All You Need to Know to Master Lead Qualification

What Is Lead Qualification?

Lead qualification refers to the process of narrowing down the pool of potential leads to see which are more likely to make a purchase. It’s about determining whether the leads are worth pursuing or not.

Simply put, lead qualification is a better way to make sales because it significantly increases close ratios. You can narrow down the leads pool based on demographic information like:

• Company size;
• Buying behaviour;
• Authorization to make the purchase.

 

Qualified VS. Unqualified leads

To be able to identify qualified leads, you need to gather as much information as possible about them. To perceive the lead value for your company, you need to collect data and insights effectively.

How to determine whether a lead is qualified or unqualified? Here are some traits.

 

Qualified

• Are educated on your company and products;
• Can afford the product and have a defined budget;
• Are in control of the buying process;
• Have low churn rates after closing the deal.

 

Unqualified

• Are not sure about the benefit your product brings them;
• Don’t have enough information on your company;
• Are unable to afford the service;
• Aren’t nurtured enough before the closing;
• Have a high churn rate.

 

Benefits Of Lead Qualification For Your Business

Practising lead qualification has a lot of benefits for your organization. Here are the most important ones:

 

You will save time and resources

Lead qualification will help you save time by not trying to sell to a lead that is not an ideal fit for you. Your marketing and sales team will focus only on leads interested in your products and services.

 

Generate revenue

As we mentioned before, lead qualification increases the close rate. With a higher close rate comes higher revenue.

 

Determine your buyer’s needs and wants

Part of the selling process is a sales discovery call. That’s when the salesperson talks to a lead for which you have gathered information earlier. They will be able to identify the lead’s pain points and position your product as a solution to their problem.

 

Better personalization tactics

Personalization is of great importance for a successful sale. Having a smaller lead pool will make it easier for the sales team to personalize each buyer’s journey. This will create a better buying experience for your soon-to-be client and garner a positive brand image.

 

Lead Qualification Process

This process begins with having a pool of potential leads. After having enough leads gathered, the next step is to identify them in one of these types of leads:

• Unqualified leads: Those leads have not been nurtured enough, thus won’t be forwarded to a sales team;
• Marketing Qualified Leads (MQL): is a lead who has indicated an interest in what a brand has to offer based on marketing efforts;
• Sales Qualified Leads (SQL): SQLs are leads who are ready to connect with a sales rep and begin the sales process;
• Product Qualified Leads (PQL): These leads have shown interest in a product by having started a free trial or requested a demo;
• Conversion Qualified Leads (CQL): As a CQL is identified any lead who has opted in through your website, either by submitting a form or pressing a CTA button.

 

After being labelled, the leads then continue to a lead qualification framework where several qualifying questions are being asked to determine whether they are a good fit or not.

From there, the leads are divided into qualified or not qualified. The qualified leads are then fed into the sales process. Disqualified leads are fed into a nurturing sequence, where they’ll ideally warm up to the product and make a purchase later down the line. – HubSpot: Ultimate guide to sales qualification.

 

What Is Lead Scoring?

Lead scoring is the process of assigning a lead a particular score based on their demographics, buying, and online behaviour. When doing the lead scoring, you might add or subtract points whether the lead exhibits certain buying behaviours or not.

 

What Techniques Are Used In Lead Scoring?

According to Marketo, there are some techniques used to help guide you during your sales call with a lead. Each technique holds a set of questions a salesperson can ask the prospect during a sales discovery call to get better insights into their buying criteria. Some of the techniques are BANT, CHAMP, MEDDIC, ANUM, FAINT, GPCTBA / C&I. Let’s take a look at each of these.

 

BANT

• Budget: How much are you willing to spend to fix your problem?
• Authority (for B2B): What is your role in the company? Who is involved in the purchase decision? How do you think we can handle the objections you’re encountering?
• Needs: What current challenges are you facing? What is the source of those challenges? How do you believe this problem can be solved?
• Timeline: How soon do you need your problem to be fixed? Do you have the capacity to implement the solution at the moment?

 

CHAMP

• Challenges: What current challenges are you facing? How do you believe this problem can be solved?
• Authority (for B2B): What is your role in the company? Who is involved in the purchase decision? How do you think we can handle the objections you’re encountering?
• Money: How much are you willing to spend to fix your problem?
• Prioritization: How important is it to you or your company to fix this issue? How soon do you need your problem to be fixed?

 

MEDDIC

• Metrics: Do you have any specific goals and targets set to achieve in the coming year? For example, increase revenue by a certain percentage in X amount of time?
• Economic Buyer: What is your role in the company? Who is involved in the purchase decision? Could you refer me to the right person if you are not a stakeholder?
• Decision Criteria: What is crucial to you when making a purchase? Is it the quality of the product? Is it the smooth buying cycle?
• Decision Process: How do you narrow down your choices when having multiple solutions to a problem? According to you, what is the most critical part of making a purchase decision?
• Pain Point ID: What current challenges are you facing? How do you believe this problem can be solved?
• Champion: Hello, X person in your company referred me to you. They loved our product and found it helpful so they thought you would like it too.

 

ANUM

• Authority: What is your role in the company? Who is involved in the purchase decision?
• Needs: What current challenges are you facing? How do you believe this problem can be solved?
• Urgency: How soon do you need your problem to be fixed? Do you have the capacity to implement the solution at the moment?
• Money: How much are you willing to spend to fix your problem?

 

FAINT

• Funds: How much are you willing to spend to fix your problem?
• Authority: What is your role in the company? Who is involved in the purchase decision?
• Interests: What is most important to you and/or your company?
• Needs: What current challenges are you facing? How do you believe this problem can be solved?
• Timing: How soon do you need your problem to be fixed? Do you have the capacity to implement the solution at the moment?

 

GPCTBA / C&I

• Goals: Do you have any specific goals and targets set to achieve in the coming year? For example, increase revenue by a certain percentage in X amount of time?
• Plans: Do you have a strategy in place to execute the goals you mentioned previously?
• Challenges: What current challenges are you facing? How do you believe this problem can be solved?
• Timeline: How soon do you need your problem to be fixed? Do you have the capacity to implement the solution at the moment?
• Budget: How much are you willing to spend to fix your problem?
• Authority: What is your role in the company? Who is involved in the purchase decision?
• Negative Consequences: If you aren’t able to meet your goals for whatever reason, what would you do?
• Positive Implications: If you can meet all of your goals, what would be the next steps for you? Any secondary goals you would like to implement?

 

When To Disqualify a Lead?

Many salespeople are afraid to disqualify a lead due to narrowing down the lead pool. But why disqualifying isn’t a bad thing? The quality of the leads is more important than the quantity. The most precious thing for every salesperson is their time, so use it wisely.

Here are some red flags when you should consider lead disqualification:

• If your prospect has nothing to do with your buyer persona;
• If there is no problem that you can solve;
• If the level of engagement is too low;
• When prospect’s answers are inconsistent and contradictory.

 

It’s Your Turn

Now that we’ve discussed the benefits of lead qualification, the process, and the lead scoring techniques, it’s your turn to implement them and find the right fit. Your ability to identify high-quality leads will make or break your business.

Satisfied customers affect higher revenue, increase word-of-mouth, referrals, and the possibility to cross-sell or up-sell. So, getting to them the right way is a necessity!

Are you looking to build an in-depth lead qualification strategy for your business?

Reach out to CMO Masters today!