Questions you need to ask for improved lead qualification

The lead qualification process is crucial for the sales funnel. In this, businesses decide which customer is likely to purchase from them. This process is vital for every business as it filters out leads with a higher potential of conversion to customers. It is effective and time-saving. 

This blog focuses on the 20 big questions you must ask yourself to gather high-quality leads. You can gain deeper insights into who the prospects are, how these leads rank, what their needs are and how your business can be a solution for them. 

 

Generating Leads

• Where do the leads come from?

 Leads come from different sources. Some may have found the business through social media advertisement, others may have seen an ad on a search engine blog, and a few may have discovered the business through personal recommendations. 

This information can be funnelled into the lead qualification system and further used to shift lead strategies. For example, if your referral system seems to bring in the most leads as compared to other channels, you can shift your focus onto it. 

 

• What is attracting clients to the brand?

To know the answer to this question, you can do the simplest thing possible. Send out a feedback survey to your existing clients and ask them why they prefer your brand. 

While businesses brand themselves on platforms with a certain image, there can be a disassociation between why you believe a client chose your brand and what is real. 

 

• What solutions do you bring to the board? 

This question addresses how your products/ services can solve the client's problems. Your creative and marketing teams can create ads, campaigns, social media posts etc. to disseminate information about the same. If you provide a quick solution, clients will be willing to sign up as soon as possible. 

 

Lead forms questions for the qualification process 

• Who all are part of the transaction?

Typically, 6.8 people participate in the decision-making process for B2B. In case you are working with a smaller business, you will need to convince more than one person that your products are an effective solution and why you are the right vendor for them. 

To be able to qualify that lead, you will need to gain clarity about where your lead stands in the decision making process. Is it a sales rep looking for software to improve productivity, a marketing manager seeking software for streamlining campaigns or is it the CEO themselves? 

 

• What do leads expect from you as a vendor/ agency?

If you are sending out a lead form, ask them what their 'dream vendor' looks like. You can make this a multiple choice question with a list of features and ask them to select 3 to 5 that are significant to them.

 

Also Read: How Enterprise can Frugally Market using Social Media for Sales?

 

• When are they planning to sign up with a vendor/ agency?

Knowing how quickly your leads are ready to make a purchase can allow you to provide them with much-needed priority. The easiest way to do that is to put it in the lead form. You can ask them where they are in their purchasing journey and on the basis of that you can qualify them for a follow-up. 

 

• What's the priority? 

Every lead has a priority when they come to you. You can ask them about the same through the multiple choice question format. When you are qualifying the said lead, you can pass them on to the sales team. The sales team can use the information about the desired product/ feature and get the expert in the team to handle that lead. The team member will give them a thorough walk-through of the product and emphasise why your product is better than that of your competitors.

 

• What's the budget? 

In 58% of the sales call, buyers want to discuss pricing because the budget is an important aspect of any business partnership. For making the lead qualification process effective and time-saving, you can add this question to the lead form. Leads will a higher budget can take priority over those who cannot afford your product and can be disqualified.

 

 

Lead qualification through establishing relationships 

Focusing on how the vendor/ agency can assist the leads in making the best decision for themselves. The business owner can ask themselves the following questions: 

• How can they help the leads make a decision?
• What resources have the leads tried in the past and what happened after implementation?
• What are the must-have features and what are the deal-breakers?
• What are your business's greatest strengths and weaknesses? 
• How are the competitors surpassing your business? 
• What challenges can you expect to face when working with this new client? 

These questions are a great tool for not only learning about the client but also about your business. You can use this data to adapt to the needs of different clients and keep yourself ahead of the curve. 

 

Timeline Expectations 

Your clients will have an expected timeline within which they wish to accomplish certain tasks and achieve their goals. A timeline in hand can allow you to gather data about the lead's priorities and enable you to deliver the best possible solution.

Ask yourself these questions before qualifying the leads further: 

• Are there any outside factors influencing the lead's timeline?
• How soon does the lead wish to see the result?

 

Future success 

Understanding your leads can allow you to forecast how the needs of the prospect might change after they become a client, and whether or not the said relationship will move forward. And the best way to gather insights is to ask the leads themselves about:

• How do they measure success?  
• How will their needs change as they grow?
• And, where do they see this relationship going if they become a paying customer?

 

Summary

In a nutshell, be upfront with your leads rather than holding back information in the apprehension that you might lose a paying customer. Continue with the thought that you do not know when your leads are going to make a purchase. Instead, collect the data from them and leverage it for closing the deals.