Lead qualification is a process used by marketing and sales teams to determine whether a potential customer will purchase from your business. This process allows your sales teams to focus on only the most viable leads, saving you time and money. How does lead qualification work? Lead qualification involves asking potential customers pre-determined questions about their business needs, budgets, timelines, and buying power. A prospect's responses help sales development representatives create a profile for each prospect and determine if they match your company's ideal customer profile (ICP). If a prospect's needs, budget, and authority indicate a high likelihood of a sale, the sales process moves forward. If a prospect's profile does not meet the required criteria, the prospect is disqualified, allowing your sales team to prioritize the most promising customers and guide them through the sales process.
Create an ideal customer profile Building an KPI requires having a clearly defined target persona that your marketing and sales teams are familiar with. This allows both teams to identify the qualities their ideal client needs to move forward in the employee email database sales process. An ideal customer profile should identify a customer who is having problems that you can solve with your product or service. An ideal client is also aware of the problem at hand and actively seeks a solution that will lead them to your business. Most importantly, an ideal customer must be ready, willing, and able to purchase your product or service. This means that your price is within the customer's budget. It also means that the customer is able and willing to purchase your product or service in the near future.
Finally, your ideal customer should have the power to buy from your business. In a business-to-consumer (B2C) scenario, your ideal customer might be anyone in your target demographic with enough disposable income. These consumers generally have the power to make purchasing decisions. In a business-to-business (B2B) scenario, your ideal customer will need to have enough clout in their business, which is why your KPI may favor VPs over sales reps. To know if your prospect matches your KPI, your marketing and sales teams will need to agree on the type of framework they will use to determine prospect qualification. Lead Qualification Frameworks Several lead qualification frameworks are used to determine the types of questions sales reps will ask prospects.