Which attribution model should an early-stage startup use?

Start with first-touch attribution. Early-stage companies need to answer one question: which channels generate the most leads? First-touch is simple to implement, easy to understand, and sufficient until you have enough volume to justify multi-touch complexity.

How do you handle attribution when a lead interacts with both marketing and sales before converting?

Use a multi-touch model that credits both marketing and sales touchpoints. A common approach is to assign 40% credit to first touch, 40% to the opportunity-creation touch, and distribute the remaining 20% across middle interactions. This acknowledges that both pipeline generation and deal acceleration matter.

Lead Source Attribution: First-Touch, Last-Touch, and Multi-Touch Models Explained

Attribution is where marketing and sales alignment either thrives or falls apart. Marketing wants credit for the leads they generated. Sales wants credit for the deals they closed. Without a shared attribution model, every pipeline review becomes a territorial debate. RevOps must own attribution - defining the model, implementing it in the CRM, and ensuring both teams trust the data.

The Three Core Attribution Models
Implementing Attribution in Your CRM
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
Choosing the Right Model for Your Stage
Key Takeaways

The Three Core Attribution Models¶

First-Touch Attribution¶

First-touch gives 100% of the credit to the channel or campaign that initially brought the lead into your system.

Example: A prospect clicks a Google ad, visits your site, and fills out a content download form. Six months later, they request a demo and eventually close. First-touch credits the Google ad with the entire deal.

Best for: Understanding which channels fill the top of the funnel. Useful for early-stage companies focused on lead volume.

Weakness: Ignores everything that happened between the first click and the closed deal.

Last-Touch Attribution¶

Last-touch gives 100% of the credit to the final interaction before the lead converted to an opportunity or closed deal.

Example: Same scenario as above, but now the demo request gets all the credit. The Google ad that brought them in gets nothing.

Best for: Understanding what triggers buying decisions. Useful for sales teams measuring which actions drive conversions.

Weakness: Ignores the awareness and nurture activities that kept the prospect engaged for six months.

Multi-Touch Attribution¶

Multi-touch distributes credit across every meaningful interaction in the buyer journey.

Multi-Touch Model	Credit Distribution
Linear	Equal credit to every touchpoint
U-shaped	40% first touch, 40% lead creation, 20% distributed
W-shaped	30% first, 30% lead creation, 30% opportunity, 10% rest
Time-decay	More credit to recent touchpoints, less to early ones
Custom weighted	Weights based on your specific funnel data

The U-shaped model is the best starting point for most B2B companies. It gives proper credit to both demand generation (first touch) and demand capture (lead creation) while acknowledging the middle touches that nurtured the relationship.

Implementing Attribution in Your CRM¶

Attribution only works if the data is captured consistently. Here is a practical implementation checklist:

Standardize UTM parameters across every campaign. Create a UTM naming convention document and enforce it. Example format: utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=q1-ebook-revops
Map UTM values to CRM fields. Create a “Lead Source” field (broad category) and a “Lead Source Detail” field (specific campaign). Populate these automatically via form submissions and integration tools.
Track touchpoints in a campaign object. In Salesforce, use Campaign Members. In HubSpot, use the native campaign tracking. Log every meaningful interaction - content downloads, webinar attendance, ad clicks, sales emails, demo calls.
Build an attribution report. Create a report that ties closed-won revenue back to touchpoints using your chosen model. Start simple: a pivot table showing revenue by first-touch source is more useful than a complex multi-touch dashboard no one checks.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid¶

Dark funnel blindness. Not every touchpoint is trackable. A prospect may hear about you on a podcast, ask a colleague, or read a LinkedIn post - none of which show up in your UTM data. Add a “How did you hear about us?” free-text field to your demo request form. This self-reported data fills gaps that tracking cannot.

Channel inflation. If organic search gets first-touch credit for everyone who Googles your company name after hearing about you elsewhere, organic search looks like your best channel. It is not - it is just the most trackable. Separate branded search from non-branded search in your attribution data.

Over-engineering too early. Companies with fewer than 500 leads per month rarely need multi-touch attribution. The data volume is too low for the model to be statistically meaningful. Start with first-touch, add last-touch as a secondary view, and graduate to multi-touch when your volume justifies it.

Choosing the Right Model for Your Stage¶

Company Stage	Recommended Model	Why
Pre-product market fit	First-touch	Focus on finding channels that attract leads
Growth (Series A–B)	U-shaped	Balance generation and conversion credit
Scale (Series C+)	W-shaped or custom	Account for complex, multi-stakeholder deals
Enterprise	Custom weighted	Model should reflect your specific funnel

Key Takeaways¶

First-touch attribution answers “where do leads come from” while last-touch answers “what triggers conversion” - you need both perspectives
The U-shaped model (40/40/20 split) is the best starting multi-touch model for most B2B companies
Standardize UTM parameters and map them to CRM fields before building any attribution reports
Add self-reported attribution (“How did you hear about us?”) to capture dark funnel sources that tracking misses
Match your attribution model complexity to your lead volume - companies under 500 leads per month should start with first-touch