Finding the Ideal Score for an MQL

...I like 40 = MQL

I will set it up so if fit/demo is perfect they can get to 23 and then that next 17 points comes from engagment. The key is to decay the total score based in inactivity so it becomes harder over time reach 40...also look at having "product-based" MQLs...cloning you scoring program and depolying by product is super helpfull for Sales...

I also to MQL = 40.  @Mark how many points do you deduct for inactivity, and if they unsubscribe?

If you are working 1-100 scale. I have scores in 800+. Not sure how you would cap it at 100...

If possible, look at the scores of the leads that have converted in the past.  If the scoring is accurate, thre will be a point where the conversion rates drop off.  That's a great place to start with your MQL threshold and then adjust if sales wants more or fewer leads.

Usually a 100 pt scale 100 is the MQL. Sometimes the MQL is 60 or 70 and there's a decay process.

I'm more concerned about buying signal behaviors than actual score though. It's too easy to get to 800+ through website visits alone. Are they a good fit? And did they hit the 2-3 key behaviors for your audience? 

That being said, can you analyze the leads that were SAL or went to Opps and see where there score was when they went over to Sales? Is there a threshold that would roughly work?

I agree that the decay process needs to be well thought out. I've seen inactivity at -10 every 30 days or so. Unsubscribes can be -2 to -10....depends how much you believe that's a problem.

If your leads have ridiculous scores, then take that group over say 200 points and decay them or reset their score =50.

Got it...I would rather give it to an SDR a bit early and have them reject it by updatig the lead staus(multiple times) then keep it in the queue or only down in Marketo. Key here is to make sure the SDR's are part of the Marketing department so they are in allignment with this approach...

Note: When the SDR rejects iA MQL that lead's the lead score will be adjusted down by a trigger-based smart campaign...

@Jenna - Im running a Salesforce report to see scores that coincide with converted leads and leads they are working. Unfortunately we have 75% of our database at a zero score and Marketo doesnt know why...

@Josh - I see what you are saying about ease of getting to 800+ which is why I wish we could separate demo and behavior scores so they dont roll into 1 huge score. This 800 score could be a student that looked at every page on our site but I dont know that inside Salesforce. 

@Mark - We are a start-up so we dont have SDRs...

@Josh thanks for the detailed info above.  That's very helpful at least in my case. 

...I would add that I do see a fair amount of MQL's unsuscribe from Marketing emails...sometimes this only means they don't like the pull associated with a buyer journey driven by out-bound Marketing Automation.