Lead scoring thresholds that were calibrated to a specific ICP and conversion pattern are quietly loosened over time — either to hit volume targets or because the original calibration was never documented. As the threshold drifts, lower-intent leads receive the same qualification status as high-intent ones, inflating conversion rate while pipeline quality declines.
Sales teams spend time on leads that should not have passed qualification, reducing capacity for genuinely ready buyers and extending the average sales cycle.
Lead score becomes an unreliable signal of purchase readiness — qualified leads convert at the rate of unqualified ones.
Lead-to-opportunity conversion rate is holding or improving while opportunity-to-close rate is declining. The average deal size or sales cycle length for pipeline sourced from scored leads is drifting unfavorably — a sign the score is passing lower-quality leads through at the same rate as high-quality ones.