Key takeaways
- Tags turn one set of leads into many lists without copying data.
- Agree a short, written tag set before anyone starts tagging.
- Tag along fixed dimensions: fit, source, segment and campaign.
- Tag at the moment a lead enters your records.
- Remove tags nobody uses, or the system stops being trusted.
What is lead tagging
Lead tagging is labelling each lead with short, consistent attributes so you can filter, group and report on them.
A tag might say where a lead came from, which segment it belongs to or which campaign it is in. Unlike a folder, a lead can carry several tags at once, so the same person can sit in a regional list and a campaign list without being duplicated.
Which tags should you use
Use tags along a few fixed dimensions, with a small set of allowed values in each.
Prefix each tag with its dimension, such as "source: event", so anyone can read it and no two tags mean the same thing.
- Fit: tier one, tier two, not a fit.
- Source: inbound form, event, outbound list, referral.
- Segment: industry or region, matching your ideal customer profile.
- Campaign: the name and month of the outreach a lead is in.
- Interest: the product area or problem a lead has asked about.
Should you use tags, fields or segments
Use a field when every lead needs exactly one value, a segment for a group you will contact together, and tags for extra labels that can overlap.
Stage is better as a field, because a lead is in one stage at a time. A campaign audience is better as a segment. Interests, events attended and other overlapping traits suit tags. Getting this split right early saves a painful clean-up later.
How do you keep tags from getting messy
Keep tags tidy by giving one person ownership of the tag list and reviewing it on a schedule.
Messy tags come from people inventing new ones on the spot, so "webinar", "Webinar Oct" and "web-event" all end up meaning the same thing. Publish the agreed list, merge duplicates each month and delete tags nobody has used in a quarter. A five-person sales team, for example, might cap itself at twenty tags and add one only after a short discussion.
How to organise prospect lists with tags, step by step
Agree the system first, then apply it to new leads and clean up the old ones.
- Choose the dimensions you need, such as fit, source, segment, stage and campaign.
- Write down the allowed values for each and share the list with the team.
- Decide which dimensions are single-value fields and which are overlapping tags.
- Tag each new lead as it enters your records, and back-fill existing leads in batches.
- Build a saved view for each list you work from, filtered by those tags and fields.
- Review the tag list monthly, merging duplicates and removing unused tags.
Where Pebbles Ai fits
Common questions
How many tags should a sales team use?
As few as cover the decisions you make. If a tag never changes who you contact or what you say, you probably do not need it.
Can you tag leads automatically?
Many tools can tag by source or form answer automatically. Fit and stage usually need a person's judgement, at least at first.
What is the difference between a tag and a segment?
A tag is a label on a lead; a segment is a group of leads you treat together. Segments are often built from tags.
About this page. Written by the Pebbles Ai team for people who run sales, marketing and growth. Last updated .
