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Overview
Lead scoring is the action of assigning points to every lead you generate. When you create and customize your scoring criteria based on the firmographic, demographic, and behavioral attributes that matter most to your business, you can use scores to easily identify and prioritize the leads most likely to convert into paying customers. As a result, you can take a more data-driven approach to prospecting, help boost your team's efficiency, and generate more revenue.
In Apollo, you can define scores to automatically rank potential contacts and accounts. Apollo uses your scores to filter contact and account results and help you pinpoint the records that best fit your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).
You can assign a numerical value to rank your criteria in order of importance. The higher the number you assign to a criterion, the more important Apollo ranks it. You can use the historical data from your scores to inform how you adjust the rules to your liking.
You can also leverage scores from the Apollo Chrome Extension. Before you proceed, you should first identify your ICP. Then, define scores to rank the most important criteria for each one.
Head to the scores settings in Apollo to start creating new scores for you and your team. For a helping hand, refer to Create a Score for more information.
Create Scores
A score is a complete set of demographic, firmographic, and behavioral attributes you enable in Apollo. You can create as many scores as you like and apply them to specific table layouts or include the score filter in your search when prospecting.
Please note, although you can create multiple scoring models, you can only apply and view one model at a time in each table layout.
You can also set a primary score.
The primary score is the default score that appears in your default table layout. It is also the primary score that syncs with your CRM. For more information about how to set a score as primary, refer to Create a Score.
Auto-Scores
Auto-scores are AI-generated scores that Apollo creates for you automatically. Auto-scores help you take a more data-driven approach to ranking prospects. They allow you to quickly identify the contacts with the highest chance of success.
If you are on a professional or custom plan and actively prospect and engage with contacts through Apollo, you may be eligible for auto-scoring.
Fear not, friend. If you're on a professional or custom plan but don't see auto-scores yet, we haven't forgotten you! We're just waiting for the perfect moment! Keep using Apollo in your prospecting and engagement workflow. When we have enough insight into what has and hasn't worked well for you in the past, we will notify you and fire up auto-scores automatically. In the meantime, you can experiment with creating your own scores. For more information, refer to the Create a Score.
To generate an auto-score, Apollo uses your historical data and prospecting wins as a benchmark to determine which behavioral attributes and customer fit filters will likely bring you the most success. Apollo then calculates the relative importance of each filter, assigns each one a weighting, and generates your auto-score.
Apollo periodically refreshes your auto-score settings to ensure it stays accurate and up-to-date the more you use Apollo.
Please note, you can view the auto-scores created by Apollo, but you cannot clone or edit them. For more information, refer to the FAQ below.
Sync Your Scores With Your CRM
You can sync your Apollo score results with Salesforce or HubSpot. To do so, you must map the relevant field from Apollo to your Salesforce or HubSpot account.
Please note that it can take Apollo up to 24 hours to sync the information from your Apollo score with your CRM.
For step-by-step instructions on how to sync Salesforce or HubSpot with your scores, refer to Create a Score.
Please note, you can only sync your primary score with your CRM. For more information on how to change your primary score, refer to Primary Score.
Define Your Scoring Criteria
Apollo breaks down the scoring filters into 2 types: Customer fit and behavioral attributes. Refer to the following table for a list of the account and contact filters you can use to make a score.
Please note, you can add up to 45 filters to each score you create. If you have an old score with more than 45 filters, you must edit the filters to continue using it. For more information on how to edit a score, refer to Edit a Score.
| Score Type | Account | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Customer Fit |
# Employees # Employees by Department Revenue Venture Funding
Company Location Industry Keywords Technologies Alexa Rank Founded # Retail Locations |
Title Seniority Personas Location # Employees # Employees by Department Revenue Venture Funding
Company Location Industry Keywords Technologies Alexa Rank Founded # Retail Locations |
| Behavioral Attributes |
Account Stage Account Owner Account List Custom Fields |
Contact Stage Contact Owner Contact List Contact Engagement
Contact Email Availability
Custom Fields |
Prospecting with Scores
When you create a score and add it to a table layout, you can apply the scores filter to your search when prospecting.
You can also view a breakdown of the scoring logic. Hover your mouse over the score badge on the search page to access further insights per contact or account.
Learn more about how to use the scores filter in a search.
Or navigate to a contact or account's profile page and hover over the score from there.
FAQs
How Does Apollo Calculate Scores?
Several factors contribute to the way Apollo calculates a score. The basic formula is the number of points a contact or account earns divided by the total possible points.
Let's break that down:
- The number of points earned: This is the total number of points that a contact or account receives from all filter attributes within a score
- The total possible points: This means the highest point value a contact or account could earn if they were to achieve full points for each attribute in a score. The maximum number of points varies per score depending on the type of filters you add. For example, if you add a technologies filter, one company can rank for multiple attributes. However, if you add a filter for the number of employees, one company can only rank for one attribute. Therefore, the maximum score for the "technologies" filter would be higher than the "number of employees" filter.
Score Categories
Apollo then groups the total score into 4 categories:
- Not a Fit
- Fair
- Good
- Excellent
Apollo automatically applies the default category settings to a new score. However, you can adjust the ranges in the settings to narrow or broaden each category. Percentages are based on the calculation mentioned above.
What Does the Scale of 1-20 Mean in the Scores Slider?
You can assign points based on the importance of each attribute that you select.
These points contribute to the overall ranking of a person or company. To keep things simple, Apollo divides the scale into 4 categories:
- 0-5 = Slightly important
- 6-10 = Moderately important
- 11-15 = Important
- 16-20 = Very important
If you do not assign any points to a value, Apollo automatically ranks it as 0.
Ready to give it a go? Launch Apollo and head to the scores settings to create a new score.
Where Can I View Scores for People and Companies in Apollo?
It's easy as pie! If you use the default table layout when prospecting in Apollo, you can view scores from the "people" or "companies" search page.
If you use a custom layout when prospecting, make sure you add the score as a category in your table layout to view score results when prospecting.
You can also view a contact or account's score from their profile page.
Want to edit or create new scores or gain a more holistic preview of the people or contact matches for each score? Jump into the scores settings, or take a look at the Create a Score article for more info.
Can I See the Search Results for Multiple Scores at a Time?
You can create as many new scores as you like. However, you can only apply and view the results of one score at a time. If you are an admin for your Apollo account, you can set 1 primary people score and 1 primary company score.
Apollo then displays this score by default on the search page and the contact and account profile pages in Apollo.
If you have mapped the relevant fields to sync your Apollo score with your CRM, Apollo automatically syncs the primary score. To change the score that you sync with Salesforce or HubSpot, you must change your primary score. For more information, refer to the Primary Score section of the "Create a Score" article.
Can I Create and Edit a Score if I'm Not an Admin?
Admin users on a custom Apollo plan can set permission profiles and enable or disable the "can edit scoring models" setting for the users in each permission set.
However, you cannot set limitations if you are on a basic or free Apollo plan.
Can I Access Scores on Any Apollo Plan?
All users on all plans can view scores within the default table layout on the search page and on a contact or account's profile page. If your team uses a custom table layout when prospecting, an admin user must add a score to the table layout for users to see the score results.
Feeling lost? Fear not, friends! If you'd like a little guidance, sneak a peek at the Create Custom Layouts for Your Searches article for more info. Or you can hop straight to the table layout settings in Apollo here to create new layouts and add a score column to existing layouts.
The scores filter and score breakdown features are only available for users on a paid Apollo plan.
If you are on a free plan, you can only create 1 score for people and 1 for companies.
For more information about Apollo pricing and plans, take a look at the pricing page.
Can I Sync Scores with My CRM?
You can indeed! If you have integrated your CRM with Apollo, you can sync your primary score with your Salesforce or HubSpot account. To get set up, you must map the right default field to the respective custom field in your CRM.
For more information, refer to this section of the "Create a Score" article.
Can I Edit the Auto-Score?
Apollo regularly updates your auto-score settings to reflect the most accurate criteria by which you rank your ideal customers. Because of this, you cannot make any edits to an auto-score. However, you can use it as inspiration when you create new scores from scratch.
What's the Difference Between Scores and Plays?
Scores allow you to define and rank people and companies by their importance based on the attributes that matter. Plays help you automate actions in Apollo that would otherwise require manual input. You can use scores to better segment the audience you enroll in a play. For more info on plays, read the Create a Play article.