Are you struggling to identify which leads are worth pursuing and which are wasting your time? In this article, we will break down the basics of lead qualification and show you proven strategies to help you assess and prioritize your leads.

By the end of this article, you will know how to evaluate your leads, streamline your sales process, and increase your chances of closing deals. Whether you’re in SaaS, eCommerce, or another industry, this post will help you refine your approach and make your lead qualification process more efficient and successful.

Table of Contents

What Is Lead Qualification? Easy Definition

Lead qualification is the process of evaluating whether a potential customer (or lead) is a good fit for your product or service and is likely to make a purchase. This involves assessing the lead’s needs, interests, budget, decision-making authority, and timing to know if they are ready to buy.

Lead generation is an important marketing goal for 85% of B2B companies. This process typically involves gathering data on the lead (like their needs, budget, and decision-making authority) and scoring them based on specific criteria. The goal is to focus sales efforts on high-potential prospects for increasing conversion rates.

How To Qualify Leads: Easy-To-Follow Step-by-Step Guide

As you go through these strategies, pay special attention to the step on scoring your leads. This step helps you identify whether you are giving enough weight to high-intent actions.

Step 1: Understand Your Leads’ Interest & Intent

Start by collecting relevant data from your leads. This can come from:

Contact forms on your website that ask for details like their company size, industry, or specific needs. Use Kyleads to create interactive quizzes and popups that engage visitors and segment them based on their answers;
Conversations: If you had a call or email exchange, note their pain points, goals, or timeline for a decision;
Behavioral data like how they engage with your content. Use Google Analytics or your CRM system to find out which pages they visited, what resources they downloaded, and how long they stayed on key sections like product or pricing pages.

The more you know about each lead, the easier it will be to assess whether they are a good fit for your product or service.

Step 2: Use A Lead Qualification Framework

Now that you gathered information, it’s time to evaluate the lead. Use a framework to do this systematically. Here are 5 of the most common lead qualification frameworks:

BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timing)

BANT is a simple framework to assess whether a lead is ready to buy. Use BANT when you need to quickly qualify leads in B2B sales, where understanding decision-makers and budgets is crucial.

Budget: Does this lead have the financial resources to afford your product or service? You can gather this info by asking them directly or indirectly through forms or conversations;
Authority: Are they the decision-makers, or do they need to get approval from a manager or executive? This tells you if you are talking to the right person;
Need: Do they have a specific problem that your product or service can solve?;
Timing: Is this the right time for them to purchase, or are they just exploring options for the future? Someone ready to buy soon is much more valuable than someone just gathering information.

CHAMP (Challenges, Authority, Money, Prioritization)

CHAMP is a lead qualification framework that focuses on solving the prospect’s most pressing challenges. Use this when you want to prioritize leads based on the problem’s urgency.

Challenges: What problem or challenge is the lead facing? Is it a challenge that your product or service can solve?;
Authority: Again, are they the decision-maker? This is key for moving forward;
Money: Does the lead have the budget to invest in your product?;
Prioritization: How important is solving this challenge for them right now? If it’s a high priority, they are more likely to move forward with a purchase soon.

MEDDIC (Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, Champion)

MEDDIC is a detailed framework often used in complex B2B sales. It focuses on understanding the buying process and the key players involved. Use MEDDIC for larger sales leads or when you need to navigate long sales cycles and multiple decision-makers.

Metrics: What measurable outcomes does the lead want to achieve with your product or service? Quantify the benefits (ex revenue increase or cost savings) to show your value;
Economic Buyer: Who has the final say on the purchase? Identify the person with the budgetary authority and make sure they are involved in discussions;
Decision Criteria: What factors are influencing their decision? Understand the lead’s specific criteria for choosing a solution like pricing, features, or reputation;
Decision Process: How will they make the decision? Determine the steps they will take, including any internal approvals and timelines;
Identify Pain: What problem or pain point are they trying to solve? The bigger the pain, the more likely they will prioritize a solution;
Champion: Is there someone within the lead’s organization advocating for your product? A strong internal champion can help push the deal forward.

ANUM (Authority, Need, Urgency, Money)

ANUM is similar to BANT but prioritizes identifying the decision-maker first. Use ANUM when authority and urgency are your top concerns in qualifying leads.

Authority: Is the lead the decision-maker, or do they need approval from someone else? Like BANT and CHAMP, understanding authority is crucial for moving forward;
Need: Does the lead have a pressing need that your product or service can fulfill? If they don’t have a clear need, they are less likely to convert;
Urgency: How urgent is it for the lead to solve their problem? A higher urgency means they are more likely to move forward quickly;
Money: Does the lead have the financial capacity to invest in your solution? Make sure the lead has the budget, either now or soon, to purchase.

SPIN (Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-Payoff)

SPIN is a lead qualification framework that focuses on uncovering the prospect’s needs through a consultative conversation. Use SPIN when you want to guide leads toward realizing their challenges and how your solution can address them.

Situation: Ask questions to understand the lead’s current circumstances or setup. For example: “Can you walk me through your current process for handling customer orders?”;
Problem: Once you understand their situation, dive into the specific challenges or pain points they are experiencing;
Implication: This step explores the consequences of the problem. By focusing on the negative outcomes of leaving the issue unresolved, you help the prospect realize the urgency of finding a solution;
Need-Payoff: Finally, guide the prospect to see the benefits of solving their problem. This helps them visualize how your product or service will create positive results for their business.

Pick the framework that works best for you and run your leads through it. The goal is to filter out leads that don’t meet enough criteria to move forward in the sales process.

Step 3: Score Your Leads

You can see a 77% increase in your lead generation ROI with a lead scoring system. Use it to assign points to different actions and attributes of your leads to evaluate how ready they are to convert.

For example, a lead who clicks on your Google Ad and visits your pricing page could be assigned +10 points for clicking the ad and +10 points for visiting the pricing page as it indicates high interest. If they also request a demo, you can add +20 points, signaling they are ready for sales engagement.

Incorporate neuromarketing techniques like eye-tracking or emotional response testing to improve your lead scoring system. For example, leads that focus heavily on pricing or testimonials during their website visit might be more intent on buying.

Similarly, assign points based on lead attributes. This includes things like their job title, company size, or industry. Leads that closely match your ideal customer profile should get more points. For example:

Large company in your target industry: +15 points;
Mid-sized company outside your target industry: +5 points;
A job title that matches your typical decision-maker (ex. CEO, VP, etc.): +10 points.

Once you assign scores, you can easily see which leads are most engaged and best fit your target audience. Leads with higher scores are more likely to convert, while those with lower scores may need more nurturing.

Step 4: Categorize Your Leads

After scoring your leads, divide them into different categories:

Qualified leads: These leads are ready to move forward. They match your ideal customer profile, are highly engaged, and have a genuine need for your product;
Unqualified leads: These leads might not be ready yet. Maybe they don’t have the budget, or your solution isn’t the right fit for their needs right now.

Qualified leads are passed on to your sales and marketing team for direct engagement. Unqualified leads can enter a nurturing sequence, where you continue to build a relationship through content and follow-ups until they’re ready.

Step 5: Pass Leads To Sales

Once you identify and categorize your qualified leads, hand them over to your sales team. Make sure you include all the data you collected like:

Lead’s background: Any relevant details about their company, job role, and industry;
Pain points: What specific problems or challenges are they facing that your product can solve?;
Lead score: Share the lead’s score and why they are considered a high-priority lead;
Engagement history: Have they downloaded resources, visited your pricing page, or interacted with your emails? This helps sales reps tailor their approach.

This way, your sales team knows exactly how to approach the lead and close the deal.

Step 6: Nurture Unqualified Leads

Just because a lead isn’t ready now doesn’t mean they won’t be in the future. Unqualified leads still have potential, but they might need more time or information before making a purchase.

Here’s how to nurture unqualified leads:

Send targeted content: Provide them with valuable resources like blog posts, eBooks, or case studies that address their specific pain points. Over time, this builds trust and keeps your brand at the forefront of your mind;
Follow up periodically: Check in with leads periodically to see if their situation has changed. Maybe their budget has increased, or a new challenge has emerged that your product can help solve;
Engage through email: Use email marketing to maintain communication with your leads. Share tips, success stories, or new product updates that could be relevant to their needs. Another great way to engage leads is by offering them exclusive offers or time-sensitive deals through targeted emails.

The email from Green Supply is a great example of lead engagement. The subject line, “KN95 Masks for the Summer Wave,” immediately captures attention with a timely topic, and uses a combination of emojis and concise language.

The clear call to action (“Shop Masks for Kids and Adults!“) paired with free USA shipping gives a strong incentive for customers to act quickly.

Over time, nurturing helps unqualified leads become more engaged and, eventually, qualified.

Step 7: Review & Refine Your Process

Lead qualification is not something you set and forget. Review your lead qualification strategy every 3-6 months to make sure it aligns with your current goals and the market conditions. Here are the key areas to focus on during these reviews:

Are too many unqualified leads making it to sales?;
Are you missing potential qualified leads?;
Does your scoring system accurately reflect lead quality?

If your sales team is spending too much time on leads that are not ready or aren’t a good fit, it’s time to tighten your criteria. This could mean adjusting your lead scoring or being stricter about the data you collect.

Similarly, If you notice that valuable leads are slipping through the cracks, it could be that your qualification process is too rigid. Review any leads that didn’t convert but had high engagement to see if they were wrongly categorized.

2 Lead Qualification Examples To Learn From

These 2 examples will help you understand how to apply lead qualification strategies in real scenarios:

Example 1: Lead Qualification For A Project Management SaaS platform

Lead Qualification Process:

If you are qualifying leads for a platform like Asana, a popular project management SaaS platform, use a combination of lead scoring and the BANT framework. Your ideal customers are mid-sized tech and consulting companies looking to improve team collaboration and workflow management.

a. Lead Scoring:

You track website engagement to identify high-intent prospects. For example:

Visits the pricing page = +10 points;
Requests a demo = +20 points;
Attends a product webinar = +15 points.

These actions indicate the lead’s interest in the product.

b. BANT Criteria:

Budget: You ask if the prospect has the financial resources for a project management subscription;
Authority: Ensure you’re speaking with the decision-maker or someone who influences purchasing decisions within the company;
Need: Determine if the company faces workflow challenges, like collaboration issues, that Asana can solve;
Timing: Find out if the company is planning to implement a solution within the next quarter, indicating urgency.

Result:

A mid-sized tech company that actively engages with the demo has a clear need for collaboration tools and is ready to implement a solution within 30 days, is qualified and is fast-tracked for follow-up.

Example 2: Lead Qualification For A Fitness Apparel Store

Lead Qualification Process:

If you are qualifying leads for a sports brand like Lululemon, use a combination of behavioral data and the CHAMP framework to qualify leads for personalized marketing campaigns.

a. Behavioral Tracking:

You will track customer interactions with the website and emails:

Browsing specific product categories (e.g., yoga gear) = +10 points;
Adding items to the cart but not purchasing = +15 points;
Engaging with promotional emails = +5 points.

These actions help identify high-intent leads who are likely to purchase soon.

b. CHAMP Criteria:

Challenges: Identify if the customer is looking for specialized apparel like eco-friendly workout gear or size-inclusive options;
Authority: Since it’s eCommerce, the customer is typically the decision-maker;
Money: Monitor whether the customer frequently engages with higher-priced products;
Prioritization: Look at how engaged the customer is with promotional campaigns. High engagement shows an urgency to buy.

Result:

Leads who meet the criteria are added to a targeted campaign. For example, a customer who frequently browses high-end yoga pants, and adds them to their cart but doesn’t complete the purchase, is identified as a high-potential lead. You will send a follow-up email offering a 10% discount on the selected item to convert the lead into a sale.

4 Common Types Of Qualified Leads With Examples

As you go through, ask yourself: Which type of qualified lead matches my target audience, and how can I better focus my efforts on them?

Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)

Marketing qualified leads interact with your marketing content but aren’t ready for sales outreach yet. For example, a visitor downloads an eBook and signs up for a newsletter, showing interest but still in the research phase.

Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)

Sales qualified leads are vetted by both marketing and sales teams. They show clear intent to purchase and match your target customer profile.

An excellent example of a lead qualification form is the Fortune Restoration “Request an Estimate” form. This form collects key information such as name, phone number, and best time to reach you, so that sales teams can follow up with leads at the right moment.

Product Qualified Lead (PQL)

PQLs use your product (ex through a free trial) and show interest in upgrading. For example, a free project management software user exploring premium features.

Service Qualified Lead

A service-qualified lead is a current customer looking to upgrade. For example, a business using basic web hosting inquires about advanced features, signaling they’re ready for an upsell.

5 Benefits Of Lead Qualification

As you read, ask yourself: Which of these benefits will have the biggest impact on my sales team?

Saves Time & Resources

Qualifying leads helps your team focus on prospects who are ready to buy. This reduces wasted time on unqualified leads and lowers operational expenses, with businesses seeing 50% more sales-ready leads and 33% lower costs.

Improves Conversion Rates

By targeting qualified leads, you increase your chances of closing deals, which boosts your overall sales.

Shortens the Sales Cycle

Qualified leads are closer to making a decision, so your sales process moves faster with less back-and-forth.

Enhances Customer Experience

When you focus on the right leads, you provide a more tailored experience to make customers feel more connected to your offer.

Aligns Sales & Marketing Teams

Lead qualification ensures both sales and marketing teams are working towards the same goal by passing on well-vetted leads for better results.

6 Proven Effective Lead Qualification Best Practices

Pay close attention to aligning your sales and marketing teams. When both teams have a clear understanding of what constitutes a qualified lead, the handoff process becomes seamless.

Align Sales & Marketing Teams

To align sales and marketing, both teams agree on clear lead qualification criteria like targeting decision-makers in specific industries or company sizes. Marketing adjusts its campaigns to attract these leads, while sales prioritizes them. Regular communication between the teams helps refine the qualification process.

Focus On Fit, Not Just Interest

Don’t qualify sales leads solely based on their interest in your product. They should also be a good fit for your business in terms of industry, company size, or use case. A lead with high interest but no real need for your product is not worth prioritizing.

Utilize CRM & Automation Tools

Use Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems and marketing automation tools to track and manage leads efficiently. Tools like HubSpot, Salesforce, or Zoho can automate lead scoring, follow-ups, and tracking to make the qualification process faster.

Constantly Nurture Unqualified Leads

Leads that don’t meet your criteria now may qualify later. Have a nurturing strategy in place, offering them valuable content and staying in touch until they are ready to engage. Use email campaigns, webinars, and helpful resources to keep these leads warm.

Get Feedback From Sales

Continuously gather feedback from your sales team about the quality of leads they receive. Are the leads converting well? Are they hitting roadblocks with certain types of leads? Sales feedback is critical for refining your qualification process.

Prioritize High-Intent Actions

Focus on leads who take high-intent actions like requesting a demo, signing up for a free trial, or visiting pricing pages. These actions show a readiness to buy and these leads should be fast-tracked through the qualification process. Make sure you have well-designed landing pages with clear calls-to-action (CTAs) and optimized forms to qualify leads more effectively.

Conclusion

How many qualified leads could I prioritize today by focusing on high-intent actions like demo requests or visits to key pages? Keep this in mind as you apply what you learn here.

To take your lead qualification to the next level, try using Kyleads. With Kyleads, you can create interactive quizzes to engage and convert up to 30% of your visitors into leads. You will also find useful insights about your audience to craft personalized messaging, improve your sales funnels, and ultimately drive better results for your business.

Author Bio:

Burkhard Berger is the founder of Novum™. He helps innovative B2B companies implement modern SEO strategies to scale their organic traffic to 1,000,000+ visitors per month. Curious about what your true traffic potential is?

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Lead Qualification: How Does It Work? + Definition & Examples