Value-First Scoring

Value-First Scoring • March 3, 2026

Confidence Scoring - How to Know When Your Score Can't Be Trusted

Sarah Lane-Hawn and I explore something she built for a client: a confidence score that sits alongside a company fit score.

Value-First Scoring • March 3, 2026

Lead Score Monday: What Should Your Lead Score Actually Do?

In this session, Chris Carolan, Rylee Powell, and I kick off a series where we build our own lead score. Live. From scratch. The cobbler's kids are finally…

Value-First Scoring • March 3, 2026

Lead Scoring as a Gateway to More Human Sales Conversations

Most lead scores tell your sales team one thing: someone did stuff. Opened emails. Downloaded a PDF. Visited the pricing page. Cool. But does your rep actually…

Value-First Scoring • March 3, 2026

Value-First Scoring Build: Building the Company Fit Score

In our previous session, while attempting to build a fit score, Rylee Powell wanted to understand the architecture. I kept pulling up use cases. Chris Carolan…

Value-First Scoring • February 12, 2026

Lead Score Monday: Collecting and Actually Using Feedback on Your Scores

In this session: collecting and actually using feedback on your lead scoring.

Value-First Scoring • February 12, 2026

Lead Score Monday: HOW to Build Value-First Scoring (Season Finale)

For six sessions, Chris Carolan, Rylee Powell, and I have been deconstructing and rebuilding:

Value-First Scoring • February 12, 2026

Lead Score Monday: Making Complex Lead Scoring Models Actually Scalable

This session's focus: making complex org scoring actually scalable when you have multiple industries, buyer personas, or different ways of defining "good fit."

Value-First Scoring • February 12, 2026

Lead Score Monday: The "AND" Logic Release Party 🎉

We threw a party this session. Why? Because HubSpot just shipped the feature I've been asking for since the new Lead Scoring tool launched: Conditional scoring…

Value-First Scoring • February 12, 2026

Lead Score Monday: WHERE Do Scores Become Useful?

When your scoring system can't tell sales what to actually say, everyone defaults to generic spray-and-pray. The problem isn't the score. The problem is scores…

Value-First Scoring • February 12, 2026

Lead Score Monday: Your High-Scoring Lead Went Cold 3 Weeks Ago

In this session, we're tackling WHEN:

Value-First Scoring • February 12, 2026

So WHAT Lead Signals Are We Scoring? (Spoiler: Not Your 2022 Downloads)

Because I'm tired of seeing:

Value-First Scoring • February 12, 2026

Who Are We Lead Scoring Anyway?

Before we build another scoring model, we need to answer a question most teams skip: Who are we scoring?

Value-First Scoring • February 12, 2026

Why The Hell Are We Lead Scoring Anyway? | Lead Score Monday

Your lead score hits 100. Now what? If your only answer is "notify sales to call them," you're using scoring exactly how everyone else does—and wondering why…

Value-First Scoring • February 12, 2026

Why Your First Lead Score Will Be Wrong (And That's the Point)

Hot take: your lead score doesn't need to be perfect. It needs to be good enough to learn from.

Value-First Scoring • February 2, 2026

Value-First Scoring - Feb 2, 2026

Value-First Scoring • November 13, 2025

Who Are We Lead Scoring Anyway?

Most teams build lead scoring for net-new business, then wonder why it breaks when they try to identify upsell opportunities. Or they score everyone the same…

Value-First Scoring • November 10, 2025

Countdown to Better Scoring: Free Tools & Tips Before the Aug 31 Sunset

In this quick 15-minute session, I walk you through free lead scoring tools you can start using right now and how to get set up fast so you don’t miss the…

Value-First Scoring • November 10, 2025

Countdown to Better Scoring: Reporting That Teams Actually Use

In this 15-minute “fix before the sunset,” we cover one quick report to prove lead score impact and one simple way to keep cross-team communication flowing.…

Value-First Scoring • November 10, 2025

Flipping the Script: Scoring Natural Progression Instead of Business Goals

We've been building scoring backwards. Traditional score behaviors hit OUR MQL goal, while Value-First score behaviors indicate THEIR natural progression. In…

Value-First Scoring • November 10, 2025

Gated Content: Still Worth Points? Or Just a Vanity Metric?

Is that eBook download a real signal of buyer intent — or just someone collecting freebies? In this episode, Chris and I are going head-to-head on a hot topic:…

Value-First Scoring • November 10, 2025

[Lead Score Monday Debate] Should Value Path Replace Lifecycle Stages?

This episode's issue: HubSpot's lifecycle stages don't match how humans actually buy. Nobody says "I'm a Marketing Qualified Lead." They say "I'm researching…

Value-First Scoring • November 10, 2025

Lead Score Monday: Most Common Questions Answered

By now, you’ve probably run into a few questions (or frustrations) with the new scoring tool. In this 15-minute live session, I’ll tackle the most common…

Value-First Scoring • November 10, 2025

Lead Score Monday: New Tool Walkthrough

In this 15-minute live session, I’ll walk you through the basics of navigating HubSpot’s new scoring tool and show you how to quickly build a score from…

Value-First Scoring • November 10, 2025

Lead Score Monday: What’s New in the “Group Limits” Beta?

In this quick 15-minute session, I’ll unpack HubSpot's new “Create Lead Scores with Optional Group Limits” Beta. I'll walk through what the beta does (in plain…

Value-First Scoring • November 10, 2025

Lead Score Myth-Busting with Chris Carolan

Not everyone is sold on lead scoring — and for good reason. In this session, I sit down with my friend (and longtime lead score skeptic) Chris Carolan to…

Value-First Scoring • November 10, 2025

Lead Score Showdown: 20 Days to Sunset – What’s Your Move?

What should you be doing right now if you’re still relying on the old lead scoring tool? Chris’s take: Step 1 is getting a clear understanding of the data you…

Value-First Scoring • November 10, 2025

Lead Score Showdown: Leads in Limbo — Nurture, Nudge, or Leave Them Alone?

In this episode of Lead Score Showdown, Casey (lead score evangelist) and Chris (lead score skeptic) face off on how to handle leads stuck in the “limbo” zone.…

Value-First Scoring • November 10, 2025

Lead Score Showdown: The Questions That Shape Your Model

In this Lead Score Showdown, we tackle The Questions That Shape Your Model. Casey’s stance: Lead scoring shines when you ask, “How do we bucket and prioritize…

Value-First Scoring • November 10, 2025

Lead Scoring Doesn't Work. Here's How We're Fixing It.

This episode, Chris Carolan, Rylee Powell, and I are back to keep talking about what proper lead scoring actually looks like in HubSpot. It's possible. It…

Value-First Scoring • November 10, 2025

Lead Scoring Is Broken — Should We Even Fix It?

Chris Carolan joins me for a fast-paced, no-fluff conversation to debate whether lead scoring still has a role in a modern RevOps strategy and how HubSpot’s…

Value-First Scoring • November 10, 2025

Lead Scoring Lab: Building + Using a Lead Score Matrix

In this demo, Zohray Brennan walked us through how she builds a Lead Score Matrix and then creates actionable lead buckets inside HubSpot (and beyond). Whether…

Value-First Scoring • November 10, 2025

Lead Scoring Lab: How to Score Smarter When You Sell More Than One Thing

Not all lead scoring setups are created equal — especially when your business sells multiple products, serves multiple audiences, or juggles multiple sales…

Value-First Scoring • November 10, 2025

Lead Scoring Lab: When Math Meets Strategy

Sarah Lane-Hawn (Lane-Hawn Consulting) joins me as we walk through a client scenario where traditional lead scoring completely failed. Sarah had to get…

Value-First Scoring • November 10, 2025

Lead Scoring Monday: What's the Deal with HubSpot's New Engagement Score?

HubSpot’s new Engagement Score feature is here—and it’s changing the way we prioritize leads. In this episode, we'll walk through what the Engagement Score…

Value-First Scoring • November 10, 2025

New in HubSpot: Deal Scoring

In this special 30-minute edition of Lead Scoring Monday, I’m joined by my friend Chris Carolan. We walk through the new Deal Scoring tool live and explore…

Value-First Scoring • November 10, 2025

Scoring the Value Path: Are Lead Scores and Natural Progression Compatible?

In this episode, Chris Carolan and Rylee Powell join me to talk about how lead scoring fits into The Value Path. We built the Value-First Scoring framework to…

Value-First Scoring • November 10, 2025

What HubSpot's New "Contains" Update Means for Your Scores

HubSpot dropped the new “contains” filter in the lead scoring app, and it's game-changing. Now you can auto-score engagement from any email or form with…

Value-First Scoring • October 31, 2025

Do You Really Need a Lead Score?

In this episode, I dove into when a simple list might do the job just as well (or better) than a lead score. Whether you don’t have access to the new HubSpot…

Value-First Scoring • October 31, 2025

How HubSpot Fixed (Some) Lead Scoring Pain—And What's Still Missing

In this episode, I walk you through the biggest improvements in the new tool and what it means for your scoring strategy—think fewer workarounds and more…

Value-First Scoring • October 31, 2025

How to Use HubSpot Scoring to Measure Customer Health

I teamed up with Emerson McCuin to show how you can use HubSpot’s scoring tools to measure and improve customer health. We covered what a Customer Health Score…

Value-First Scoring • October 31, 2025

HubSpot Scoring: Pinpoint the Right Time for Lead Reengagement

Trisha Merriam, Consultant and HubSpot expert, joined me in diving into how HubSpot's scoring tool identifies when dormant leads are ready for a second chance.…

Value-First Scoring • October 31, 2025

The #1 Lead Scoring Mistake? Relying on Dirty Data

I sat down with Klemen Hrovat, Co-founder of Sellestial, to dive into why bad data = bad lead scoring (and how to fix it), how automated LinkedIn contact…

Value-First Scoring • October 31, 2025

Unlocking the Full Potential of HubSpot Lead Scoring: Advanced Reporting

Danielle Urban joined me to explore how HubSpot’s new lead scoring tool is transforming marketing attribution and reporting. We dove into how Danielle is using…

Value-First Scoring • October 31, 2025

What Happened to Negative Scores? HubSpot's New Scoring Tool Explained

Negative scores aren’t gone—but they definitely don’t work the same way. If you’ve been wondering why your disengaged contacts aren’t showing up with low…

Value-First Scoring • October 31, 2025

Why I m Still Using Calculated Score Properties (Even with New Scores)

In this episode, I share how I’m setting up scoring models today and why I’m not relying solely on the new combined scoring feature. I talk through how I…

Value-First Scoring • July 17, 2025

Rethinking Lead Scoring Before Sunset

The legacy lead scoring property in HubSpot is sunsetting, but it's also an opportunity. In this session, we'll explore what's broken about traditional scoring…