Lead scoring in chat: hot buyer or just curious

Lead scoring in chat answers one question: who do you reply to first when there are more messages than hours. Instead of intuition, you award points for specific customer actions and work the list top down.

The most expensive habit in a small shop is replying in the order messages arrive. That way your hottest customer waits while you describe fabric composition to someone who was just scrolling.

Which signals actually mean intent to buy?

The ones about receiving the product rather than the product itself. Someone asking about delivery has mentally already bought it.

1. 1

   Payment or delivery question

   The strongest signal. They're working out how to receive it, not whether to buy.

2. 2

   Checking specifics

   Size, colour, what's included. Choosing between concrete options, not browsing.

3. 3

   Mentioning a deadline

   «I need it by the weekend» is a deadline working in your favour.

4. 4

   A repeat contact

   They wrote a week ago and came back. The interest survived a pause.

The signal people overrate is «how much is it». It’s the most common question in chat and the weakest indicator: buyers and price-comparers ask it identically.

What scale can you actually maintain?

Three levels, not ten. Hot, warm, cold — enough to change your working order, few enough that you won’t stop using it.

Tie each level to an action, not a feeling:

• Hot — named a deadline, asked about payment or delivery, specified a product.
• Warm — asked about details with no sign of urgency.
• Cold — one price question and silence.

What do you do with each group?

Hot — reply within minutes, and every message carries a concrete action. Speed matters more than wording here.

Warm — reply the same day plus one clarifying question that moves the thread toward specifics. The goal is to promote them to hot, not merely to answer.

Cold — a standard reply without spending effort on persuasion. One follow-up a few days later with a new reason, then park them.

Why you shouldn’t delete cold leads

Because «cold» means «not now», not «never». Someone who asked about price in May might buy in August — and you’ll be the shop they’ve already spoken to.

Store the reason as well as the contact: «too expensive», «thinking», «waiting on payday», «wanted another colour». A month later that note is what turns an awkward «do you still remember me?» into a well-aimed «the colour you wanted just arrived».

A minimal point scheme, if you want numbers

• Payment or delivery question — 3
• Size / colour / configuration check — 2
• Repeat contact after a pause — 2
• A specific deadline mentioned — 2
• «How much is it» — 1
• Story reaction with no question — 0

5+ is hot, 2–4 is warm, 1 or less is cold. The numbers are arbitrary; the value isn’t precision but the fact that the prioritisation decision comes out the same way every time.