Qualifying leads is a crucial step in any lead generation process. It helps you identify the prospects who are most likely to become your customers, and avoid wasting time and resources on those who are not. But how can you qualify leads in a short amount of time, without compromising the quality of your assessment? Here are some of the most effective ways to do so.
One of the simplest and most common ways to qualify leads is to use a scoring system based on predefined criteria. You can assign points to each lead based on their demographic, behavioral, and contextual data, such as their industry, role, company size, location, website activity, email engagement, and more. The higher the score, the more qualified the lead. You can use tools like HubSpot or Marketo to automate this process and segment your leads into different categories, such as hot, warm, or cold.
Lead scoring is the most automated way to do this — hence, it's the easiest and simplest. Here's the big but: Translating it and understanding HOW to use it is significantly more difficult. Not only because there's a lot of data to know and understand, but using it to effectively qualify someone and know when to send the right message, at the right time, will vary based on many factors. This includes: 1. Industry 2. Content 3. Product/service You need to also understand the value of each action that makes up your lead score and what it means to you. For ex. if a lead opens an email, replies, and later clicks on a link and fills out a form, that could look vary different for a local shoe company and a legal firm. It takes time.
Another way to qualify leads is to ask them relevant and specific questions that reveal their pain points, needs, goals, challenges, budget, authority, and timeline. You can do this through various channels, such as phone calls, emails, chatbots, webinars, or surveys. The key is to use open-ended questions that encourage the lead to share more information, and follow-up questions that probe deeper into their situation. For example, you can ask: "What are you trying to achieve with our solution?" or "What are the main obstacles you face in your current process?"
Some of the most mediocre ways to ask qualifying questions are asking personal questions too early or not at the right time. Asking for information that feels invasive will be off-putting to many and potentially lead others to lie. If you're looking to qualify someone, accuracy and the quality of the information you're getting is paramount. One of the best ways to do this is to ask about problems instead. Problems can be personal but they are completely relevant and understandable for the person answering. Right time is paramount. Don't ever think that you can ask for their hand in marriage before you even went on a date. Dating is essential before marriage, and that time frame will be determined based on how good you are at dating.
The BANT framework is a classic method for qualifying leads based on four criteria: Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline. It helps you determine whether the lead has the financial resources, the decision-making power, the problem or opportunity, and the urgency to buy your solution. You can use the BANT framework as a guide to structure your qualifying questions and conversations with your leads. For example, you can ask: "How much have you allocated for this project?" or "Who else is involved in the approval process?"
The other way that I've viewed this isn't a framework, but a perspective. 1. Intent. Will they be interested in what you're selling and can they buy? This doesn't have to be right now, as long as it's within some reasonable time in the future. 2. Fit. Does your product actually help them? Think of the demographics, firmographics, behaviors, etc. 3. Engagement. Will they actually respond to you in a way that you can spark a conversation? This is one that I feel is often overlooked. You need to spark conversations with people based on the problem that they're facing — quit looking at everything from the business's perspective. If you do that with the three above things in mind, you'll get everything you need from the BANT framework.
The CHAMP framework is a modern alternative to the BANT framework that focuses more on the lead's challenges and priorities. It stands for Challenges, Authority, Money, and Prioritization. It helps you understand the lead's pain points, their role and influence, their budget and willingness to pay, and their urgency and motivation to solve their problem. You can use the CHAMP framework to align your solution with the lead's value proposition and differentiate yourself from your competitors. For example, you can ask: "What are the main challenges you face in your current situation?" or "How do you prioritize this project among your other initiatives?"
The CHAMP framework, a modern alternative to BANT, focuses on Challenges, Authority, Money, and Prioritization. It helps uncover lead pain points, their role, budget, and urgency. This alignment aids in positioning your solution uniquely. Ask questions like, "What are your main challenges?" and "How does this project rank among your priorities?"
The GPCTBA/C&I framework is a comprehensive and customer-centric method for qualifying leads that covers seven criteria: Goals, Plans, Challenges, Timeline, Budget, Authority, and Negative Consequences/Positive Implications. It helps you uncover the lead's desired outcomes, their current strategies, their obstacles and risks, their deadlines and milestones, their financial constraints, their decision-making process, and their emotional drivers and triggers. You can use the GPCTBA/C&I framework to build trust and rapport with your leads, and to tailor your solution to their specific needs and expectations. For example, you can ask: "What are your goals for this quarter?" or "What are the negative consequences of not solving this problem?"
Qualifying leads in a short amount of time requires a clear and consistent approach that allows you to gather and analyze the most relevant information about your prospects. By using one or more of these methods, you can increase your chances of converting your leads into customers, and optimize your lead generation efforts.
The GPCTBA/C&I framework is a customer-centric method for lead qualification, addressing Goals, Plans, Challenges, Timeline, Budget, Authority, and Consequences/Implications. It uncovers desired outcomes, strategies, obstacles, deadlines, financial constraints, decision-making, and emotional triggers. This builds trust and tailors solutions to meet specific needs. For instance, ask about goals and consequences. A clear, consistent approach maximizes lead conversion and optimizes lead generation efforts.