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

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