Top 7 questions to determine whether sales leads are qualified

There are seven essential questions used to determine if the contact or business is a qualified prospect:

1) Does this contact or business have a need for my company’s services or products?

2) Does this contact or prospect business perceive a need or problem that may be met by my company’s product or service?

3) Does the contact or prospect business have a real desire to fulfil this actual need or solve this problem?

4) Can this contact's desire to fulfil actual needs or solve problems be converted into a belief that my company’s product or service is needed?

5) Does this contact or prospect business have the financial budget to pay?

6) Does this contact or prospect have the company authority to buy?

7) Is this potential contact's purchase large enough to make it a profitable sale?

These are the questions that you should ask, and we ask them as well, during the prospect qualification process (which is always the most important part of the lead generation process).

What is a "qualified sales lead"?

A qualified prospect is a sales lead and has three attributes:

1) A need - a highly-qualified prospect needs your product or service now or relatively soon. For example, if you sell widgets with an average lifespan of three years, a good prospect is one who owns a two-year-old widget, not a contact who bought a new one last year.

2) A sufficient budget - a qualified prospect has the budget to buy your product or service. Don't waste your time pursuing a contact who truly can't afford to buy what you're selling or a company that has used up its yearly budget.

3) The authority to buy - a good prospect has the authority and is prepared to take action. The simpler and more efficient their decision-making process is, the better your opportunity of closing the sale.

Prospecting is the first step in the complex selling process. A prospect is a qualified person or business contact that has the potential to buy your product or service. A prospect should not be confused with a "sales lead."

The name of a contact or business who might be a prospect is referred to as a potential sales lead. A sales lead can also be referred to as a "suspect," indicating the contact or business is suspected of being a prospect.

Once the lead has been "qualified," it becomes a prospect. In other words, a "sales lead" is a suspect, whereas a "qualified sales lead" is a prospect -- and there's a BIG difference between the two.