Why Qualify Your Leads

TIME – Your Most Valuable Resource?

The accurate qualification of leads can make the difference between hitting your sales target and missing it. Leads come in many different forms, from many different sources, and with many different interpretations. The quality of leads can be very ambiguous - a great lead to one salesperson is a total waste of time to somebody else. If salespeople were to run with every lead that came their way, with the energy and drive that good leads deserve, they would run out of time and the most valuable of those leads would suffer. For this reason, you should implement a system of qualification, so that salespeople spend their most valuable resource, their TIME, on leads that have the greatest chance of successfully closing.?

TIME spent chasing leads that are unlikely to close successfully, is TIME NOT spent on opportunities with a higher win-probability

Qualification Models?

Operating a Qualification model removes the ambiguity around what is or isn’t a good, or qualified lead. There are a number of standard models in use, so let’s examine a few to better understand what qualification in all about.?

The most widely used model is BANT, an acronym meaning, Budget; Authority; Need; and Timing. It originated with IBM in the 1950s and became an industry standard because it was easy to understand, to remember, and to execute.?Although BANT has stood the test of time, it is questionable that in the 2020s, is it the most appropriate model? The original meaning was:?

? If the project wasn’t funded with a Budget?

? Or, if the buyer didn’t have the Authority to make a decision?

? Or, if there wasn’t a clear Need identified?

? Or if the Timing of the project was outside the salesperson’s window of opportunity?

Then the lead did not qualify and the salesperson either dropped it or shelved it for some later date.?

In today’s world, different rules apply. There are other variations of BANT, namely ANUM and PACT, which are very similar, but this one from the TAS Group is interesting, it is very suitable for high ticket items with long sales cycles, they ask the questions:

? Is there an Opportunity??

? Can we Compete??

? Can we Win??

? Is it Worth Winning??

This model is clearly designed to preserve salespeople’s time, but also the company’s resources. At Process Selling, we have created our own model designed for today’s solution sellers, and we call it PUMA. Like BANT it’s easy to understand, to remember, and to execute. It also covers the same topics as BANT, but in a modern context and in the same logical sequence as a conversation would flow with a prospect.?

? Problem – is there a problem that we can solve??

? Urgency – does the problem need to be solved now, and why??

? Money – Are you and the prospect on the same page??

? Authority – does the buyer have the authority to make a decision, or are they serious influencers, or can they facilitate access to decision makers?