Niche Scoring for B2B SaaS Without Overengineering It

Most teams kill scoring by overengineering it. Here is how to keep it useful.

Skip These

• Weighted criteria. They feel rigorous and change nothing.
• Sensitivity analysis. You do not have enough data.
• Confidence intervals. You are guessing. Just guess.
• Five-tab spreadsheets. One tab.

Keep These

• Five candidates. No more.
• Six criteria. No more.
• 1-10 scale. Sum. Pick highest.
• One outside reviewer.
• Fifteen minutes total.

Why Simple Wins

The point is the conversation, not the matrix. The score is the prompt for the argument. The argument is what reveals the wrong assumption.

If You Catch Yourself Overengineering

Stop. Set a 15-minute timer. Pick. Move to interviews. Better data lives in customer mouths than in your spreadsheet.