Sales AI Skill

Lead Qualification

Systematic lead qualification using BANT, MEDDIC, CHAMP, and GPCTBA frameworks with automated scoring, multi-threading, and disqualification protocols. Triggers: 'qualify a lead', 'qualification framework', 'MEDDIC criteria', 'BANT qualification', 'sales accepted lead', 'disqualify prospect', 'buying committee mapping', 'multi-thread an account', 'help me qualify this prospect', 'run a MEDDIC analysis', 'map the buying committee', 'should I disqualify this opportunity', 'create a qualification checklist', 'set up a SAL process', 'build a multi-threading plan', 'review deal health using BANT', 'create an opportunity stage gate review', 'design a disqualification workflow'

Lead Qualification

Structured qualification methodology ensuring sales resources focus on high-probability opportunities while systematically identifying and disqualifying non-fit prospects.

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Workflow

1. Pre-Qualification (Marketing → Sales Handoff)

MQL Definition: Threshold-based scoring criteria aligned with historical conversion data
Data Enrichment: Auto-populate firmographics, technographics, intent signals before rep contact
Initial Triage: Automated rules-based routing to appropriate sales segment/team
Context Package: Summary of lead journey, content consumed, engagement history, and scoring breakdown

2. Framework-Based Qualification

BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timing): Classic qualification criteria for rapid assessment
MEDDIC (Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, Champion): Enterprise deal qualification depth
CHAMP (Challenges, Authority, Money, Prioritization): Challenger-method-aligned qualification
GPCTBA (Goals, Plans, Challenges, Timeline, Budget, Authority): Solution selling qualification
ANUM (Authority, Need, Urgency, Money): Simplified SaaS qualification

3. Buying Committee Mapping

Economic Buyer: Final budget authority; may not be day-to-day decision-maker
Champion/Coach: Internal advocate who guides the deal; provides intelligence
Technical Evaluator: Assesses technical fit; often engineering/IT leadership
End Users: Day-to-day users whose adoption drives success
Gatekeepers: Assistants, procurement, legal who control access
Blockers/Saboteurs: Internal competitors or change-resistant stakeholders
Influencers: Thought leaders whose opinion carries weight

4. Multi-Threading Strategy

Stakeholder Discovery: Map org chart; identify all committee members
Relationship Building: Separate value prop for each stakeholder role
Information Triangulation: Cross-reference intelligence from multiple contacts
Risk Distribution: Avoid single-point-of-failure in deal relationships
Escalation Paths: Know how to reach economic buyer when champion stalls

5. Qualification Gate Reviews

Opportunity Stage Gates: Mandatory criteria checklist before advancing stages
Sales Forecast Review: Weekly qualification audit of pipeline health
Deal Review Committee: Peer/manager review for deals above threshold
Disqualification Process: Structured reasons for removal; archive in nurture track

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Templates & Frameworks

MEDDIC Qualification Scorecard

| Element | Question | Evidence (What You've Heard/Seen) | Confidence (1-5) | |---|---|---|---| | Metrics | What quantifiable business impact does solving this deliver? | | | | Economic Buyer | Have you met/engaged the person who controls budget? | | | | Decision Criteria | What specific criteria will they use to select a vendor? | | | | Decision Process | What are the steps, timeline, and stakeholders involved? | | | | Identify Pain | What specific pain drives urgency beyond status quo? | | | | Champion | Do you have an influential sponsor investing their social capital? | | |

Deal Health: MEDDIC score ≥ 25/30 = Strong; 15-24 = At Risk; < 15 = Disqualify

BANT Qualification Checklist

| Category | Qualifying Signal | Red Flag | |---|---|---| | Budget | Explicit budget range; funding approved | "We don't have budget" with no timeline | | Authority | Direct access to decision-maker; named EB | Only talking to end users with no sponsor | | Need | Articulated pain with quantified impact | Vague interest; "exploring options" with no urgency | | Timing | Defined project timeline; external driver | "Someday" or "next year" with no catalyst |

Buying Committee Mapping Template

Account: [Company Name]
Deal Size: $[Amount] | Stage: [Stage Name]

┌─ Economic Buyer ─────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Name: [Name] | Title: [CFO/VP] | Engagement: [Met/Not Met] │
│ Pain: [Budget/ROI pressure] | Next Step: [Schedule meeting] │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
         │
┌─ Champion ────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Name: [Name] | Title: [Director] | Commitment Level: [High] │
│ Intel: [Shared budget details, timeline, competitor info] │
│ Next Step: [Intro to EB, technical evaluation prep] │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
         │
┌─ Technical Evaluator ────────────────────────────────┐
│ Name: [Name] | Title: [CTO/Architect] | Concerns: [Integration] │
│ Next Step: [Technical deep-dive session] │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
         │
┌─ End Users ──────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Names: [Team leads, power users] | Adoption Risk: [Low/Med/High] │
│ Next Step: [User demo, pilot scoping] │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
         │
┌─ Gatekeepers ────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Legal/Procurement: [Engaged/Not engaged] | Timeline: [4-6 weeks] │
│ Next Step: [Send standard MSA for legal review] │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Opportunity Disqualification Reasons

| Reason | Action | Re-engagement Timeline | |---|---|---| | No budget, no timeline | Enter long-term nurture | 6-12 months | | Wrong buyer (end user only) | Educate; ask for sponsor intro | 3 months if no progress | | Competitor contract, happy | Archive; trigger on renewal signal | 12 months | | Timeline pushed indefinitely | Enter seasonal nurture | Next quarter/year start | | Strategic misalignment | Disqualify; no re-engagement | N/A | | Prospect ghosting (>30 days) | Breakup sequence | 90-day re-engage attempt |

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Integration Points

CRM (Salesforce/HubSpot): Opportunity records, stage progression, MEDDIC fields
Sales Intelligence: ZoomInfo, LinkedIn Sales Navigator for org chart mapping
Conversation Intelligence: Gong, Chorus for call-based qualification signal extraction
Intent Data: Bombora, 6sense for buying intent verification
CPQ Tools: Salesforce CPQ, Conga for pricing and proposal readiness
ESP (Email Service Provider): Outreach, Salesloft for sequence engagement tracking
Data Enrichment: Clearbit, Clay for firmographic/technographic data completion
Deal Room/Proposal Tools: PandaDoc, Qwilr for proposal engagement tracking

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Edge Cases

| Scenario | Handling Strategy | |---|---| | Champion strong but no EB access | Escalation playbook; use social proof and urgency triggers | | Budget exists but frozen (year-end) | Enter "budget cycle" nurture; re-engage at fiscal year start | | Multi-location/global buying committee | Regional qualification; identify primary and secondary decision processes | | Competitor incumbent but dissatisfied | Focus on "Identify Pain" in MEDDIC; request pilot/POC | | Qualification passes but procurement adds friction | Pre-engage procurement early; send standard contract for review | | Economic buyer changes mid-deal | Re-qualify from scratch; build new relationship; document history | | Prospect asks for custom pricing immediately | Route to sales engineering; require MEDDIC completion before investment | | Deal size below minimum threshold | Redirect to self-service or inside sales; flag for package pricing | | Prospect wants to bypass stages (skip POC) | Require stage gate criteria; document risk; escalate to manager | | Internal champion loses influence (promotion/laid off) | Re-map committee; identify new champion; reassess deal health |

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Output

Qualification Dashboard

| Metric | Target | Current | Delta | |---|---|---|---| | MQL to SAL Conversion | 70% | — | — | | SAL to Opportunity Rate | 50% | — | — | | Avg. Qualification Time | < 48 hours | — | — | | Disqualification Rate | < 30% | — | — | | Multi-threaded Deals | > 60% | — | — | | EB Engagement Rate | > 80% for deals > $100K | — | — | | MEDDIC Completion Rate | 100% at stage 3+ | — | — | | Deal Win Rate (Qualified) | > 40% | — | — | | Avg. Deals per Rep (Qualified Pipeline) | 12-15 | — | — | | Pipeline Coverage Ratio | 3-4x quota | — | — |

Monthly Qualification Report Structure

Funnel Conversion Analysis: MQL→SAL→Opp→Win with stage-level drop-off
Qualification Framework Adoption: MEDDIC/BANT completion rates by rep
Disqualification Analysis: Top reasons, revenue impact of disqualified deals
Buying Committee Health: Multi-threading rates, EB engagement levels
Deal Aging: Average time in each qualification stage
Recommendations: Framework refinement, training needs, process improvements

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