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2. Lists and qualification

What is lead qualification?

Lead qualification is the step of checking whether a lead is worth a sales conversation: whether the company fits your profile, whether there is a real need and whether the person can act. It protects your calendar from meetings that go nowhere.

The parts

  1. FitDoes the company match your ideal customer profile? This can usually be checked before any contact.
  2. NeedHas the lead described a problem your product solves, in their own words?
  3. AuthorityIs this person, or someone they can bring in, able to decide or influence the decision?
  4. TimingIs there a reason to act soon? A real need with no timing may be a lead to nurture rather than to meet.

Worked example: a lead at a made-up accessibility tool

Clearpage is a made-up website-accessibility company. It asks four questions about each lead after a first reply. A lead that answers three or four well goes to a meeting.

By hand

  1. Owns a public website with a team that maintains it: yes.
  2. Has a named person who would own the problem: yes.
  3. Described a current problem in their own words: yes.
  4. Has a reason to act within the next two quarters: not yet.
  5. This lead answers 3 of 4 questions.
  6. Clearpage's rule is three or more, so the lead is booked for a meeting and the timing question is asked on the call.
  • Owns a public website with a team that maintains it
  • Has a named person who would own the problem
  • Described a current problem in their own words
  • Has a reason to act within the next two quarters

Four qualification questions for one lead

How to apply it

  1. Write three or four questions that separate a real opportunity from a curious reply.
  2. Decide in advance how many answers qualify a lead for a meeting.
  3. Ask the questions in the conversation in a natural way, not as a form.
  4. Review qualified and rejected leads each month and adjust the questions if good deals were turned away.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Qualifying so hard that interested buyers are turned away after one reply.
  • Not qualifying at all, so meetings fill up with people who have no need or budget.
  • Using the same questions for every lead type even when different buyers decide differently.

Marketing qualified lead

A marketing qualified lead (MQL) is a contact who has met an agreed standard of fit and activity, so they are worth passing from marketing to sales.

Read more

Sales qualified lead

A sales qualified lead (SQL) is a lead that the sales team has reviewed and accepted as a real opportunity worth active selling.

Read more

BANT

BANT is a qualification checklist built on four questions: does the buyer have budget, does this person have authority to decide, is there a real need, and is there a timeline.

Read more

Questions

When does qualification happen?
Part of it happens before contact, by checking fit. The rest happens in the first conversation, when you learn about need and timing.
Is lead qualification the same as lead scoring?
They are related. Scoring turns signals into a number. Qualification is the decision, often by a person, on whether to take the lead forward.
Who qualifies a lead?
Often a sales development rep or the founder, using a short set of agreed questions.

Tell us what you sell and who buys it

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