How do you qualify leads?

[KyleJepson]

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 learn more about this, check out the Understanding the Buyer's Context lesson via HubSpot Academy. 

[BTashjy]

To qualify for leads, I look at what business models they follow and how they operate on a day to day basis. Much of this info can be obtained through open ended questioning and follow up too, to get  betetr understadning of where they come from and what is expected of them. The buyer should try to note almsot everything that is said and get a detailed explanation of what they are trying to get out of. Without doing these things, they can walk into a trap or have thoughts of buying a product that will not benefit them and lose a portion of their income to something they do not need. The more information you can get and the more open you are to learning about the product, the better of the decsion will be brought out.

[MMwenda]

For Aether & Co., our lead qualification flow works like this: First, we capture the lead info — name, phone number, source, and phone model interest — then quickly qualify them by asking about the phone they want, their budget, timeline, decision authority, and payment preference. Based on their answers, we score them: serious buyers who ask about delivery, warranty, or payment options get high points, while vague or hesitant leads get low. We then handle objections calmly, educating them on things like refurbished phone value or feature comparisons, and add value wherever we can, like offering chargers, fast delivery, or flexible payment plans. Follow-ups are key: if the contact isn’t the decision-maker, we get the right person and keep the lead engaged through delivery updates or reminders. When closing, we use assumptive closes, choice closes, or urgency/FOMO tactics. Everything is tracked in HubSpot — from scoring, objections, and added value to follow-ups — so we know exactly which leads are hot, which need nurturing, and which are cold, helping us focus energy on the real buyers and reduce wasted time.

[FCordero5]

I qualify leads by checking if they have the need, interest, budget, and authority to buy, and if our product or service fits what they’re looking for.

[RoRoo30]

You can qualify leads by seeing if they fit right in for what you're offering. You can start by asking the relevant questions regarding the important aspects like their budget, time of need, features they expect. There are available frameworks to work with too like BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline) to identify if they are fit as your target of offer.

[rdjbrbto]

You qualify leads by determining whether they’re a good fit for your product or service and how ready they are to buy. This involves gathering information about their needs, budget, timeline, authority to make decisions, and overall interest level. Using frameworks like BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline) or GPCT (Goals, Plans, Challenges, Timeline) helps assess their potential. You can qualify leads through conversations, forms, or behavior tracking such as website visits, email engagement, or demo requests. The goal is to focus your time on leads most likely to become satisfied customers, ensuring an efficient and effective sales process.

[RRonquillo]

To qualify leads, start by checking if they have a real need or interest in your product or service. Determine if they have the budget and authority to make a purchase. Assess their readiness or timing to buy and how soon they plan to decide. Look at their engagement level, such as responses or inquiries. Finally, prioritize leads who best fit your target market and show strong buying potential.

[FLacerda]

How do you qualify leads? 

To qualify a lead, I start by understanding their business model, goals, and the challenges they’re facing. I also assess whether they’re aware of those challenges and what strategies they’re currently using to overcome them.

Through active listening and open-ended questions, I aim to uncover not only the context but also their motivation and budget to address those issues. This helps me determine whether there’s a real opportunity and how I can add value to their process.

[Jaycee_Lewis]

Hey, @FLacerda, welcome to the community! We're thrilled you're here. 🙂

If you're looking to skill up, our Community Learning Paths are a perfect place to start. They offer step-by-step guides on content marketing, digital strategy, and more. — Jaycee

[CDelaney6]

How do you qualify leads?

To grade them, the main thing is to focus on listening to them carefully and asking open questions that allow me to understand what the challenges and priorities are. The project is then to discover their motivations in finding a solution, the impact of their problems and what they expect. I make an analysis of their interest, the type of content they have consulted or the interactions on social and personal networks that they have previously had with the company. With the information I get from it, I can determine if they really fit the ideal profile we have of a client.

[Lelian]

How do you uncover your leads' needs and goals? I would the CGP, TCI, BA method.

[FAndré]

using the lead qualification framework process to make the conversation more structured, which will make it understandable for both sides in order to move forward on the decision

[pkola]

1. Interest – Are they really interested or just browsing?

2. Need – Do they have a real problem your product solves?

3. Budget – Can they afford it?

4. Authority – Are they the one who decides to buy?

5. Timeline – Are they ready to buy now or later?

[RBertelle]

Lead quaification framework is essential for structuring human, helpful and and holistic interest towards potential customers and helping them find the best solution for them, hopefully in the services/products you offer.

[JDobson1]

I don't have a lot of experience in this area, but I'd say just starting out the initial conversation by being friendly, curious, and understanding. You know what your target audience is or atleast have an idea of it, so it just comes down to asking questions and seeing if they're the right fit. 

[Jaycee_Lewis]

Hey, @JDobson1 👋 Welcome to our community! One thing that helps me here is to ask, "what problem are you trying to solve?" or "how can I support you?" (in a different context) and then make sure to listen. People will tell you what they need or don't need, but it's up to us to listen. — Jaycee

[KrishnaEK]

By having a well structured lead framework, it becomes a natural process to learn about the lead's needs and goals instead of it looking like a Q&A session.

[TAdelman]

True — having a lead qualification framework really helps keep conversations structured. It makes it easier to ask the right questions, stay focused on the buyer’s goals, and figure out if there’s a good fit to move forward.

[SolomonOzor]

How do you qualify leads?

Though I haven't had this type of experience, but starting a conversation with friendly tone. Bringing up possible challenges which they may be facing and showing interest that I can be of help if there's any. The same for goals. And with the act of active listening getting to know more about the challenges or goals and how I may be of help.

[SSurada]

How do you uncover your leads' needs and goals?
by ongoing healthy conversation which while making it clear before you start to speak like you're valuing customer's time and and also yours too and you will be listening to the customer when needed/customer is talking while valuate your prospects using cgp,tci & ba process which dosen't need to be systematic/robotic like you're following some sales pitch / script but just with in the flow.
 
Have you ever had a conversation where you did an especially good job getting your prospect talking?
when am working for an Australian b2b process i met a cus whos busy with his works it's he's actually owning a small business and he also works with multiple jobs and he himself is the decision maker and i need his appointment to be booked to send field manager tp him to provide plan regards his business communications and tried to reach him earlier couple of time he never given me time to talk and i just wished him hello hi,how r u n you have a gud day n hope will **bleep** some other fine day n finally a day once he's in a journey where his network got disturbed and told me like he will get out of metro in around 20 mins of time n in between am already ready with his details regards the size of busines and expected his usage and his network which he spoke out in first call saying that am with x company and then i showed some respect towards his hardworking nature n spoke about the network missing conditions of is network and conversation went through n he openly said he initially like he won't even consider looking at plans and then he said as new year is near by he had to get a calander then i said like  i will come and meet you as am around your area by this so on so day n also so on so day of the coming week and when would be free n perfectr for you n what time n i will bring a calander n will have a talk n i will put up a best soution that rewards your hard wark to save your money spent wothout compromising on networks so if you like it we can move further or else it will be still a causal meet n you can have your calander n he said like we will meet on some xx day at timing xx coffeshop n i will payfor coffee n finally appoinment was made he had given business and next day he called to our inbound line said he expected me in the meeting n he had signed for the business n want to convey that to me n want to thank me for the calander i called him later n said glad you're satisfied n your time spent felt you feel worthy and sorry i couldnlt attend as an unexpected existing clinet meeting regards huge upgrade hasto be followed up by me and have to rush to thieir office just an hour before his meeting so i couldn't even call and inform him about it.so you have to be consious n aleart grab an opportunity and always maintain healty relation with the cx to let the feel you as genuine person.just a sale is over doesnt mean that's it by the way i ven took details like for how much duration did he signed for the contract and what plans and what's the discount offered and also asked him regards upgrade n new item in the busniess which is about to arrive n if he's palnning for the upgrade i will get him next time even better quaote n he said by some duration of 6 months to call back regards upgrade.
hope this experience could make you understand clearly regards where the rapot buliding and relationship maintainance could lead towards. 

[MHadj]

As far as I know, I ask open questions than I recap and move on to other questions until I understand the precise issues my prospect. I can therefore see if I can provide a solution to this problem, if yes, it becomes a qualified lead