How do you evaluate your sales qualification process?

1 Set clear criteria

The first step to evaluate your sales qualification process is to define the criteria that you use to qualify prospects. These criteria should be based on your ideal customer profile, your value proposition, and your sales goals. They should also be measurable, specific, and relevant to your product or service. For example, you can use the BANT framework, which stands for Budget, Authority, Need, and Timing, to assess if a prospect has the money, the decision-making power, the problem, and the urgency to buy from you.

2 Track your metrics

The second step to evaluate your sales qualification process is to track and analyze your metrics. These metrics should reflect the performance and outcomes of your sales qualification process, such as the number of qualified leads, the conversion rate, the sales cycle length, the average deal size, and the customer satisfaction. You should also compare your metrics to your benchmarks, goals, and industry standards, and identify any gaps or areas for improvement.

3 Review your questions

The third step to evaluate your sales qualification process is to review the questions that you ask your prospects during the discovery phase. These questions should be open-ended, relevant, and value-oriented, and they should help you uncover the prospect's pain points, goals, challenges, and motivations. You should also avoid asking too many or too few questions, or questions that are leading, biased, or irrelevant. You can use the SPIN framework, which stands for Situation, Problem, Implication, and Need-payoff, to structure your questions and guide the conversation.

4 Solicit feedback

The fourth step to evaluate your sales qualification process is to solicit feedback from your prospects, customers, and sales team. Feedback can help you understand how your prospects perceive your sales qualification process, what they like and dislike about it, and how you can improve it. You can collect feedback through surveys, interviews, reviews, or testimonials, and use it to refine your criteria, metrics, questions, and techniques.

5 Test and optimize

The fifth step to evaluate your sales qualification process is to test and optimize it regularly. You can use A/B testing, split testing, or multivariate testing to experiment with different variables of your sales qualification process, such as the criteria, the questions, the channels, the timing, or the tools. You can then measure the results and compare them to your baseline, and implement the changes that lead to better outcomes.

6 Learn and update

The sixth and final step to evaluate your sales qualification process is to learn and update it as you go. Your sales qualification process should not be static or rigid, but rather dynamic and adaptable to the changing needs and preferences of your prospects and customers. You should monitor the trends, best practices, and innovations in your industry and market, and adjust your sales qualification process accordingly. You should also review your sales qualification process periodically and make sure it aligns with your sales strategy and goals.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?