How to Score Leads Automatically with a Spreadsheet and AI

You do not need expensive software to score leads. A spreadsheet and AI can build a working lead scoring system today. Here is the step-by-step guide to score leads automatically with a spreadsheet and AI.

Step One: Define Your Scoring Criteria

List the attributes that predict a good lead. Industry, company size, job title, engagement level, source channel. For each attribute, assign a weight from 1 to 10 based on how predictive it is.

If you do not know the weights, start with your gut and refine with data later. Any scoring system is better than no scoring system.

Step Two: Build the Spreadsheet

Create a spreadsheet with columns for each scoring criterion plus a total score column. Each row is a lead.

Example structure:

| Name | Industry (1-10) | Company Size (1-10) | Job Title (1-10) | Engagement (1-10) | Source (1-10) | Total Score |

The Total Score column sums the individual scores. Simple formula. Nothing fancy.

Step Three: The AI Scoring Prompt

You are a lead scoring assistant. Score this lead on each criterion using 1-10.

SCORING CRITERIA:
- Industry fit (10 = perfect match to our ideal client, 1 = completely unrelated)
- Company size (10 = 50-200 employees, 5 = 10-49 or 201-500, 1 = under 10 or over 500)
- Job title (10 = owner/CEO/CMO, 7 = VP/Director, 4 = Manager, 1 = other)
- Engagement (10 = attended webinar + downloaded guide, 7 = downloaded guide, 4 = visited pricing page, 1 = single page view)
- Source (10 = referral, 8 = organic search, 5 = paid ad, 3 = social media, 1 = cold list)

LEAD INFO:
[paste lead details]

Return scores as: Industry: X, Company Size: X, Job Title: X, Engagement: X, Source: X, Total: XX

Step Four: Automate the Flow

Connect your lead source (form, CRM, etc.) to the spreadsheet. Use Make or Zapier to push new leads into the sheet, send the data through the AI scoring prompt, and write the scores back.

Step Five: Act on Scores

Define score ranges and actions. Above 35: call within one hour. 25-35: email sequence A. Below 25: email sequence B. These thresholds will need adjustment based on results, but start here and refine.

The entire setup takes an afternoon. The impact is immediate. Every lead gets scored. Every sales rep knows who to call first.

Build These Systems

Ready to implement? These step-by-step tutorials show you exactly how:

• How to Build an AI Lead Scoring System - Score leads automatically based on behavior and fit using AI models.
• How to Build an AI Lead Enrichment Pipeline - Automatically enrich leads with company data, social profiles, and tech stack info.
• How to Automate Support Ticket Priority Scoring - Score ticket urgency automatically based on content and customer value.