Lead scoring for small B2B teams, with an ICP template

By bravabase · Updated 8 November 2026

Lead scoring gives every lead a number, so you know who to contact first. For a small team, keep it to two parts: fit (does this company and person match your ideal customer profile) and timing (is there a recent sign they need help now). Score each out of 50, add them up and work your list from the top. Build it from your best customers, not from guesses.

Start with your ideal customer profile

Your ideal customer profile (ICP) describes the company that gets the most from your work. A buyer persona describes the person inside it. You need both, and the ICP comes first.

1. List your five to ten best customers. The ones who paid well, were easy to work with, got results and would refer you.
2. Write down what they share. Industry, size, location, business model, the problem they had and what happened right before they bought.
3. Note who signed and who used it. They’re often different people.
4. List your deal-breakers. The customers you’d rather not take again, and why.

New business with few customers? Use the conversations that went furthest, and update the profile after every new client.

ICP template to copy

Offer:
Based on these customers:
Industry or type of business:
Size (people or revenue):
Location and language:
Business model:
The problem they had before buying:
What happened right before they bought:
Who decides:
Who uses it day to day:
Tools they already use:
Deal-breakers:

A 100-point lead scoring model

Fit tells you whether to contact someone at all. Timing tells you whether to do it now. Adjust the points to match what predicts a good customer for you.

Disqualify outright: competitors, suppliers, anyone who asked not to be contacted and anything that hits a deal-breaker. Give no timing points for signals older than six months. To choose which signals to track, see buying signals.

Set thresholds and act on them

• 80 and up: contact this week with a personal message.
• 50 to 79: keep watching. Reach out when a new signal appears.
• Under 50: skip for now.

Add one rule on top: if fit is under 30, don’t contact them however strong the timing looks. A great signal at the wrong company is still the wrong company.

Score three leads (example)

• Maison Lune, a 12-person online store. Founder posted “our month-end is a mess again” last week and is hiring a finance assistant. Fit 45, timing 35. Score 80: contact this week.
• Northpeak, a 30-person store in your market. Head of operations liked your post. Fit 45, timing 0 for a like on its own. Score 45: watch.
• Ledgerly, another bookkeeping firm that comments on everything you write. Disqualified: competitor.

Keep the score honest

A score orders your list. It isn’t a chance of buying. Once a month, compare scores with what actually happened: replies, meetings and new clients. If high scores keep going nowhere, change the weights. If your best new client scored 55, find out what you missed.

For a closer look at individual leads, use How to qualify LinkedIn leads without guessing. To track results, see How to measure LinkedIn client acquisition. Wondering whether software or a hire should run this for you? Read AI SDR vs hiring an SDR.

How Brava scores leads

Brava, your AI agent in bravabase, learns your offer and ideal customer from your website and a short brief. Every lead it finds gets a 0–100 fit score against that offer, shown with the evidence and the dated signal behind it. Keep or skip a lead with a reason, and Brava uses it to sharpen the next search.

See prospecting, Brava and pricing.