HOW TO DEFINE A QUALIFIED LEADInspired by a post on the Vorsight blog.

1. THE DEFINITION

1. THE DEFINITION

• Having a clear definition of a qualified lead is essential

• Without one, there is a break in the sales funnel where reps receive leads too quickly or too slowly

• This makes your sales engine run below optimal performance- too many leads, you flood the engine, too few and it’s sputtering along the road

2. THE SAD TRUTH

2. THE SAD TRUTH

• Many organizations lack a clear definition

•The definition of a qualified lead is not universal- it should be defined within the scope of your business

3. BANT

3. BANT

BudgetAuthorityNeed Timing

• Some organizations use the BANT acronym to used to determine how qualified a lead is

• The term is frequently debated and may not fit new buyer profiles because it’s too highly focused on budget rather than finding the person of influence who has a need

4. ANUM

4. ANUM

• Instead, use an acronym coined by InsideSales.com’s president, Ken Krogue

AuthorityNeedUrgencyMoney

• The subtle difference is this: • You start by building need with an authority figure, then helping them find a way to fund it

5. LEAD HANDOFF

5. LEAD HANDOFF

• Think of lead transfer as the aperture of a camera:

• The wider it’s open, the more leads will funnel through

• The degree to which you open or close your aperture depends on how many leads your business needs to thrive

6. THE APERTURE

6. THE APERTURE

• Using the ANUM acronym, you can customize how open or closed your sales aperture is

• If you want more leads, make it meet less requirements of ANUM (for example, just “Authority”)

• If you want fewer leads, add the appropriate acronym letters to filter exactly which leads get through

7. OPEN APERTURE

7. OPEN APERTURE

• So when might you want a large flow of leads to get to sales?

• You’re far behind quota• You have few Sales Development Reps (SDRs)• Have a sales team that doesn’t work many late stage opportunties• Have few inquiries through marketing• Sell mostly outbound • Have an evangelical product still unknown to the market

8. CLOSED APERTURE

8. CLOSED APERTURE

• When do you want fewer leads to get to sales?

• Have lots of SDRs• Have sales teams that are working many late stage opportunities• Have a lot of inquiries through marketing• Sell to mostly junior people at smaller companies• have a hot offering that is creating pull demand

9. THE GOAL

• Opening or closing the aperture is meant to tailor lead flow to your business

• Most companies are somewhere in between a highly filtered and wide open aperture (a good middle ground is 3 out of 4 ANUM letters)

9. THE GOAL

10. THE DANGERS

• If you open the aperture too wide, you’ll flood your sales team with fool’s gold (leads that aren’t going to buy).

• Filter too many leads and you’ll miss out on opportunities to sell

10. THE DANGERS

makes it easier to generate accurate and targeted lists of

leads from the internet.

Share on or