How Lead Qualification Works: A Comprehensive Guide

On this page, check the benefits, definition, meaning and methodology of Lead qualification. Also, Check how to qualify your leads, lead qualification frameworks, and strategies.

January 6, 2022

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7 min

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Writer at SquadStack - Ura Verma

Writer at SquadStack - Ura Verma

How Lead Qualification Works: A Comprehensive Guide

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Lead qualification is very beneficial for a sales team. Qualifying leads for the sales team takes a lot of time and effort. It also requires a lot of research to qualify leads and sometimes needs to be directly contacted. There are several methodologies and frameworks which can help to qualify leads for sales. This article will explain to you about befits, definitions, methodologies, and various frameworks of lead qualification. 

The first call is a very important factor and the most valuable conversation that a salesperson can convert a lead into a prospect. Many companies do not perform this step properly in the sales funnel, which can be a reason for losing potential customers. Lead qualification helps to identify relevant sales opportunities from your pool of leads quickly.

What is Lead Qualification?

Lead qualification can be defined as the process of checking potential customers based on their ability and readiness to purchase a product. Lead Qualification helps you better understand needs, pain points, aspirations, and other vital signals to personalize your sales pitch for maximum impact.

Through qualifying sales leads, a business can give priority to hot leads. Squadstack lead qualification processes can help the sales team save through outreach and analytics. 

How is Lead Qualification Made Easy With SquadStack?

Lead Qualification With Squadstack

Lead Qualification Meaning

A lead is classified as a sales-qualified lead when it fulfills specific criteria, including alignment with the business's Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). A lead can be termed qualified if it demonstrates a high probability of purchasing. This classification signifies that the lead has advanced beyond the initial stages of the sales process and is now acknowledged as a valuable potential customer worthy of further pursuit.

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Benefits of Lead Qualification

There are various benefits to qualifying your leads. These benefits include understanding your prospects, saving time and money, and building better sales relationships. Check out these benefits in more detail on the page below.  BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) has its own lead qualification process in which agents ask few question with customers to qualify them for next stage.

Steps in Lead Qualification Process - Squadstack
Image: Steps in Lead Qualification Process

Read More: Call Center CRM Customer Relationship Management Software

Helps to Understand Your Prospects Better

When you qualify leads, you begin by understanding them. It is important to know who your customer is and what your product or service can do for them. In the end, you are selling to people and not numbers. People prefer to buy from those who understand their needs. Here are three steps to get started –

  1. Ask relevant questions about their problems and goals.
  2. Determine their ideal solution and how soon they can make a purchase.
  3. Probe if they've tried other solutions before you or are evaluating more options.

Answering the above questions will give you visibility on prospects just showing interest versus those ready to buy.

Helps You Save Time & Money

The value of time is immense for every team chasing targets, yet it's surprising to see how many sales teams waste their time chasing wrong leads and poorly qualified prospects. Here are three steps to get started –

  1. Use automation tools to capture basic details like – location, age, industry, etc.
  2. Evaluate leads based on their budget and purchase intent.
  3. Ask them about their ideal time frame for purchasing solutions.

Building Better Sales Relationships

Companies that understand their customers better build better relationships over time and consistently convert trust into growth and success. To consistently grow sales, your company's goal should be to build better relationships with your prospects and customers.

Here are three steps to get started –

  • Ask them about their goals and what challenges they want to solve.
  • Explore their doubts or specific questions regarding your products or services.
  • Personalize your pitch around their pain points and share resources that can be helpful.
Lead Qualification Process Block Diagram
Image - Lead Qualification Process Block Diagram

Lead Qualification Process

Let us check how the lead qualification process takes place. Below we have described the step-by-step process of qualifying a sales lead that can aid in conducting a more accurate assessment to determine whether a sales lead should be classified as qualified.

Step 1: Define your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP):

Start by clearly defining the Ideal Customer Profile. It is important to identify the demographics and firmographics information that are aligned with your target audience. Consider factors like industry, company size and location. An ICP that is clearly defined will help you evaluate leads more effectively.

Step 2: Capture Lead Information:

Implementing a lead qualification system that maximizes your sales team's efficiency is essential. You can also focus your resources on the best prospects. You can increase the lead conversion rate by defining your ICP and collecting information on leads. It includes nurturing and scoring leads, establishing qualifying criteria, aligning sales and marketing efforts, and continually analyzing and iterating.

Step 3: Lead Scoring:

We need to develop a lead scoring system to prioritize and rank leads based on their level of engagement. Lead scoring can be done by assigning points to different criteria, such as: 

  • Job title
  • Industry
  • Company size
  • Website Activity 
  • Email Engagement.

Step 4: Lead Nurturing:

Nurturing leads is a very important step in the lead qualification process. This can be done by engaging and nurturing leads through targeted marketing campaigns and personalized communication. 

  • Provide valuable content, 
  • Providing Educational Resources,
  • Tailored messaging to build trust and credibility. 
  • Continuously track and analyse their interactions. 

Step 5: Sales and Marketing Alignment:

It is necessary to ensure close collaboration between your sales and marketing teams. In qualifying your sales leads, it is necessary to establish clear communication channels and feedback loops to exchange insights.

After knowing the lead qualification process, below you can check the lead qualification methodologies or frameworks on the basis of which sales leads are marked qualified.

check effective lead qualification techniques and strategies in detail.

Lead Qualification Methodologies

There are various lead qualification frameworks or methodologies. Now let us seek the answer to How to qualify sales leads? For qualifying sales leads, checking the important characteristics and seeking necessary details by asking sales qualification questions is very important. The various Lead qualification methodologies/ Frameworks can be checked in detail below.

1- BANT Framework - Budget, Authority, Need, and Timing

2- ANUM Framework - Authority, Need, Urgency, and Money:

3- CHAMP Framework - Challenges, Authority, Money, and Prioritisation

4- GPCT Framework - Goals, Plans, Challenges, and Timeline 

Check these Lead Qualification Methodologies/Framework in detail.

CHAMP Lead Qualification - Squadstack
Image: CHAMP Lead Qualification

Lead Qualification Questions

Sales people often encounter a key challenge in differentiating between lead and prospect. It is crucial to differentiate between someone with genuine potential to become a customer and those who may not be a good fit for your product or service. 

During discovery calls, it is easy to decide on each prospect. Thus it becomes vital to know how you can qualify your leads or questions to be asked during discovery calls to qualify your leads. Below we have shared some questions to be asked to qualify your leads. 

Budget-related questions to be asked from the sales lead:

  • What is your budget allocated for this product or service?
  • How many funds have you allocated for this project?

Need-related questions:

  • What specific products or services are you looking for?
  • What are your main goals and objectives for the service/product?
  • What impact do you need through our service or product in your business?

Time-related questions:

  • When are you looking to take the service or start using the product?
  • How urgently do you need to address this issue?

Decision-making process questions:

  • Who are the key decision-makers involved in this process?

Fit-related questions:

  • How does our product/service align with your requirements?

Lead Qualification With Squadstack

SquadStack is India's most secure and transparent Tele-calling partner, with no fixed seat costs, best-in-class connectivity, and powerful analytics. You can scale risk-free with a highly trained and trusted Tele-calling team with us.

Lead qualification with us will help you;

  • Increase your connectivity, reduce drop-offs, and reduce sale costs.
  • Boost sales team productivity, as they only work on qualified 'serious' leads.
  • Reduce hiring and training costs & scale up without increasing your team.
  • Hold your lead gen. team accountable with clear and actionable data on lead quality.
Lead Qualification with Squadstack
Image - Lead Qualification with Squadstack

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FAQ's

How does lead qualification help you with relationship building?

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At the core of lead qualification is context. Context about who your target buyer is, what problems they face, and why they have shortlisted you as one of the probable solutions. This context can help you have better conversations. A salesperson with more context about their prospects has more to discuss and value to offer during a conversation.

What is Lead Qualification?

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Lead qualification can be defined as checking potential customers based on their ability and readiness to purchase a product. Lead Qualification helps you better understand needs, pain points, aspirations, and other vital signals to personalize your sales pitch for maximum impact.

What is a lead qualification in Marketing?

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Lead qualification in marketing contains a range of actions customers present that indicate their interest in purchasing a product or service.

What tools or technologies are used for lead qualification?

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Various tools and technologies can be utilized for lead qualification, depending on the specific needs and resources of a business. Some commonly used tools include customer relationship management (CRM) systems, marketing automation platforms, lead scoring software, analytics tools, and customer data platforms.

What criteria are commonly used for lead qualification?

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The criteria used for lead qualification can vary depending on the specific business and industry. However, common criteria include demographic information (such as company size, industry, and location), lead source or channel, level of engagement (such as website visits, downloads, and interactions).

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