How to qualify sales leads?

Qualifying leads in sales can make or break your success. By properly vetting prospects, you can focus your time and resources on those most likely to convert, while avoiding wasted effort on those who aren't a good fit. 

In this step-by-step guide, you’ll learn how to build a working sales lead qualification system. I’ll even show you some of the most popular frameworks to adopt. 

What is sales lead qualification?

Sales lead qualification is a systematic process in which revenue teams evaluate leads to determine if they are a good fit. The goal is to decide which leads are most likely to become customers so that sales teams can spend their time efficiently and focus on deals with a higher probability of closing.

Sales lead qualification is an ongoing process performed throughout the sales process. Many different frameworks exist for various situations, including BANT, MEDDIC, FAINT, ANUM, CHAMP, and others.

Why lead qualification is important for business

Two-thirds of lost sales are due to a lack of proper lead qualification, resulting in substantial wasted time and resources. However, companies that effectively qualify and nurture leads enjoy a 45% increase in their lead generation ROI compared to competitors.

Qualifying sales leads is crucial for several reasons:

• Reduces customer acquisition costs
• Maximizes conversion rates by focusing on high-potential leads
• Saves time and effort by avoiding unproductive conversations
• Scales marketing and targeting through a better understanding of prospects
• Personalizes the sales experience based on individual needs
• Shortens the sales cycle by engaging decision-makers earlier
• Enriches prospect data for more effective nurturing and follow-up

With a solid lead qualification process, sales teams can prioritize their efforts on the most qualified leads, ultimately driving more revenue with less wasted time and resources. Automating lead qualification can help streamline this process, saving you time and ensuring consistent results.

A step-by-step guide for lead qualification

Lead qualification requires a structured approach to identifying and prioritizing qualified leads that align with your business goals. In the sections below, I’ll show you how to qualify leads step-by-step.

How to qualify leads?

Qualifying leads in sales is a systematic process that involves several key steps. By following these steps and using automation where possible, you can focus on qualified leads who are most likely to convert.

Here’s how to qualify a lead in sales:

1. Create your personas: Include demographics, pain points, goals, and other relevant attributes that help you identify high-quality leads.
2. Establish your scoring criteria: Define the factors that determine a lead's qualification score and assign point values based on importance.
3. Research your leads: Use sales prospecting tools for lead enrichment and data scraping to automate the research process and gain deeper insights.
4. Ask questions: Use surveys, phone calls, or email automation to gather information efficiently.
5. Assign a score: Based on the information collected, assign a qualification score to each lead and determine which leads are sales-ready.

Following these five steps, you can identify the most promising prospects and help your sales team focus their efforts for maximum impact.

What is a lead qualification criteria?

A lead qualification criteria is a specific indicator used to determine the quality of a lead. Different frameworks use different criteria to determine lead quality. For example, the BANT framework uses Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline, while the CHAMP framework uses Challenges, Authority, Money, and Prioritization.

Each framework emphasizes different aspects of the qualification process depending on the sales context, the complexity of the product or service, and the target audience.

Lead qualification checklist

How do you qualify a lead? A lead qualification checklist will help you determine whether a lead is worth pursuing. 

Your checklist should cover all the characteristics that describe your ideal customer. At the very least, it should cover the most basic requirements needed to make a purchase. Here is a list of five questions you can use to start building your lead qualification checklist:

• Is there an intent purchase?

• Will your solution be of use to them?

• Do they have the budget?

• Is now the right time for them to buy?

• Do they have authority to make the final decision?

This checklist is a good starting point, but you may wish to add to it. Think about all the characteristics that describe your ideal customer, and make sure to cover those in your checklist. You should be able to check all or most of the boxes. If you can’t, it may be time to focus on a different lead.

Lead qualification process

Lead qualification is a structured process that involves several steps. From acquiring leads to handing them off to the sales team, it’s important to understand what happens at each stage in the process.

Lead capture & initial dala collection

• Leads will enter your system from different sources, including marketing campaigns, referrals, website visits, and more. 
• You will collect some basic data at this stage, such as name, contact info, job title, company, industry, product or service of interest, and more.

Initial research & scoring

• Once a lead has been entered into your CRM, you can assign them a lead score based on what you already know.
• Then, you can organize your leads into separate buckets, such as Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL), Sales Qualified Lead (SQL), and Unqualified.

Initial outreach

• For any leads that you marked as SQL, a salesperson can reach out via email or phone call to learn more.
• You can further gauge their level of interest, determine if there is true buying intent, and whether they have the budget and authority to purchase.

Qualification using the most suitable frameworks

• Now that you have a more complete picture of who you are talking to, you can use a qualification framework to evaluate your leads against specific criteria.
• We’ll cover these frameworks in the next section.

Lead handoff

• Leads deemed ready for sales can be handed off to a sales team member and officially considered part of your sales funnel.
• Remember that lead qualification is an ongoing process throughout the sales cycle. It’s important to keep vetting and collecting notes after each interaction. For example, a lead who is unable to set a budget or is several months away from a decision may have points subtracted from their lead score.

Lead qualification frameworks

When it comes to developing a lead qualification strategy, you don't have to start from scratch. Several well-established frameworks can guide your approach, each with its strengths and ideal use cases.

BANT

The BANT bant lead qualification framework, pioneered by IBM, assesses leads based on Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline. It's a straightforward approach that works well for businesses new to lead qualification, particularly in B2B sales scenarios involving larger organizations.

Here is a breakdown of each qualification criterion in the BANT lead qualification framework:

Budget

• Do they have the budget to afford your solution?
• Take this into consideration early on to avoid wasting time.

Authority

• Does the person you are speaking with have the authority to make a purchasing decision or can they connect you with someone who does?
• Bringing decision makers into the conversation early on can increase close rates.

Need

• Do they have a need for your solution? Are you able to solve their problem?
• Make sure that your solution is relevant to avoid wasting time. 

Timeline

• How urgently do they need a solution? What is the timeline for making a purchase?
• Leads who need to make a purchase soon should be given higher priority than someone who is several months away from making a decision.

MEDDIC

The MEDDIC sales methodology is a nuanced approach that helps understand the customer's decision-making process and economic viability. The MEDDIC sales process is ideal for companies selling software, technology, or B2B solutions that involve significant investment and complex decision-making.

What does MEDDIC stand for? Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, and Champion. Here is a breakdown of each qualification criterion in the MEDDIC sales methodology:

Metrics

• What is the measured value of your product or service to your prospect?
• The MEDDIC framework uses quantifiable measurements such as increased revenue, time saved, or fewer expenses to demonstrate the tangible value of your solution.

Economic buyer

• The economic buyer is the ultimate decision maker who can approve the purchase.
• Speak with the company's economic buyer to learn about their expectations and decision-making process. 
• If you cannot reach him/her, discuss these things with your contact so you can present the deal in a palatable way to the decision-maker.

Decision criteria

• Find out what criteria the decision-makers use to compare solutions and make decisions. 
• This could be cost, ease of use, or integration with current systems.
• Understanding the decision criteria will help you create a more effective sales pitch.

Decision process

• While the decision criteria will tell you what’s important to your prospects, understanding the decision process will help you get even further.
• Understand who will make the final decision, what approvals are needed, and the timeline to avoid surprises. 

Identify pain

• Businesses need to experience some sort of pain before they seek out a solution.
• Identify what that pain is and how your solution can solve it. Explain the consequences of making the wrong decision.
• Be as specific as possible. Knowing they are losing money isn’t as valuable as knowing they are losing $300,000 per quarter, and your solution costs a fraction of that.

Champion

• Find somebody at the company who wants your solution and get them to influence the decision-makers on your behalf. 
• They don’t need to be high up on the ladder, but they do need to be liked and respected within the organization.
• Having a champion in your corner will help you gain internal support and move the deal forward. This is a key aspect of the MEDDIC sales qualification methodology.

FAINT

The FAINT framework prioritizes Funding, Authority, Interest, Need, and Timing. It's streamlined and comprehensive, ensuring effective use of time and resources. FAINT is ideal for companies offering services or products that require significant customer investment, such as technology solutions or consulting services.

Here is breakdown of each qualification criterion in FAINT:

Funds

• This criteria is about understanding the company’s financial position to determine their purchasing capability.
• They may not have a budget allocated to this specific problem, but they may have the flexibility to shift budgets if needed.

Authority

• How much authority does your contact have? Are they able to make the final decision? Can they put you in touch with somebody who is?
• It’s important to connect with a decision-maker early on or the process could drag out.

Interest

• Show how your product adds value to their business and then ask questions to gauge their level of interest. 
• Even if they don’t perceive a need currently, showing the benefits can spark curiosity and create interest. 

Need

• Does the prospect need your solution? Do they have a potential challenge or roadblock that your solution can help them with?
• Your prospects may not be fully aware of their needs, so you will have to educate them until the need is recognized. The idea is to take it from a “nice to have” to a “must have.”

Timing

• Timing is everything in sales. It’s important to understand the level of urgency in making this purchase so you can act accordingly.
• Ask questions about their timeline. If the window of opportunity is several months, you may want to ease up and nurture them for a while and then become more aggressive as the timeline starts to close in.

ANUM

The ANUM framework prioritizes identifying decision-makers first, while still ensuring there’s a legitimate need, urgency, and budget for the solution. It is especially useful for organizations who want to maximize efficiency and spend more time with high-potential leads.

Here is breakdown of each qualification criterion in ANUM:

Authority

• Does the lead have the authority to make the purchasing decision, or are they a key influencer in the decision-making process?
• You need to speak with somebody who can actually move the deal forward, so ask these questions as early as possible.

Need

• Does the lead have genuine need for your solution? 
• Have a consultative session with a decision maker so you can ask in-depth questions.
• Understand their needs and expectations so you can offer a tailored solution.

Urgency

• Also covered in BANT, FAINT, and CHAMP, the urgency factor plays an important role in ANUM. 
• Identifying urgency helps prioritize leads who are closer to making a decision.

Money

• Can they afford your solution? Ask questions to determine if they have the budget or are able to secure funding to make the purchase.
• ANUM puts less emphasis on money because it believes that uncovering need and urgency first will create more flexibility in the budget.

ChAMP

The CAMP lead qualification framework emphasizes Challenges, Authority, Money, and Prioritization. Focusing on identifying and solving leads' challenges enables sales teams to qualify prospects quickly. ChAMP is best suited for businesses marketing solutions to specific pain points, especially in complex B2B sales situations.

Here is breakdown of each qualification criterion in the ChAMP lead qualification framework:

Challenges

• ChAMP prioritizes challenges over budget. Understand the challenges your prospect is facing and determine if your solution is capable of solving those challenges.
• When you understand the challenges and how your solution can help, then budget becomes less of a sensitive subject.

Authority

• Does the person you are speaking with have the authority to make the final decision or can they connect you to someone who does?
• Speaking with somebody who can move the deal forward is absolutely critical.

Money

• Understand what kind of budget your lead has and make sure they can afford your solution.
• Discussing challenges first is important because it makes budget talks more successful.

Prioritization

• How important is this conversation in relation to the company’s other priorities?
• Understand what the company’s biggest priorities are so you can position your solution to address those goals.

GPCTBA/C&I

THE GPCTBA/C&I framework is designed to uncover not just the surface-level needs but also the underlying business motivations. It emphasizes building stronger relationships rather than pushing a product. This is especially well-suited for complex B2B sales processes where  a consultative approach to selling is needed.

Here is breakdown of each qualification criterion in GPCTBA/C&I:

Goals

• What major goals is the organization trying to achieve and how does your solution help?
• Understanding these objectives helps tailor the conversation to align with the prospect’s needs.

Plans

• What plans and strategies are in place to help achieve those goals? How does your solution help to accelerate those plans?
• Once again, this helps tailor the conversation to align with the prospect’s needs.

Challenges

• What challenges are in the way and how does your solution help solve them?
• Identifying potential roadblocks helps position your solution as a key part of their business strategy. 

Timeline

• What is the prospect’s timeline for achieving their goals or solving their challenges?
• Having this information means sales teams can tailor their approach accordingly. For example, you may want to be more aggressive with leads who have a shorter timeline.

Budget

• Does the prospect have a defined budget to address their needs?
• You must assess your leads’ financial capabilities to determine if they can afford the solution.

Authority

• Who are the key decision-makers in the purchasing process?
• Speaking with decision makers as early as possible helps to ensure the deal moves forward.

Negative consequences & positive implications

• What are the consequences if the prospect does not solve their challenges or achieve their goals?
• What are the broader implications of how this decision will affect their business?
• Discussing consequences and implications helps illustrate this decision's long-term impact and ensures your solution is a strategic fit. 

Using these major lead qualification frameworks and understanding their strengths, you can select the approach that best aligns with your business needs and sales process.

Implementing a sales qualification methodology

Implementing a sales qualification methodology requires careful planning and execution to ensure that your sales team can effectively use the chosen framework to identify and pursue the most promising leads. By following a structured approach and providing adequate training and support, you canintegrate any methodology into your sales process and start seeing results.

Define the implementation process

The first step is to outline the specific steps involved in the process. This typically includes:

• Selecting the appropriate framework for your business
• Customizing the criteria to align with your ideal customer profile
• Developing a training program for your sales team
• Integrating the methodology into your CRM and sales tools

With each step clearly defined, you can ensure a smooth and organized implementation that minimizes disruptions to your sales operations.

Train your sales team

Once you've selected a sales qualification framework, providing comprehensive training to your sales reps is crucial. This ensures they understand the lead qualification criteria, know how to ask the right questions, and can effectively apply the methodology in their day-to-day interactions with prospects.

Training should cover not only the mechanics of the framework but also best practices for engaging prospects and uncovering key information. Consider using role-playing exercises and real-world examples to help reps build confidence and proficiency in using the methodology.

Integrate with your CRM and sales tools

To maximize the impact of your sales qualification methodology, integrate it into your existing CRM system and sales tools. This allows reps to easily access and update lead qualification criteria, track progress, and share insights with the rest of the team.

Look for ways to automate sales prospecting, such as using custom fields or workflows in your CRM. This can save time and ensure consistency in evaluating and prioritizing leads.

Address common implementation challenges

Implementing a new sales qualification methodology can face its fair share of challenges. Some common issues include:

• Resistance to change from sales reps who are used to their current approach
• Difficulty adapting the framework to unique business needs or customer profiles
• Inconsistent application of the methodology across the team

To overcome such challenges, it's important to communicate the benefits of the new approach, provide ongoing support and coaching, and regularly review and refine your implementation plan based on feedback and results.

By proactively addressing potential roadblocks and maintaining open communication lines with your team, you can ensure a successful implementation that drives better lead qualification and sales performance.

Tracking key metrics to optimize your sales qualification methodology

Measuring your team’s success is necessary for continuous improvement and ensuring that your methods align with your business goals. Tracking key metrics and analyzing data insights can refine your lead qualification criteria, optimize your sales funnel, and ultimately drive better results.

Define critical success metrics

The first step in measuring the effectiveness of your sales qualification process is to identify the key metrics that matter most to your organization. These may include:

• Conversion rates at each stage of the sales funnel
• Lead-to-opportunity ratio
• Opportunity-to-customer ratio
• Average sales cycle length
• Average deal size

Using them, you can clearly understand how well your qualification methodology is performing and where improvements can be made.

Calculate conversion rates across the funnel

Conversion rates are a fundamental metric for assessing the health of your sales qualification process. By calculating the percentage of leads that convert from one stage to the next, you can pinpoint any bottlenecks or drop-off points in your funnel.

For example, if you notice a significant drop in conversion rates between the marketing qualified lead (MQL) and sales qualified lead (SQL) stages, it may indicate that your qualification criteria need to be adjusted or that there is a disconnect between marketing and sales.

Set up dashboards and reports

Access to real-time data and insights is essential to effectively monitoring the output of your sales qualification methodology. Implementing dashboards and reports that track key metrics can provide valuable visibility into the effectiveness of your process. 

Consider creating a central dashboard that displays conversion rates, average sales cycle length, and other critical indicators. This allows sales leaders and team members to quickly identify trends, spot issues, and make data-driven decisions to optimize their approach.

Focus on continuous improvement

Measuring the success of your sales qualification process is not a one-time event; it requires an ongoing commitment to continuous improvement. Regularly:

• Review your data
• Gather feedback from your sales team
• Look for opportunities to refine your qualification criteria and methodology

As your business evolves and customer needs change, be prepared to adapt your approach to ensure that you're consistently identifying and pursuing the most valuable opportunities.

Don't be afraid to disqualify

A significant benefit of lead qualification is weeding out low-propensity prospects who are unlikely to convert. As part of your lead qualifying and scoring process, identify red-flag criteria that will filter out less-than-ideal prospects.

Here are some common lead disqualification criteria to consider:

• Lack of authority: The prospect doesn't have the decision-making power to make a purchase.
• Insufficient budget: They don't have the financial resources to afford your product or service.
• Not a good fit: Your offering doesn't align with their specific needs or solve their core problem.
• Sale isn't worth the effort: The time and resources required to convert the lead outweigh the potential return.

Remember, disqualifying misaligned leads allows your sales team to focus their energy on prospects with the highest likelihood of conversion. It's better to pursue a smaller number of well-qualified leads than to waste time on a large volume of poor-fit prospects.

Key takeaways

Lead qualification is a critical component of a successful sales process. It helps you focus your efforts on the most promising prospects, reducing acquisition costs, maximizing conversion rates, and shortening the sales cycles.

The key steps in lead qualification include the following:

• Creating buyer personas
• Establishing scoring criteria
• Researching your leads
• Asking qualifying questions
• Assigning a lead score

Several proven frameworks for lead qualification, such as BANT, FAINT, ChAMP, and MEDDIC, are each suited to different sales scenarios. Continuously refining your lead qualification process by monitoring conversion rates and adjusting your criteria is essential for long-term success.

Remember, disqualifying misaligned leads is just as important as identifying promising ones. Don't be afraid to filter out prospects who lack the authority, budget, or need for your offering. Once you've qualified a lead, the most crucial step is to follow up and nurture them consistently.

Research shows that 80% of sales require at least five follow-ups, so persistence is key. With a solid lead qualification strategy and using tools like Bardeen and HubSpot to manage your pipeline, you'll be well on your way to closing more deals and driving revenue growth for your business.

Related resources

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