago still looks hot. We add automation rules that reduce score after an agreed period of inactivity, and negative scoring for signals that indicate a poor fit.
Agree the handoff
The handoff threshold combines score and grade. We then define what happens when it is reached: assignment to a user or queue, a Salesforce task, a lifecycle stage change and a notification. The routing itself can be handled with lead assignment automation in Salesforce.
If your edition includes Einstein scoring features, we can run them alongside the rule-based model and compare. Availability varies by edition, so check what your contract includes in Salesforce Help.
How the setup runs
- 01
Workshop with sales and marketing
Agree what a qualified lead looks like, who works it and how quickly, and which signals the sales team already trusts.
- 02
Data review
Check that the fields used for grading exist, are populated and sync correctly to Salesforce leads and contacts.
- 03
Build
Configure scoring rules, grading profiles, decay automation and the handoff rules, first in a test setup or with sample prospects.
- 04
Back-test
Apply the model to recent prospects and check whether the people it would have handed over match what sales would have chosen.
- 05
Launch and review
Switch on, then review lead acceptance and conversion with sales after an agreed period and adjust the weightings.
What you receive and what we need
You receive a written scoring and grading specification, the configured rules and automation in Account Engagement, a Salesforce report or dashboard that shows score, grade and lifecycle stage together, and a short guide on when and how to adjust the model.
From your side we need access to Account Engagement and Salesforce, a sales manager who can attend the workshop and the review, and agreement on lead lifecycle stages. If the Salesforce sync has errors, those need fixing first, because a score that does not reach sales is not much use.
For a deeper technical walkthrough, read our guide to Pardot lead scoring and grading implementation.
Questions we hear
Should we reset existing scores when the new model goes live?
How many grading profiles do we need?
Can scoring work for account-based marketing?
How often should the model be reviewed?
Why do you play down email opens?
Build a scoring model sales will trust
Share how leads reach sales today and we will suggest how to approach scoring, grading and handoff for your team.
