Jun 29, 20219:13 AM - last edited on Oct 29, 20256:55 AM by BérangèreL
Key Advisor | Diamond Partner
We’ve all been there, you’re in the process of buying something - typically in real life - and you suddenly realise you’re in a lead qualification process. What are some of the best (and worst) experiences you’ve had as a lead being qualified? No shaming of people or brands please - it’s just for fun (and for us to learn).
Some reps have been great — they actually read what I filled out, ask a couple of normal questions, and we figure out quickly whether it even makes sense to talk further. Those conversations feel chill and useful. And then there are the… other ones 😂 Like when someone treats a simple inquiry as if I’m applying for a bank loan. Or when I download one PDF and suddenly I’m getting 5 follow-ups in 24 hours. For me, the best qualifying experience is just someone being upfront and having a normal conversation — no pressure, no scripted interrogation. That works way better than aggressive follow-ups.
Best: An online course I joined. The funnel that the course created put me through was actually very effective. From the first ad, which stopped my scorlling to click on the opt-in, to the deadlined free training and fast-action offer. I could see the process at work and it was effective for me. I ended up applying a similar process myself.
I think Trade shows have the most aggressive sales tactics. To the point where I can barely go to them because of the repeated discomfort! My last company worked trade shows and at first, our reps were trying to get as many leads as possible, until they realized that pushing an appointment on someone that wasn't really interested was a pretty big waste of our time and gas.
I say an ad about a course I've been wanting to learn and I had reached out and asked soon as they started talking about the pricing and duration, I knew I was being qualified as a lead
I was watching constantly this add about appointment setting. I booked a call to get more information and they asked me if I had the money to start, I didn't, so they told me to wait until I was ready
Best experience: A house painting company that works in my neighborhood would often advertise locally and leave fliers at houses that clearly needed a little bit of love. They used photos and testimonials from people that lived in and around our town. When reaching out for a free consultation they were very informative and didn;t provide any pressure.
Worst experience: When shopping for a car I contacted a dealership that ended up not having the make and model that I was looking for. Two different sales people kept contacting me about vehicles that weren't similar to what I was looking for at all. They continued contacting me for 3 months after I had already bought a different car. I'm usnure if they thought I would buy an additional car or try to trade in the one I had just bought?
Whilst walking past a beauty salon I was offered a sample, and took it. I had time to spare, and curiousity to play with, so I was ready to be drawn in to the store. What I didn't expect to get was a valuable lesson on handover from marketing to sales as an unqualified lead. The sales woman dropped me like a hot potato when she realised I was not going to spend hundreds of dollars on her beauty products. She had a series of qualifying questions, and was getting visibly more, and more annoyed as my "wrong" answers piled up.
This experience might have flitted out of my memory, but something about it stuck with me. Taking the sales enablement course, and this module on MQLs has given me that "aha!" moment. Better late than never, ey?
To determine when leads are sales-ready, leverage your champions. They can offer valuable insights into the organization's priorities and plans. When the timing is right, present a compelling use case, and you’ll significantly increase your chances of success.
I most commonly feel like a lead being qualified when I enter a cologne/perfume store and begin to browse. It's just a matter of seconds before I'm swarmed by sales folks pushing the latest product at a good price (Even though I'm not in the market to buy). Just browsing. Thats the physical aspect.
In the digital world, when I'm chatting with anti-virus support , they always like to upsell or merge my current plan. As a marketer, I like these strategies to be frank.
Help! I'm being qualified! You know, despite being labeled as 'qualified,' I still find myself scratching my head over a lot of things and discussions. Haha! It's like, I get the gist, but perfecting those quizzes feels like a bit of a rollercoaster ride. Sometimes it's clear as day, and other times, it's a total head-scratcher. But you know what? I'm slowly but surely getting the hang of it, even if it's a tad confusing at times. It's all part of the learning process, I guess. Embracing the confusion with a bit of humor definitely helps!
A recent bad experience was calling a florist to ask about a service for an upcoming wedding (100% qualified) to then being told I had to send an email, which led to an email reply of 15 qualifying questions (many of which I told to the person who answered the phone). Needless to say, I didn't bother with that company and moved on.
Same wedding: the caterer I called not only emailed to schedule a time to talk when I was available, but made slight adjustments to the menu and was totally willing to go 'outside the box' a bit to accommodate a special request. They were over my desired budget by about 15% but I'm happy to spend it because they were so easy to work with and willing to be flexible.
Just a follow-up question after taking the quick lesson Developing a Lead Qualification Framework - What are the best practices to set up HubSpot so as to make the best use of the lead qualification framework? Please advise!
This whole thread of responses is so interesting to read. I sometimes forget that I am myself am a lead for some other person or brand, and if just I observe my own responses on their lead nurturing process, I can better understand consumer psychology, and apply those realisations in my business process too. One conclusive thing that I've realised is nobody ever likes to be sold. They want to be consulted. Especially in my industry i.e. real estate. I have learnt that they need to feel that they are making the decisions themselves. They don't want to feel like they're being convinced. They want to feel the authority. It's their win, and as a agent my duty is to make them feel that they were worthy of winning.
The best experience i've had was by a small company that guided me and just called to inform me. From form, to call, to demo everything was smooth and invited I wanted more at each stage.
Worst experience I had was with a medical company that wouldn't stop calling me they were relentless and it got to point where I had to block them.
I download white papers like they're going out of style, so I'm constantly in dozens of nurture campaigns. 🤣 You can see over time what the strategy is in their sequences, which helps provide me with ideas about which techniques might be effective for us. When I do take a call from a vendor, I'm upfront about our budget and outlook right away, so we don't waste each other's time in the qualification.
