Stop Wasting Time On The Wrong Customers: Your Ultimate Lead Qualification Checklist

You’re busy. You don’t want to waste time chatting with prospects who are never going to buy from you — and you don’t want to spend valuable resources exhausting your sales team with the wrong leads, either.?

So, how do you ensure the right prospects land in your calendar??

You need an easy-to-use lead qualification checklist.?

We’ve all been there before…

After an exhausting week juggling the countless tasks that comprise an entrepreneur’s to-do list, you’ve still got to hop on the phone for a few sales calls.?

You chat with the first lead for 30 minutes, only to learn they can’t afford your product (and have little interest in securing the funds.) On your next call, your prospect says she’ll need to talk to her business partners — both of whom are out of town for the next few weeks.?

Finally, you round out your sales conversations with a lead who appears to have little interest in making a purchase. They might even be a competitor trying to do some research on your offering!

Here’s the thing:

Not everyone who lands on your website or enters your marketing funnel will want to buy from you. That’s okay!

But even if you have a sales team to handle your prospecting, you and your team don’t want to squander precious time and resources on the wrong customers.?

That’s why you need a reliable lead qualification process as part of your sales strategy.?

Ready to learn how to qualify a lead and start closing more sales??

Read on.

What is lead qualification?

Lead qualification might sound tricky, but the process doesn’t have to be all that complicated.?

Qualifying leads is simply the process of determining which prospects are most likely to purchase from you.

Now, that isn’t to say you should completely disregard potential customers who are not ready to buy from you. It’s just that before entering a sales funnel, these prospects likely need more time to build a relationship with your brand.?

Maybe these unqualified leads need to learn more about your product through educational content marketing. Or perhaps this simply isn’t the right time for them, but if you keep building the relationship through a strategic full-stack marketing campaign, then they’ll circle back when they are ready.

There’s any number of reasons why leads aren’t qualified to make a purchase...

...yet 61% of B2B marketers send all leads directly to the sales team — when only 27% of those are qualified leads. (MarketingSherpa)

No wonder you and your sales team are wasting time on prospects who aren’t ready to purchase from you!

How to qualify a lead with these proven processes

So, how do you determine the buying likelihood of a prospect??

To avoid speculation, I recommend a data-driven lead qualification process. Here are a few of the most common techniques:

BANT

Created by IBM back in the 1960s, this proven sales qualification process remains a popular option with B2B businesses and companies selling high-ticket items. BANT focuses on four components (in order of importance):

Budget: Can your prospect afford your offering, and are they willing to pay your price?

Authority: Is your lead the primary decision-maker, or is there someone else with whom you must speak?

Need: Does your product help your prospect solve a problem??

Timeline: Is there a sense of urgency to purchase your product now (or soon)?

CHAMP

CHAMP is a lead qualification process like BANT. (You’ll notice many similarities below.) However, it’s largely considered more relevant with digital marketers due to its emphasis on the prospect’s needs.?

Challenges: What are your prospect’s most significant problems?

Authority: Who is responsible for making the final decision?

Money: Can the lead afford your product or service?

Prioritisation: How urgent is the prospect’s need for your offering?

MEDDIC

MEDDIC (also commonly referred to as MEDDICC and MEDDPICC) is a slightly more detailed sales qualification process. Since it involves a higher level of engagement with prospects, MEDDIC is typically best for businesses with low-volume sales.?

Metrics: What qualifiable results can your product provide for the prospect?

Economic Buyer: Who within the organisation has overall authority to make this purchase?

Decision Criteria: What criteria will drive the lead’s decision?

Decision Process: What processes and steps will the prospect follow to make a decision?

Identify Pain: What pain points does your product solve for the lead?

Champion: Who has power, influence, and authority within the prospect’s organisation? In other words, is there already an individual at your prospect’s company who can champion your product?

Your lead qualification checklist

No matter which of the above lead qualification processes you choose to follow, here’s a simple checklist you and your sales team can use to confidently qualify more leads today:

• Do they need your product??(Think about your buyer personas and if this person is in the industry or demographic you typically serve.)
• Are they interested in purchasing your product?
• If they aren’t ready to purchase from you, are they interested in learning more?
• Do they have the budget for your product? Or, is the value of your offering so obvious that they can secure the funds to make the purchase? (Every salesperson handles money objections differently; however, at the end of the day, your lead will still need the resources to invest in your offering.)
• Will anyone else be involved in the decision-making process??
• What is their timeline to make this purchase??(Consider your Buyer’s Journey and how you can help guide your customer to be the hero of their story.)

Pro tip: As you’re qualifying leads, pay close attention to why a lead is unqualified. This is precious information that can inform and improve your marketing strategy.?

To sum it up

A lead qualification checklist is a valuable tool to save time and close more sales. It’s not just helpful for you, but for your prospect, too. The better you understand your prospect's needs and pain points, the easier it will be to guide them toward success.?