What is a Lead?
A lead is a potential customer who may be interested in your business’s products or services. Leads can be inbound, meaning they have actively shown interest, or outbound, meaning they have not yet engaged with your company but have characteristics that indicate they may be a good fit, such as being in a relevant industry or meeting specific demographic criteria. Leads can come from various sources, including:
- Website form submissions
- Social media interactions
- Trade shows and networking events
- Email inquiries
- Referrals from existing customers
- Industry catalogs or trade association member lists
Leads vary in quality, and not all of them will turn into paying customers. This is why lead qualification is essential—it helps sales teams distinguish between casual inquiries and genuine opportunities.
What is Lead Qualification?
Lead qualification is the process of evaluating whether a lead is worth pursuing. This involves assessing their needs, interest level, budget, decision-making power, and timeline for purchase. A well-qualified lead has a higher chance of becoming a customer, ensuring that sales teams spend their time efficiently.
Key Factors in Lead Qualification
- Need: Does the lead have a specific problem that your product or service can solve?
- Budget: Can the lead afford your solution?
- Authority: Is the lead the decision-maker, or do they need approval from others?
- Timeline: When does the lead plan to make a purchase?
- Interest Level: Has the lead engaged with your company multiple times, or is this their first interaction?
How Lead Qualification Works
Typically, lead qualification is performed by Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) who are responsible for gathering essential information about potential customers. This process often includes a quick phone call where the SDR asks key questions to determine if the lead meets the necessary criteria. These short conversations are designed to efficiently collect just enough facts to decide whether a lead is qualified or not.
Since only a fraction of leads are found to be qualified, SDRs need to work with a large number of leads to identify a reasonable number of qualified ones. Therefore a robust system is needed to make this process work efficiently. TeamGram CRM provides the necessary tools to streamline lead qualification and ensure that sales teams can focus on the most promising opportunities.
