{"id":754,"date":"2018-03-26T13:05:07","date_gmt":"2018-03-26T07:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.only-b2b.com\/blog\/?p=754"},"modified":"2023-07-10T15:54:43","modified_gmt":"2023-07-10T10:24:43","slug":"how-to-know-whether-your-lead-is-qualified-enough-to-be-a-sales-ready-lead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.only-b2b.com\/blog\/how-to-know-whether-your-lead-is-qualified-enough-to-be-a-sales-ready-lead\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Know Whether Your Lead is Qualified Enough to be a Sales Ready Lead?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Lets begin by understanding a few basics.\u00a0While\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.only-b2b.com\/sales-qualified-lead.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><span style=\"color:#ff6900\" class=\"tadv-color\">Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)<\/span><\/a>\u00a0is vetted by both the marketing and the sales team;\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.only-b2b.com\/marketing-qualified-leads.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><span style=\"color:#ff6900\" class=\"tadv-color\">Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)<\/span><\/a>\u00a0are prospects that likely to become a buyer according to the marketing team.\u00a0If you do not have a process of identifying an SQL, you are not only wasting the efforts put in by your sales and marketing team but also deteriorating the closing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>This is where a standardized system of categorizing leads as qualified becomes important.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Here are 4 surefire ways of doing this<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\"><li><strong>Aligning marketing and sales team<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>According to sales, marketing team doesn&#8217;t hand over qualified leads and marketing team has complaints of sales not effectively following the leads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Begin with defining SQLs and MQLs so there is always an agreement on what is passed on.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ask relevant questions like<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\"><li><em>What should determine immediate follow-up from sales?<\/em><\/li><li><em>Which message resonates with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.only-b2b.com\/blog\/lead-vs-prospect-explained-in-simple-terms\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><span style=\"color:#ff6900\" class=\"tadv-color\">prospects<\/span><\/a> during sales conversation?<\/em><\/li><li><em>What makes a lead unqualified?<\/em><\/li><li><em>What are the red flags that one should look for? etc<\/em><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you have a clear definition, marketing can categorize <a href=\"https:\/\/www.only-b2b.com\/blog\/why-quality-leads-vital-for-business\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><span style=\"color:#ff6900\" class=\"tadv-color\">quality leads<\/span><\/a> with clarity and align their efforts with the needs of the sales team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"color:#ff6900\" class=\"tadv-color\">Must Read: <\/span><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.only-b2b.com\/blog\/mql-to-sql-conversion-rate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><span style=\"color:#ff6900\" class=\"tadv-color\">MQL to SQL conversion rate<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2. Lead Scoring Metrics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can track this progress in the sales cycle using marketing automation software and set up a lead scoring system (LSS) to assign a value for each action. Once the lead reaches a certain threshold, they can be referred to the sales team.&nbsp;In LSS you will have to define two factors<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Buyer persona:<\/strong>&nbsp;Every company has an ideal buyer and you will have to define it. Gather relevant information from various sources, for example, by asking questions on your website such as job title, industry, company size etc. It will help you understand which leads have greater chances of converting.<\/li><li><strong>Level of engagement<\/strong>&nbsp;helps determine readiness in buying. It is based on the behavior of the lead and takes into account factors including website activity, number of downloads, email activity, social media interaction etc. Once your lead reaches a particular threshold, the sales team can reach out to them.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"color:#ff6900\" class=\"tadv-color\"><strong>Must Read:<\/strong> <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.only-b2b.com\/blog\/lead-generation-best-practices-and-examples\/\"><span style=\"color:#ff6900\" class=\"tadv-color\">10 Lead Generation Best Practices and Examples<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3. Create content for each stage of the sales cycle<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember we told you, that&nbsp;<em>each one of your lead is at a different stage of the customer journey and you need to know it before your teams take ANY action<\/em>.&nbsp;&#8220;&#8221;ANY&#8221;&#8221; action also applies to the&nbsp;content you make available for your potential buyers&nbsp;at each stage.&nbsp;<strong>Top-of-the-funnel leads:<\/strong>&nbsp;These prospects aren&#8217;t looking for a solution. So, do not send them salesy content! Instead, send them content on latest trends or educational posts, guides, ebooks, whitepapers, video lessons etc to address the pain points which are commonly experienced by your customers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Middle-of-the-funnel leads<\/strong><strong>:<\/strong>&nbsp;These prospects are well aware of their problems and looking out for solutions. They are most likely interested in content like comparison sheets, webinars, checklists, case studies etc which can help them decide which solution is good for them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Bottom-of-the-funnel<\/strong><strong>:<\/strong>&nbsp;They are almost ready to buy. They are interested in knowing what the product can do for them, demos, trial periods, presentations, consultations etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>4. BANT system<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We have used <a href=\"https:\/\/www.only-b2b.com\/bant.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><span style=\"color:#ff6900\" class=\"tadv-color\">BANT<\/span><\/a> (Budget, Authority, Need and Time) system for several of our clients and the results are always impressive.\u00a0It helps you figure out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><em>Does your prospect have the budget to buy? Are they willing to purchase a product\/service to solve a pain point?<\/em><\/li><li><em>Does your prospect have the authority to buy?<\/em><\/li><li><em>Does your prospect have a need for your product\/services?<\/em><\/li><li><em>When is your prospect looking to buy?<\/em><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The answers help distinguish qualified leads from the others.&nbsp;All the steps will not only help you <em>qualify<\/em> a lead more accurately than before, it will also help your sales team to seal more deals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"color:#ff6900\" class=\"tadv-color\"><strong>Must Read:<\/strong> <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.only-b2b.com\/blog\/leads-generation-methods\/\"><span style=\"color:#ff6900\" class=\"tadv-color\">17 Types of Crazy Leads Generation Methods<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lets begin by understanding a few basics.\u00a0While\u00a0Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)\u00a0is vetted by both the marketing and the sales team;\u00a0Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)\u00a0are prospects that likely to become a buyer according to the marketing team.\u00a0If you do not have a process of identifying an SQL, you are not only wasting the efforts put in by your sales and marketing team but also deteriorating the closing rates. This is where a standardized system of categorizing leads as qualified becomes important. Here are 4 surefire ways of doing this Aligning marketing and sales team&nbsp; According to sales, marketing team doesn&#8217;t hand over qualified leads and marketing team has complaints of sales not effectively following the leads. Begin with defining SQLs and MQLs so there is always an agreement on what is passed on. Ask relevant questions like What should determine immediate follow-up from sales? Which message resonates with prospects during sales conversation? What makes a lead unqualified? What are the red flags that one should look for? etc Once you have a clear definition, marketing can categorize quality leads with clarity and align their efforts with the needs of the sales team. Must Read: MQL to SQL conversion rate 2. Lead Scoring Metrics You can track this progress in the sales cycle using marketing automation software and set up a lead scoring system (LSS) to assign a value for each action. Once the lead reaches a certain threshold, they can be referred to the sales team.&nbsp;In LSS you will have to define two factors Buyer persona:&nbsp;Every company has an ideal buyer and you will have to define it. Gather relevant information from various sources, for example, by asking questions on your website such as job title, industry, company size etc. It will help you understand which leads have greater chances of converting. Level of engagement&nbsp;helps determine readiness in buying. It is based on the behavior of the lead and takes into account factors including website activity, number of downloads, email activity, social media interaction etc. Once your lead reaches a particular threshold, the sales team can reach out to them. Must Read: 10 Lead Generation Best Practices and Examples 3. Create content for each stage of the sales cycle&nbsp; Remember we told you, that&nbsp;each one of your lead is at a different stage of the customer journey and you need to know it before your teams take ANY action.&nbsp;&#8220;&#8221;ANY&#8221;&#8221; action also applies to the&nbsp;content you make available for your potential buyers&nbsp;at each stage.&nbsp;Top-of-the-funnel leads:&nbsp;These prospects aren&#8217;t looking for a solution. So, do not send them salesy content! Instead, send them content on latest trends or educational posts, guides, ebooks, whitepapers, video lessons etc to address the pain points which are commonly experienced by your customers.&nbsp; Middle-of-the-funnel leads:&nbsp;These prospects are well aware of their problems and looking out for solutions. They are most likely interested in content like comparison sheets, webinars, checklists, case studies etc which can help them decide which solution is good for them.&nbsp; Bottom-of-the-funnel:&nbsp;They are almost ready to buy. They are interested in knowing what the product can do for them, demos, trial periods, presentations, consultations etc. 4. BANT system&nbsp; We have used BANT (Budget, Authority, Need and Time) system for several of our clients and the results are always impressive.\u00a0It helps you figure out: Does your prospect have the budget to buy? Are they willing to purchase a product\/service to solve a pain point? Does your prospect have the authority to buy? Does your prospect have a need for your product\/services? When is your prospect looking to buy? The answers help distinguish qualified leads from the others.&nbsp;All the steps will not only help you qualify a lead more accurately than before, it will also help your sales team to seal more deals. Must Read: 17 Types of Crazy Leads Generation Methods<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":922,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[114,35,115,31],"class_list":["post-754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sales-qualified-leads","tag-lead-gen","tag-lead-generation","tag-lead-scoring","tag-sales-qualified-leads"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Know Whether Your Lead is Qualified Enough to be a Sales Ready Lead? - Only-B2B<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.only-b2b.com\/blog\/how-to-know-whether-your-lead-is-qualified-enough-to-be-a-sales-ready-lead\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Know Whether Your Lead is Qualified Enough to be a Sales Ready Lead? - Only-B2B\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lets begin by understanding a few basics.\u00a0While\u00a0Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)\u00a0is vetted by both the marketing and the sales team;\u00a0Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)\u00a0are prospects that likely to become a buyer according to the marketing team.\u00a0If you do not have a process of identifying an SQL, you are not only wasting the efforts put in by your sales and marketing team but also deteriorating the closing rates. This is where a standardized system of categorizing leads as qualified becomes important. Here are 4 surefire ways of doing this Aligning marketing and sales team&nbsp; According to sales, marketing team doesn&#8217;t hand over qualified leads and marketing team has complaints of sales not effectively following the leads. Begin with defining SQLs and MQLs so there is always an agreement on what is passed on. Ask relevant questions like What should determine immediate follow-up from sales? Which message resonates with prospects during sales conversation? What makes a lead unqualified? What are the red flags that one should look for? etc Once you have a clear definition, marketing can categorize quality leads with clarity and align their efforts with the needs of the sales team. Must Read: MQL to SQL conversion rate 2. Lead Scoring Metrics You can track this progress in the sales cycle using marketing automation software and set up a lead scoring system (LSS) to assign a value for each action. Once the lead reaches a certain threshold, they can be referred to the sales team.&nbsp;In LSS you will have to define two factors Buyer persona:&nbsp;Every company has an ideal buyer and you will have to define it. Gather relevant information from various sources, for example, by asking questions on your website such as job title, industry, company size etc. It will help you understand which leads have greater chances of converting. Level of engagement&nbsp;helps determine readiness in buying. It is based on the behavior of the lead and takes into account factors including website activity, number of downloads, email activity, social media interaction etc. Once your lead reaches a particular threshold, the sales team can reach out to them. Must Read: 10 Lead Generation Best Practices and Examples 3. Create content for each stage of the sales cycle&nbsp; Remember we told you, that&nbsp;each one of your lead is at a different stage of the customer journey and you need to know it before your teams take ANY action.&nbsp;&#8220;&#8221;ANY&#8221;&#8221; action also applies to the&nbsp;content you make available for your potential buyers&nbsp;at each stage.&nbsp;Top-of-the-funnel leads:&nbsp;These prospects aren&#8217;t looking for a solution. So, do not send them salesy content! Instead, send them content on latest trends or educational posts, guides, ebooks, whitepapers, video lessons etc to address the pain points which are commonly experienced by your customers.&nbsp; Middle-of-the-funnel leads:&nbsp;These prospects are well aware of their problems and looking out for solutions. They are most likely interested in content like comparison sheets, webinars, checklists, case studies etc which can help them decide which solution is good for them.&nbsp; Bottom-of-the-funnel:&nbsp;They are almost ready to buy. They are interested in knowing what the product can do for them, demos, trial periods, presentations, consultations etc. 4. BANT system&nbsp; We have used BANT (Budget, Authority, Need and Time) system for several of our clients and the results are always impressive.\u00a0It helps you figure out: Does your prospect have the budget to buy? Are they willing to purchase a product\/service to solve a pain point? Does your prospect have the authority to buy? Does your prospect have a need for your product\/services? When is your prospect looking to buy? The answers help distinguish qualified leads from the others.&nbsp;All the steps will not only help you qualify a lead more accurately than before, it will also help your sales team to seal more deals. Must Read: 17 Types of Crazy Leads Generation Methods\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.only-b2b.com\/blog\/how-to-know-whether-your-lead-is-qualified-enough-to-be-a-sales-ready-lead\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Only-B2B\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/onlyb2b\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/vikas.bhatt.564\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-03-26T07:35:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-07-10T10:24:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.only-b2b.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/How-to-Know-Whether-Your-Lead-is-Qualified-Enough-to-be-a-Sales-Ready-Lead_Social-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Vikas Bhatt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.only-b2b.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/How-to-Know-Whether-Your-Lead-is-Qualified-Enough-to-be-a-Sales-Ready-Lead_Social-1.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@vikas1bhatt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Onlyb2b\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Vikas Bhatt\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.only-b2b.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-know-whether-your-lead-is-qualified-enough-to-be-a-sales-ready-lead\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.only-b2b.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-know-whether-your-lead-is-qualified-enough-to-be-a-sales-ready-lead\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Vikas Bhatt\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.only-b2b.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a7fa05a735625f487043ae4b519fd9dc\"},\"headline\":\"How to Know Whether Your Lead is Qualified Enough to be a Sales Ready Lead?\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-03-26T07:35:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-07-10T10:24:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.only-b2b.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-know-whether-your-lead-is-qualified-enough-to-be-a-sales-ready-lead\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":680,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.only-b2b.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.only-b2b.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-know-whether-your-lead-is-qualified-enough-to-be-a-sales-ready-lead\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.only-b2b.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/How-to-Know-Whether-Your-Lead-is-Qualified-Enough-to-be-a-Sales-Ready-Lead-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"lead gen\",\"Lead Generation\",\"lead scoring\",\"Sales Qualified Leads\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Sales Qualified Leads\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.only-b2b.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-know-whether-your-lead-is-qualified-enough-to-be-a-sales-ready-lead\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.only-b2b.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-know-whether-your-lead-is-qualified-enough-to-be-a-sales-ready-lead\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.only-b2b.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-know-whether-your-lead-is-qualified-enough-to-be-a-sales-ready-lead\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to Know Whether Your Lead is Qualified Enough to be a Sales Ready Lead? 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With 10+ years of experience in the industry, Vikas has a deep understanding of the challenges faced by businesses today and has developed a unique approach to lead generation that has helped clients across a range of industries around the globe. 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Lead Scoring Metrics You can track this progress in the sales cycle using marketing automation software and set up a lead scoring system (LSS) to assign a value for each action. Once the lead reaches a certain threshold, they can be referred to the sales team.&nbsp;In LSS you will have to define two factors Buyer persona:&nbsp;Every company has an ideal buyer and you will have to define it. Gather relevant information from various sources, for example, by asking questions on your website such as job title, industry, company size etc. It will help you understand which leads have greater chances of converting. Level of engagement&nbsp;helps determine readiness in buying. It is based on the behavior of the lead and takes into account factors including website activity, number of downloads, email activity, social media interaction etc. Once your lead reaches a particular threshold, the sales team can reach out to them. Must Read: 10 Lead Generation Best Practices and Examples 3. Create content for each stage of the sales cycle&nbsp; Remember we told you, that&nbsp;each one of your lead is at a different stage of the customer journey and you need to know it before your teams take ANY action.&nbsp;&#8220;&#8221;ANY&#8221;&#8221; action also applies to the&nbsp;content you make available for your potential buyers&nbsp;at each stage.&nbsp;Top-of-the-funnel leads:&nbsp;These prospects aren&#8217;t looking for a solution. So, do not send them salesy content! Instead, send them content on latest trends or educational posts, guides, ebooks, whitepapers, video lessons etc to address the pain points which are commonly experienced by your customers.&nbsp; Middle-of-the-funnel leads:&nbsp;These prospects are well aware of their problems and looking out for solutions. They are most likely interested in content like comparison sheets, webinars, checklists, case studies etc which can help them decide which solution is good for them.&nbsp; Bottom-of-the-funnel:&nbsp;They are almost ready to buy. They are interested in knowing what the product can do for them, demos, trial periods, presentations, consultations etc. 4. BANT system&nbsp; We have used BANT (Budget, Authority, Need and Time) system for several of our clients and the results are always impressive.\u00a0It helps you figure out: Does your prospect have the budget to buy? Are they willing to purchase a product\/service to solve a pain point? Does your prospect have the authority to buy? Does your prospect have a need for your product\/services? When is your prospect looking to buy? The answers help distinguish qualified leads from the others.&nbsp;All the steps will not only help you qualify a lead more accurately than before, it will also help your sales team to seal more deals. 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