Pick the signals worth scoring on

6 min readIntermediate

What this costs

The signals cost what their columns cost. The scoring on top is free.

Before you start

Lesson 2.2.1.

The scoring agent is not a research tool. It reasons over the data already in the row, which means a row with three thin columns scores near zero no matter how good your prompt is. Choosing which columns to fill before you score is most of the work.

Fit signals and timing signals

Type	Answers	Ages	Score it as
Fit	Would this company ever buy	Slowly, over years	The base of the score, most of the weight
Timing	Would they buy now	Fast, in weeks	A smaller weight, but the thing that orders your outreach queue

Score both, and keep them separate in the output. A high fit and low timing company goes on the nurture list. A high timing and medium fit company goes into this week. Collapsing both into one number throws away the decision you actually needed to make.

Building a people list from an intent signal in Kuration — Sourcing on a signal rather than on a firmographic filter. When the signal is what put the row in the list, the timing half of your score already has its evidence.

How many columns before you score

Four to six filled columns is the working minimum for a score you can trust.
At least two of them should be things the source did not give you for free, otherwise you are scoring the source rather than the company.
At least one should be a timing signal, because that is what turns a list into a queue.
Every criterion in your prompt must map to a column that exists. If it does not, either add the column or remove the criterion.

Scored a freshly sourced table

What you see: Almost every row scores 2 or 3
The fix: There is nothing to reason over yet. Fill four to six columns first.

A criterion with no matching column

What you see: The rationale mentions the criterion but never has evidence for it
The fix: Add the column or drop the criterion. A criterion the row cannot answer is noise in every score.

Only fit signals

What you see: A good list with no obvious order to work it in
The fix: Add one timing signal. It is what decides who you contact on Monday.

Check yourself

0 of 2 answered

1.You score a freshly sourced table and almost every row lands at 2 or 3. Why?

2.Why keep fit and timing signals separate in the output?

Try it yourself

List every criterion in your ICP and write the column name that answers it next to each one. Circle the ones with no column.

You have done it when: Every criterion has a column, or has been deliberately dropped.
Credit budget: Free.

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