Opportunity qualification
What makes an opportunity qualified?
Agree verifiable criteria before handoff, acceptance or performance-based billing.
PRECISION IN EVERY CONNECTION
Turn interpretation into shared rules
Agree qualification, retain evidence, accept the handoff and record the sales follow-through.
- Define togetherFit, relevance and need
- Keep evidenceOriginal replies and unknowns
- Accept togetherExceptions, timing and ownership
- Sales follow-throughNext action and feedback
Illustrative workflow, not client results.
“The buyer is interested” is an ambiguous handoff. An outbound team may mean a positive reply; sales may expect a defined purchasing need. Without an agreement upfront, both teams can read the same conversation and reach different conclusions.
Write criteria that both teams can verify
Discuss company fit, contact relevance, a specific need and consent to a next step. The threshold should reflect the project. Some teams first need an application confirmed; others also need specifications, purchasing arrangements or certification requirements.
Mark unknowns separately. Agree which gaps sales can resolve after handoff and which must be answered first. Do not infer budget from a job title or treat willingness to receive information as confirmed purchase intent.
Agree exceptions alongside acceptance
Specify the evidence, the accepting owner and the feedback window. If a meeting is the milestone, distinguish an invitation, mutual confirmation and actual attendance. Whether a meeting qualifies must be agreed in writing, not decided unilaterally after it happens.
Define treatment of duplicates, existing customers, no-shows, rescheduling and incorrect contacts. Agree attribution and follow-up windows too. Otherwise an existing lead may be counted again, or several channels may each claim the same conversation.
Make qualification useful to sales
Keep the buyer’s original words and the supporting evidence, not only a score. Sales feedback should distinguish a qualification mismatch, timing, product mismatch and an active next conversation. That helps separate a screening issue from a follow-up issue.
If performance-based fees apply, document the billing milestone, verification evidence, dispute process and final approving owner separately. A qualified opportunity is not a guaranteed order. Price, competition, purchasing decisions and fulfilment still affect the outcome.
Before you start
- Company fit, relevant roles and need criteria are documented.
- Unknowns are separate from mandatory handoff fields.
- Meeting validity and acceptance rules are agreed in writing.
- Duplicates, no-shows, rescheduling and attribution are covered.
- Billing milestones, disputes and final approval have owners.
A useful definition does not promise a sale. It tells both teams when a conversation is ready for the next step.