--- title: Two-Tier Opportunity Scoring System type: article created: '2026-04-05' updated: '2026-04-05' source_docs: - raw/2026-02-06-salesforce-call-120419343.md tags: - salesforce - pardot - lead-scoring - opportunity-scoring - sales-workflow - crm layer: 2 client_source: null industry_context: null transferable: true --- # Two-Tier Opportunity Scoring System ## Overview A two-tier scoring model separates the question of *how engaged is this lead?* (marketing signal) from *how good is this project fit?* (sales judgment). The two tiers operate at different stages of the pipeline and use different inputs, but together they give sales leadership a consistent, reportable basis for prioritizing effort and capacity. This pattern emerged from work with [[clients/quarra-stone/index|Quarra Stone]], where the need to scale from an $8–12M to a $20–30M company required moving from intuition-based deal selection to a structured, defensible scoring process. --- ## Tier 1 — Lead Scoring (Pardot, Automated) **Stage:** Lead object, pre-conversion **Owner:** Marketing / automated **Purpose:** Measure marketing engagement and intent signals Lead scoring at this tier is fully automated and driven by behavioral data captured in Pardot. It answers: *Is this person paying attention to us?* ### Typical Scoring Inputs | Signal | Example | |---|---| | Website activity | Page visits, time on site, return visits | | Email engagement | Opens, clicks, replies | | Form fills | Content downloads, contact requests | | Campaign response | Ad clicks, event registrations | ### Key Characteristics - **No manual input required.** Scores update automatically as engagement occurs. - **Relative, not absolute.** A high Pardot score means high engagement relative to other leads — it does not indicate project fit. - **Feeds prioritization, not qualification.** A high score surfaces a lead for faster human review; it does not auto-convert or auto-assign. > *"The lead scoring is more of — is this somebody who knows about us, is interested about us — it's more of a sales and marketing scoring than the specific project scoring."* > — Karly Oykhman, Quarra Stone working session --- ## Tier 2 — Opportunity Scoring (Salesforce, Manual) **Stage:** Opportunity object, post-conversion **Owner:** Sales rep / sales leadership **Purpose:** Evaluate project and client fit against strategic criteria Once a lead converts to an opportunity, a manual scoring process evaluates whether the *project itself* is worth pursuing. This tier answers: *Should we invest production capacity in this deal?* ### Typical Scoring Dimensions Scoring criteria should be defined in a client-specific matrix. For Quarra Stone, the existing qualifier matrix (developed with executive coach Dennis) covers dimensions including: | Dimension | Notes | |---|---| | Project timeline / urgency | 6–24 month BD cycle is typical; short timelines may indicate poor fit | | Project complexity | Alignment with production capabilities | | Client type | Decision-maker vs. influencer; COG vs. specifier | | Location | Proximity to sales territory; travel feasibility | | Revenue tier | Does the project size justify capacity allocation? | ### Key Characteristics - **Manual entry by the assigned rep** at or shortly after opportunity creation. - **Structured as a weighted matrix**, not free-text, to enable reporting and comparison across the pipeline. - **Informs capacity planning.** A scored pipeline allows production leadership to evaluate whether the mix of in-flight opportunities is appropriate before committing to new work. > *"If you sell the wrong jobs and you absorb your machine capacity… you can't get to where you need to in a year because you've absorbed your capacity on too many opportunities that are the wrong kind of value tier."* > — Lincoln Durham (lldurham), Quarra Stone --- ## How the Tiers Interact ``` Lead enters system │ ▼ [Tier 1: Pardot Lead Score] Automated engagement scoring High score → surfaces for faster review │ ▼ Manual assignment by sales leadership (lldurham reviews and assigns based on rep fit + bandwidth) │ ▼ Lead converts → Opportunity created │ ▼ [Tier 2: Salesforce Opportunity Score] Manual project-fit scoring via matrix Score informs pursuit decision + capacity planning ``` The two tiers are intentionally decoupled. A lead can have a high Pardot score (very engaged) but score poorly on project fit (wrong timeline, wrong complexity). Keeping the scores separate prevents marketing enthusiasm from overriding strategic deal selection. --- ## Implementation Notes ### Pardot Lead Scoring - Configure scoring rules in Pardot for each engagement type (page visit, email open, form fill, etc.) - Sync lead score field to the Salesforce Lead object for visibility - Pardot score should be visible on the lead record without requiring reps to log into Pardot ### Salesforce Opportunity Scoring - Build the scoring matrix as a set of structured fields on the Opportunity object (picklists or numeric fields, not free-text) - Consider a roll-up formula field that calculates a composite score from the individual dimensions - The existing qualifier matrix (developed with Dennis) is the source of truth for scoring criteria — import those dimensions directly rather than rebuilding from scratch ### Reporting - Tier 1 enables marketing attribution reporting: which channels produce the most engaged leads? - Tier 2 enables pipeline quality reporting: what is the average fit score of opportunities by stage, rep, or source? - Both tiers require consistent data entry — this is why the [[wiki/knowledge/salesforce/task-subject-dropdown|task subject dropdown]] and required fields matter upstream --- ## Related - [[clients/quarra-stone/index|Quarra Stone — Client Index]] - [[clients/quarra-stone/2026-02-06-lead-to-opportunity-workflow|Salesforce Call — Lead-to-Opportunity Workflow (2026-02-06)]] - [[wiki/knowledge/salesforce/lead-assignment-notification-pattern|Lead Assignment via Notification (Manual Assignment Pattern)]] - [[wiki/knowledge/salesforce/automated-sales-playbook|Automated Sales Playbook — Task Sequence on Lead Assignment]]