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Glossary

Lead Qualification

Lead qualification sorts leads into those sales should talk to now, those to nurture and those to let go. It combines fit (is this the kind of company and buyer you sell to?) with intent (do they have a problem, a budget and a reason to act soon?).

Lead qualification: the process of checking a lead against your fit and buying criteria to decide whether, and how soon, sales should engage.

Frameworks

  • BANT: budget, authority, need, timeline.
  • MEDDIC: metrics, economic buyer, decision criteria, decision process, identify pain, champion. Common in larger, multi-stakeholder deals; MEDDPICC adds paper process and competition.
  • CHAMP: challenges, authority, money, prioritization. BANT reordered to lead with the problem.
  • ICP scoring: a score for fit against your ideal customer profile, often combined with one of the above.

Qualification stages

Most funnels mark qualification with stages. A marketing-qualified lead (MQL) has shown enough interest and fit for sales to look. A sales-qualified lead (SQL) has been accepted by sales as a real opportunity. Product-led companies add the product-qualified lead, based on product usage.

When qualification happens

Traditionally it happens after the form: an SDR reviews the submission, then emails or calls to ask the questions, which adds days before the prospect talks to anyone. It can also happen in the first conversation. An AI demo agent asks qualifying questions while it shows the product, so the lead reaches sales with the answers and a recap of the session. Demo-qualified leads covers how that works with Floe.

FAQ

What is lead qualification? Lead qualification is deciding whether a lead is worth sales time now, by checking fit with your ideal customer profile and intent: a real need, the authority to buy and a timeline.

What is the difference between lead qualification and lead scoring? Lead scoring assigns points automatically, usually from firmographics and behavior such as page views and email opens. Qualification is the decision that a lead is ready for sales. A score is one input to that decision.

Which qualification framework should I use? BANT or CHAMP for high-volume inbound with short cycles; MEDDIC or MEDDPICC for larger deals with several stakeholders. Whichever you choose, ask the questions in the order the conversation allows, not as a checklist.

Related terms
BANTBANT is a lead qualification framework that checks four things about a prospect: Budget, Authority, Need and Timeline.Marketing-Qualified Lead (MQL)A marketing-qualified lead (MQL) is a lead that marketing judges ready for sales follow-up, based on fit and engagement such as a demo request, repeated visits or content downloads.Sales-Qualified Lead (SQL)A sales-qualified lead (SQL) is a lead that sales has accepted as a real potential buyer, after qualifying it against criteria such as BANT or ideal customer profile fit.ICP ScoringICP scoring rates how closely a prospect matches your Ideal Customer Profile, using company, role, pain and intent signals to prioritise the likeliest buyers.Ideal Customer ProfileA detailed description of the type of company that gets the most value from your product and generates the best business outcomes.
Read next
Demo-qualified leads →ICP qualification during the demo →AI demo agent vs. AI SDR →
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