Why Lead Qualification Isn’t A Job For Sales Professionals

Sales professionals wear a lot of hats throughout their day. As well as being a sales star, you are also an administrator, a customer service agent, and even a reluctant phone tagger! 

Too often, all these roles are seen as part of a sales professional’s job – but this needs to change. Only 35% of sales reps’ time is spent on selling, on average, compared to 65% on activities that don’t directly generate revenue (Forbes). By taking certain tasks off your plate, you can get back time for what’s most important to you – converting. 

And the first task to strike from your to-do list should be lead qualification. 

Why is lead qualification so important?

Prioritization is vital in every aspect of business, particularly for busy salespeople. With limited time and hundreds of leads to convert each month, you need to spend it wisely. 

Unfortunately, 79% of your opportunities won’t fit your ICP (ideal customer persona) and aren’t ready to be passed to sales. Speaking to these leads is a waste of your time. At best they need more nurturing before they’re ready to buy – at worst, they’re a poor fit for your business. 

You need a gatekeeper to protect your sales team’s time from these irrelevant leads. A lead qualification process helps you prioritize hot leads who are just raring to go.

If it’s so important, why shouldn’t I work on lead qualification?

You are an expert at selling. You know who your ideal customer is, how to communicate with them, and how to answer their questions and concerns. You can convert them from curious deals into paying customers excited to get started. But lead qualification doesn’t require your expertise. 

The key to lead qualification is timeliness. You need to speak to your prospects while their attention is on you. That means picking up the phone every time – customers hate reaching your voicemail – and calling out to web form inquiries quickly. 

But when your attention is split five ways, you can’t always get to the phone immediately. Maybe you’re in an important sales meeting. Maybe you’re putting together a personalized proposal for an ideal customer. Maybe you’ve just picked up the phone to qualify another incoming lead. Don’t sacrifice these great opportunities to rush to the phone – give that task to a lead qualification service.   

How do I make sure leads are qualified properly?

There are three things you need for an excellent lead qualification process. 

1. A clear ICP
2. Targeted qualifying questions
3. 24/7 availability 

With your experience, you can develop your ICP. You can write qualifying questions that help you quickly identify them. But to have the time to spend on identifying your ICP, you need to know someone is answering your leads. 

That’s where the availability comes in. Your sales knowledge is essential to choose the right qualifying questions, but asking them is easy. You just need a dedicated person to be available, with enough time to take your lead through the questions without interruptions.   

The key to successful selling is prioritization. A lead qualification service helps you to spend your time well, focusing on prospects who will convert, and bypassing spam. With more time and less interruptions, you’ll be able to properly nurture pre-qualified leads and boost your conversions.