Systematically qualify leads using the BANT framework to identify sales-ready opportunities and prioritize follow-up efforts.

• Discovery calls with inbound leads
• Qualifying outbound responses
• Training SDRs on qualification
• Building qualification scorecards
• Improving lead handoff quality

• Consultative discovery approach
• Scoring-based qualification
• Flexible question sequencing
• Modern buying committee awareness

• Direct: "What budget have you allocated for this?"
• Indirect: "How are initiatives like this typically funded?"
• Value-based: "If we could solve [problem], what would that be worth?"

• "Who else needs to be involved in this decision?"
• "Walk me through how decisions like this are typically made."
• "Who signs off on purchases in this range?"

• "What prompted you to look into this now?"
• "What happens if you don't solve this?"
• "How is this problem affecting [metrics/team/goals]?"

• "When are you hoping to have a solution in place?"
• "What's driving that timeline?"
• "What needs to happen before a decision can be made?"

• 10-12: Sales-ready (SQL)
• 7-9: Needs development (MQL)
• <7: Not qualified (Nurture/Disqualify)

• "Tell me about your current [process/tool/approach]."
• "How long have you been doing it this way?"
• "How many people/deals/projects does this affect?"

• "What's the biggest challenge you're facing with [area]?"
• "How is that impacting [team/revenue/efficiency]?"
• "What have you tried to solve this?"

• "What happens if this doesn't get solved this year?"
• "How does this affect your ability to [hit goals]?"
• "What's the cost of the status quo?"

• "Who else would need to be involved in evaluating a solution like this?"
• "Walk me through how you've made similar decisions in the past."
• "If you decided to move forward, what would the approval process look like?"
• "Is there anyone who could block or slow down this decision?"

• "Besides yourself, who would use this day-to-day?"
• "Who would need to sign off on the budget?"
• "Is there a procurement or legal review process?"

• "How are initiatives like this typically funded—is it department budget, or does it come from elsewhere?"
• "Have you set aside budget for solving [problem] this year?"
• "When you've purchased [similar solutions] before, how did the funding work?"

• "What budget range are you working with?"
• "Our solutions typically range from $X to $Y—does that align with your expectations?"
• "Is budget already approved, or is that part of the process?"

• "If we could save you [X hours/dollars/etc], what would that be worth to the business?"
• "What's the cost of not solving this problem?"

• "When are you hoping to have a solution in place?"
• "What's driving that timeline?"
• "Is there an event or deadline that's creating urgency?"
• "What needs to happen between now and a decision?"

• "No rush" / "Just exploring"
• "Maybe next year"
• "We'll see how this goes"

• Specific date or quarter
• External event driving urgency
• Already evaluated competitors

1. [Schedule demo with AE]
2. [Send relevant case study]
3. [Intro to additional stakeholders]

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• Specific problem: forecasting accuracy
• Measurable impact: missed quarters twice
• Priority confirmed: "top 3 priorities"
• Current solution: manual spreadsheets (pain point)

• VP of Sales = key decision maker
• Identified CEO as co-decider
• No mention of procurement blockers

• Budget explicitly set aside
• Range provided: $30-40K
• Indicates planning and approval

• "End of Q1" = specific deadline
• Evaluating competitor = active process
• But: Q1 could be 3-4 months out

• Strong pain point: forecasting failures costing them quarters
• Budget confirmed at $30-40K
• Key stakeholders: Sarah (VP Sales) + CEO
• Timeline: EOQ1 (track for potential slip)
• Competition: 1 competitor being evaluated

1. Immediately warm handoff to AE
2. Schedule demo within 48 hours
3. Send forecasting case study
4. Identify CEO meeting opportunity

• Timeline could slip if Q1 pressure eases
• Competitor evaluation ongoing—need to differentiate

• Structuring qualification calls
• Scoring leads objectively
• Identifying qualification gaps
• Creating handoff documentation

• Replace conversation skills
• Know your specific thresholds
• Handle objections in real-time
• Guarantee lead quality

• IBM BANT Original Framework
• TOPO SDR Qualification Guide
• Gartner B2B Buying Research
• SalesHacker Discovery Call Guide

• lead-qualification-meddic

  - Enterprise qualification

• icp-matching

  - Pre-call fit assessment

• outbound-sequencer

  - Pre-qualification outreach

• Domain: SDR Automation
• Complexity: Beginner-Intermediate
• Mode: cyborg
• Time to Value: 30 min per call
• Prerequisites: Basic discovery skills