Is your business scaling so quickly your team can’t handle lead volume? There are certainly worse problems to have, but a failure to properly handle leads likely means you're missing out on valuable customers. Maybe you think you have a handle on leads, but you're still using a one-size-fits-all approach. Or perhaps you've de-prioritized an entire lead source completely. Either way, if any of these common scenarios sound familiar, it’s time to implement a lead segmentation program, which can range from the elementary all the way to complex machine learning algorithms. If you're a startup, you don’t have the time, resources or even the data set for sophisticated lead segmentation. So where should you get started? Our Startup Guide to Lead Segmentation will get you up and running in just one day! With this framework, you can develop a first-pass at segmentation that will have a material impact on your business. Ready to get started? Follow the deck. Happy segmenting.

1. A STARTUP’S GUIDE TO
LEAD SEGMENTATION
Ashley Minogue, Go-To-Market Strategist
Getting started with lead segmentation in one
day.

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WE CAN ALL AGREE...

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NOT ALL LEADS ARE CREATED
EQUAL.

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AND THERE ARE MANY WAYS
TO SCORE & SEGMENT LEADS

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YOU PROBABLY DON’T HAVE
AN ARMY OF DATA SCIENTISTS
(OR EVEN AN ANALYST) TO
HELP OUT.

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EVEN STILL, A SIMPLE
FRAMEWORK CAN HELP YOU
GET STARTED IN JUST ONE
DAY.

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YES, ONE DAY.
LET’S GET STARTED.

8. CREATE 4 LEAD SEGMENTS
BASED ON FIT &
ENGAGEMENT

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DRUM UP INTEREST TOP PRIORITY
NOT A GOOD FIT LOW TOUCH
HIGH
HIGH ENGAGEMENTLOW ENGAGEMENT
FIT
(Demographics&Firmographics)

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• High fit, but not engaged or showing signs of intent
• Try phone calls or off-site retargeting to win-back interest
1. DRUM UP INTEREST.

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• The ideal customer – high fit & highly engaged
• When resources are tight, this is the segment you put above the rest.
Leverage high touch campaigns.
2. TOP PRIORITY

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• Low fit (doesn’t fit target criteria) & not showing signs of intent
• Remove from funnel or nurture with automated campaigns
3. NOT A GOOD FIT

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• Lower fit, but they are showing signs of engagement
• Move them through the funnel with limited resources – automated
campaigns & self-service
4. LOW TOUCH

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NEXT, DETERMINE A SHORT
LIST OF PARAMETERS
CORRELATED WITH FIT &
ENGAGEMENT

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• # of website views
• Last website visit
• # of emails opened
• # of meaningful phone conversation
• ….
• Industry
• Company size
• Role / Level
• Location
• ….
FIT ENGAGEMENT
The Golden Rule: Start simple & iterate over time.
Draft parameters based on your hypotheses of what impacts lead quality and then validate
with opportunity creation and win-rate analyses based on ~6 months of data. Don’t have
clean data? Invest in a one-time data enrichment.

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THEN, ASSIGN POINT VALUES
FOR HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW
CRITERIA FOR EACH
PARAMETER

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HIGH (+100) MEDIUM (+50) LOW (+0)
FIT
Industry
Retail, Hospitality Education, Internet All other
Company size 500+ 50-500 <50
…
ENGAGEMENT
Website visits last
last 30 days
2+ <2 None
Emails opened
last 30 days
2+ <2 None
…
FOR EXAMPLE

18. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Rolling out lead segmentation in 5 simple steps.

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Using 6 month data set, assign determined point values per individual
lead
STEP 1

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Sum scores to determine fit & engagement score per lead & analyze
distribution of fit & engagement scores across data set
STEP 2

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Use median score as initial threshold of high vs. low fit & engagement
STEP 3

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Analyze historical win-rate for 4 segments to validate whether scores
indicate quality & fit
STEP 4

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If segmentation passes initial validation, roll-out segments (ideally
automated) & test SDR/Marketing segment-specific campaigns
STEP 5

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17%
37%
34%
12%
Drum up interest Top priority
Low touch Not a good fit
Lead Segment % of Total
Based on 6 month historical data
Lead Distribution by Fit & Engagement Score
Based on 6 month historical data
SAMPLE OUTPUT OF LEAD SEGMENTATION ANALYSIS

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DON’T FORGET…

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1. SET UP A PLAN TO TRACK
RESULTS

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2. ANALYZE IMPACT VIA
REGRESSION ANALYSIS

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3. ITERATE ACCORDINGLY

29. WANT MORE ON LEAD
SEGMENTATION?
Be sure to check out OpenView Labs.
LEARN MORE