Lead Qualification: 7 Methods for Sales Success

For sales teams looking to best drive revenue and growth, lead qualification is a must. Knowing how to qualify a lead can facilitate the overall process and save your team time and money.

In our ultimate guide, we’ll explain everything you need to know about lead qualification, including what it is, the types of qualified leads, the best methods for qualification, the steps for qualification, and, of course, how sales leaders can implement it across teams. 

What Is Lead Qualification?

Lead qualification is a process that sales reps use to evaluate potential clients and find out if they’d be a potential fit for the solution they’re selling. To assess whether or not someone would be a good customer, reps will collect information about the lead and compare that to various criteria.

For example, reps might evaluate a lead by exploring factors like whether or not the lead has a need for the solution you’re selling or whether or not they even have the authority to make purchasing decisions.

However, there are plenty of other factors and tried-and-true methods for lead qualification.

Why is lead qualification important? 

Effective lead qualification is important because it helps sales reps better allocate their resources and prioritize potential clients who seem like the best fit. As a result, it can help boost conversation rates and overall sales efficiency.

Qualified leads vs. unqualified leads

A qualified lead is someone who fits the sales team’s lead qualification criteria, making them a good potential customer. On the other hand, an unqualified lead is someone who isn’t a good fit. 

For example, some signs that a lead might be unqualified include things like:

• Their budget for the product or service doesn’t align with the solution’s cost
• It doesn’t seem like they have a need for the solution you’re offering
• They don’t have the power to make purchasing decisions
• They’re unable to give you contact information or they give you false information
• There’s little effective communication (e.g., they don’t respond when you reach out or they end calls as soon as they can)

Most Common Types of Qualified Leads

Once a sales rep has identified whether or not their lead is qualified, they can then categorize that lead even further. Here are the most common types of qualified leads sales teams should learn to recognize.

Sales qualified lead (SQL)

One of the most common types of qualified leads is the sales qualified lead (SQL). This is a potential client who’s shown more interest than other leads and is more likely to transition into a buyer.

Some signs that someone might be an SQL include that they’ve:

• Specifically communicated that they have a particular need
• Had a conversation (or requested one) with a sales rep 
• Asked to see a product or service demonstration

Marketing qualified lead (MQL)

A marketing qualified lead (MQL) is someone who — via various marketing activities — has expressed interest in the solution you’re selling. They’re qualified to get marketing materials from your organization and express behaviors that show their interest. 

For example, behaviors that indicate a lead could be an MQL include:

• Visiting your company’s site
• Subscribing to newsletters or mailers
• Filling out online forms or surveys
• Downloading e-books 
• Adding products to their shopping cart (or adding them to a wishlist or a “favorites” list)

Although an MQL might not be ready to make a purchase, they’re a qualified potential customer.

Product Qualified Lead (PQL)

Although they’re similar to MQLs, a product qualified lead (PQL) is someone who’s interacted with the product or service you’re selling in a meaningful way. For example, someone who downloaded a free e-book, participated in a free trial, or attended a webinar could be considered a PQL.

Referral lead

A referral lead is what it sounds like: a lead who was referred to your company by an existing partner or client. Because of this referral connection, they’re more likely to be converted to buyers compared to leads that come from other channels.

7 Lead Qualification Methods Every Rep Should Know

Because learning how to qualify a lead is so essential for sales reps, there are plenty of available frameworks to explore. Although there’s a plethora of lead qualification methods out there, these are the top seven frameworks every sales team should be familiar with.

1. BANT

One of the most common methods is BANT. It’s an acronym that stands for various lead qualification criteria, specifically: budget, authority, need, and timeline.

This option hones in on evaluating the potential client’s financial resources, whether or not they have the power to make purchasing decisions, their need (or lack thereof) for the product or service, and how ready or willing they are to make a purchase. 

2. MEDDIC (and MEDDPICC)

Another well-known framework sales teams should know is MEDDIC. Like BANT, MEDDIC is an acronym that stands for metrics, economic buyer, decision criteria, decision process, identify pain, and champion. With MEDDIC, the focus includes pinpointing the key stakeholders involved and quantifying the lead’s needs.

There are also variations of MEDDIC, like MEDDPICC. You can think of MEDDPICC as an extension of MEDDIC. There’s the addition of “P” and an extra “C,” which stands for paper process and competition. Those additions encourage sales teams to consider all the paperwork, documentation, and processes needed to convert leads to customers, as well as the competition or other products and services the lead is considering.

3. FAINT

If you have prospects who might not be aware of a product or service, FAINT could be a good option to explore. FAINT is an acronym that stands for funding, authority, interest, need, and timing. It’s relatively similar to frameworks like BANT or ANUM (see below).

4. SPIN selling

One of the most common lead qualification methods is SPIN selling. It involves another acronym, SPIN, which stands for situation, problem, implication, and need-payoff. Compared to other traditional selling methods, this lead qualification framework emphasizes the importance of building genuine relationships with prospects.

5. CHAMP

Also similar to BANT, CHAMP helps reps qualify leads through its acronym, which stands for challenges, authority, money, and prioritization. Although it shares some similarities with BANT, it places more importance on getting to know the lead’s priorities and challenges.

CHAMP usually works best with reps from organizations that: 

• Target bigger buyers
• Have lower-cost products or services
• Can personalize their solution to the buyer

6. SPICED

Some folks consider the SPICED sales methodology to be an “updated” version of SPIN selling. SPICED stands for situation, problem, impact, critical event, and decision.

The key differences that make it stand out from a method like SPIN is its inclusion of a critical event — an event that acts like a catalyst for the lead to seek out a solution — and decision, which refers to the timeline and overall decision-making process.

7. ANUM

Another lead qualification method worth mentioning is ANUM, which stands for authority, need, urgency, and money. This framework encourages sales reps to:

• Find out who has the power to make decisions
• Unearth the lead’s needs
• Evaluate the lead’s urgency (or the urgency of the lead’s situation)
• Figure out the budget and what financial resources are available 

How to Qualify a Lead in 7 Steps

Because there are so many lead qualification methods, it can feel overwhelming knowing exactly where to begin. But the good news is, reps can experiment to find out what works best for them and their organization. To get started, here’s how you can qualify a lead in seven simple steps. 

1. Pinpoint potential leads.

To start, go ahead and identify some leads to further evaluate. Explore some lead generation strategies to create a pool of potential clients that could be a good fit but need more evaluation. 

2. Gather information on your leads.

Once you have a good group of leads, the next step is to gather more information on each potential buyer. For example, reps should aim to get an idea of who the person is, including what industry they work in, their company, and their job title and role. It’s also a good idea to make sure to collect their contact information. 

3. Find out their level of need and authority.

Next, reps need to prioritize getting more details regarding their need and authority. You want to make sure the lead has an actual need for the solution you’re selling, be it a product or service. To better understand their needs, be prepared to ask specific questions to unearth their objectives, priorities, and pain points. This can paint a much clearer picture of whether or not they might be a good fit.

As for authority, does this person have the power to make purchasing decisions? If not, who does? Understanding a potential client’s level of authority is essential for successful lead qualification. 

4. Get more information regarding the lead’s budget and resources.

As many of the lead qualification methods emphasize, figuring out the lead’s budget and available financial resources is critical. For example, imagine if you were to go through the entire process only to find out later that the lead could never afford the product in the first place. The only way to avoid that is to gain a better understanding of their resources up-front.

5. Figure out the lead’s timeline.

A potential buyer’s timeline is also key for successful lead qualification. Knowing their timeline and process for making a decision about purchasing can help sales teams save lots of potentially wasted time. 

For example, if a lead tells you that the timeline they’re envisioning is months or years down the line, they might not be as high-value as a lead with a shorter time frame. A longer timeline doesn’t mean the lead isn’t worth pursuing, but it should definitely be considered as a factor for prioritization.

6. Assess your leads with a scoring system.

Sales teams should aim to evaluate their leads against a scoring system, too. In an ideal world, all your leads can be given an objective score value that you can then use to compare against other lead scores to find out where the biggest opportunities lie.

Unfortunately, there’s not one “end all, be all” scoring system for lead qualification. However, your organization or company can ideate and create its own scoring system to prioritize potential buyers.

7. Prioritize your list of leads.

Once you have your leads scored, you can go ahead and prioritize them to see where the most opportunity is. Although it’ll depend on your team’s scoring system, hone in on the leads with the most promising scores so the team can pivot their efforts to those potential buyers. 

How to Improve Lead Qualification With Yoodli 

Lead qualification is a skill that any sales rep can (and should) learn. However, training a team of reps on how to qualify a lead and then implementing that training across an entire organization can be challenging. It doesn’t have to be though, and that’s where Yoodli shines. 

Yoodli is a virtual sales coach that leverages AI technology for at-scale lead qualification training and implementation. Plenty of companies — including major players in the industry, like Korn Ferry, Dale Carnegie, and Google — have all used Yoodli’s services to boost seller attainment while decreasing ramp across the board. 

Here’s how it works.

Sales enablement leaders can have their teams of reps learn and practice lead qualification methods in realistic sales roleplays simulations. These scenarios are perfect for practicing new techniques and methods in real-world situations, like inbound and outbound customer discovery and cold calls. That way, instead of having reps practice live, during real conversations with leads, they can put their new skills to the test in risk-free, simulated sales calls. 

Reps who use Yoodli to learn how to qualify leads will also receive customized sales coaching and feedback backed by data to help them improve. 

In fact, Google Cloud recently tapped into Yoodli’s services to get over 15,000 sales reps on the same page. Afterward, Google extended its partnership with Yoodli to other programs because of how successful the initial case study was. 

Regardless of what specific lead qualification methods you’d like your team to excel at, you can have your team use Yoodli to practice and improve their skills at https://yoodli.ai/. 

The Main Takeaway

Lead generation is a valuable tool any sales rep can use to prioritize potential customers and better allocate resources. There are plenty of frameworks worth exploring, too. Once reps are ready to practice implementing their newly learned skills, take advantage of a sales enablement tool like Yoodli to improve and build on their existing skills.

Sources

• Salesforce: “What Is Lead Qualification and How Does It Work?”
• Waseem Bashir: “What are Unqualified Leads: Identification and Management.”
• Tableau: “What Is A Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)? Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) Definition.”
• RAIN Group Sales Training: “FAINT – The New Definition of a Qualified Prospect.”
• Selling Signals: “CHAMP Sales Framework: How to Qualify Leads With 4 Questions.”
• Salesmate: “ANUM Sales Qualification: All You Need To Know!”
• Leadlander: “How To Qualify A Lead: Lead Scoring And Other Strategies.”