Jul 11, 20218:58 PM - edited Aug 12, 202110:44 AM
HubSpot Employee
How do you qualify leads?
How do you uncover your leads' needs and goals? Have you ever had a conversation where you did an especially good job getting your prospect talking? Share your stories in the comments below!
To qualify leads, you need to understand if they’re a good fit for your product or service and if they’re ready to buy. This involves asking the right questions during your conversations—especially during the explore phase—to uncover their goals, challenges, timeline, authority, and budget. To uncover a lead’s needs and goals, you should: Ask open-ended questions like: “What are you hoping to achieve this quarter?” “What’s currently holding you back?” “How are you evaluating solutions?” Practice active listening, and let the prospect talk more than you. Show genuine curiosity and empathy. People open up more when they feel understood, not sold to. One time, I asked a prospect, “What’s stopping your team from hitting its targets?” That simple question opened up a 20-minute conversation about their internal bottlenecks—and it gave me exactly what I needed to tailor my pitch.
To qualify a lead, I focus on understanding whether the lead is a good fit for our product or service and whether they have the potential to buy. I typically use the BANT or MEDDIC frameworks, but I also adapt based on the buyer’s journey and company-specific criteria.
– I assess whether the lead matches our ICP using firmographics like company size, industry, location, and their tech stack (if relevant).
– I explore the challenges they’re facing and determine if our solution can truly help them. I often ask open-ended discovery questions to uncover pain points.
– I look at how engaged they are (e.g., email opens, page views, webinar attendance) and if they've interacted meaningfully with our content.
I confirm if I’m speaking with a decision-maker or someone who can influence the buying process, and whether there’s budget alignment.
I evaluate when they’re looking to make a decision, to understand deal urgency and prioritize accordingly
I qualify leads by having genuine, open-ended conversations focused on their pain points and goals. I use simple but powerful questions like “What’s your biggest challenge right now?” and “What does success look like for you?” to dig deeper. Once I understand their situation, I see if our solution is actually a good fit. I also pay attention to their urgency, budget, and decision-making power—so I’m not wasting their time or mine. It’s all about clarity and connection.
Qualifying leads means determining whether a potential customer is a good fit for your product or service and likely to convert. The process typically involves evaluating several key criteria, often summarized by frameworks like BANT or CHAMP:
Common Lead Qualification Criteria:
1. Budget – Can the lead afford your solution?
2. Authority – Is the lead a decision-maker or an influencer?
3. Need – Does the lead have a clear problem your product solves?
4. Timeline – Are they ready to buy soon, or just researching?
Steps to Qualify a Lead:
1. Initial Research: Look into their company, industry, and job role.
2. Ask Targeted Questions: Use discovery calls or forms to uncover BANT/CHAMP data.
3. Score the Lead: Use a lead scoring system based on behavior (e.g. website visits, email opens) and demographic fit.
4. Segment Accordingly: Classify as Sales Qualified Lead (SQL), Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL), or disqualified.
5. Follow Up Strategically: Use qualification data to tailor your next steps—like sending more info, setting a demo, or nurturing.
"I qualify leads by asking open-ended questions to understand their challenges and goals. One time, I asked a prospect about their biggest obstacle, and this led to a deeper conversation about their needs and how our solution could help them."
To qualify your prospects, ask open-ended questions about their challenges, goals, and priorities. Active listening helps you discover your customer's needs. For example, asking, "What is the biggest challenge you're facing right now?" can reveal important information.
You qualify leads by figuring out if they actually need what you’re offering and if they’re ready to buy. This means looking at their budget, timeline, interest level, and whether they have the authority to make a decision.
I qualify leads by applying the CGP-TCI-BA framework. This allows for closer customer relationships and a better understanding between customer and seller. Through this we also talk about what effects on the rest of their business certain steps would have.
Currently, I have minimal experience in Sales. But, if I were to qualify leads, I would use the CGP method, opening up with how to ask for my prospects' challenges, get to know their goals in their business, and which plans I can help them with.
So far, this course has taught me the basic foundation on how I can turn a prospect into a QL. Good learning points!
To qualify leads, use methods like BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timing) or CHAMP (Challenges, Authority, Money, Prioritization). You can also use lead scoring to assess engagement, and check if the lead fits your ideal customer profile based on factors like industry or company size. This helps prioritize the most promising leads and focus efforts where they’re most likely to convert.
I qualify leads using the adaptable CHP TCI BA framework, guiding conversations to uncover key insights naturally. I explore their challenges, goals, existing strategies, and gaps, along with their timeline for resolution. I also assess the cost of inaction, the impact of my solution, their budget, and their decision-making authority to ensure a strong fit.
I have come to find the CGP-TCI-BA framework extremely refreshing and with broader and deeper reach in qualifying prospects. I find it more effective, this consultative approach, rather than the traditional sales conversation which appears pushy.
I qualify leads using the flexible CHP TCI BA framework, engaging potential customers in a natural conversation to uncover key insights. I explore their challenges, goals, existing plans, and gaps, as well as their timeline for resolution. Additionally, I assess the consequences of inaction, the potential impact of implementing my solution, their budget for addressing the issue, and their decision-making authority.
Qualifying the leads begins by asking open, specific questions that will lead you to discover what's most important to your prospect, whether it's money, decision power, or the very issue they are encountering. The best format is a CGP (Challenges, Goals & Plans), TCI (Timeline, Consequences & Implication) and BA (Budget & Authority) where you ask some questions such as, "What challenges are you dealing with? " or "What does an ideal solution mean to you?
"This encourages them to provide information regarding their goals and needs."
I have had discussions where simply allowing the prospect to talk freely while I listened intently and responded with asking questions to clarify, resulted in a real discussion that revealed some behind-the-scenes pain points. These were not only useful in qualifying the lead but also enabled me to adjust my approach so they could see the true worth of my product. By staying centered on listening and asking the right questions, you establish trust and know that you're speaking with individuals who are well-suited to what you do.
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