For a non-technical marketing team, I’d start with HubSpot, unless you already have Salesforce and want to stay inside it.
My shortlist
| Software | Best for | Ease of use | Predictive/AI | My take |
|---|
| HubSpot | Most marketing teams | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Good | Best overall |
| Salesforce Einstein | Existing Salesforce teams | ⭐⭐⭐ | Excellent | Best if Salesforce is your CRM |
| HG Insights / MadKudu | Sophisticated B2B SaaS | ⭐⭐⭐ | Excellent | Best dedicated predictive option |
1. HubSpot — best default choice
HubSpot lets marketers create scores based on both who the lead is (company size, industry, geography, etc.) and what they do (forms, page views, email engagement, other events). Scores can then feed segments, workflows, and reports.
That's particularly attractive for a non-technical team because you can build a fairly sophisticated model without having to maintain a machine-learning system.
2. Salesforce Einstein — best if you're already on Salesforce
Einstein uses your historical conversion data to learn which leads resemble previously converted leads. It also shows the factors influencing an individual lead's score, which is useful for explaining why a lead is being prioritized.
The downside is that it's more dependent on having a mature Salesforce setup. Salesforce says its predictive model requires substantial historical data—at least 1,000 leads created in the previous 200 days and 120 converted leads for the default segment.
3. HG Insights / MadKudu — best when predictive scoring is the main problem
This is the option I'd investigate for a B2B SaaS company with a sizable lead database. Its models separately assess fit and engagement, then can combine them into a simple A–E Lead Grade. It also provides signals explaining the score.
What I'd actually implement
Don't make the mistake of creating one giant "lead score." For most teams, I'd use:
Priority = Fit × Intent
For example:
- Fit: ICP industry, company size, geography, job title
- Intent: demo request, pricing-page visit, high-value content, repeat visits, product usage
- Negative signals: student/personal email, outside target geography, tiny company, competitor, inactive for 90+ days
Then create simple buckets:
- A — Follow up immediately
- B — Sales follow-up
- C — Marketing nurture
- D — Don't prioritize
That is much easier for marketers and sales reps to understand than a mysterious "87/100."
Bottom line: If you're starting from scratch, HubSpot is my recommendation. If you tell me your CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, etc.), approximate monthly inbound lead volume, and whether you're B2B or B2C, I can narrow this down to the best 2–3 options and explain the likely cost/implementation tradeoffs.
2. Salesforce Einstein — best if you're already on Salesforce
Einstein uses your historical conversion data to learn which leads resemble previously converted leads. It also shows the factors influencing an individual lead's score, which is useful for explaining why a lead is being prioritized.
The downside is that it's more dependent on having a mature Salesforce setup. Salesforce says its predictive model requires substantial historical data—at least 1,000 leads created in the previous 200 days and 120 converted leads for the default segment.
3. HG Insights / MadKudu — best when predictive scoring is the main problem
This is the option I'd investigate for a B2B SaaS company with a sizable lead database. Its models separately assess fit and engagement, then can combine them into a simple A–E Lead Grade. It also provides signals explaining the score.