Deal Management37% of the exam
Qualifying a prospect before the next stage
Where qualification sits in the four-stage sales process, the four areas a qualification call confirms (need, budget, timeline, authority), how it differs from discovery, and what to do with the lead afterwards: convert it, or mark it Unqualified and revisit later.
Given a scenario, identify how to qualify a prospect before moving to the next stage of the sales process.
~7 min read · 12 practice questions ·
What the exam expects
- Place a task in the right stage of the sales process: research, lead generation (prospecting), sales call and close, or relationship building.
- From call notes, say which of the four qualification areas are confirmed and which gap to close before the deal advances.
- Tell qualification questions from discovery questions, and qualify through conversation, not interrogation.
- Decide what happens to the lead record: convert it, or mark it Unqualified and revisit it.
- Know what must be agreed before a deal moves from pitch to close, and tell a sales process from a methodology.
Key terms:
- Prospecting: finding individuals or businesses that are good candidates for a sale.
- Qualification call: collects basic information about need, budget, timeline and authority.
- Discovery call: a deeper call with a viable prospect about pain points and the ideal solution.
- Lead: a prospect tracked apart from contacts and opportunities while you qualify it.
- Process vs methodology: the steps (the "what") vs how a rep carries them out (the "how").
Key facts
Sales process stages
- Detail
- Research, prospecting (lead generation), sales call and close, relationship building
Qualification areas
- Detail
- Need, budget, timeline, authority
Qualification questions
- Detail
- Guidelines, not a list of direct questions
Discovery topics
- Detail
- Pain points, their impact, obstacles, the ideal solution
Pitching before qualifying
- Detail
- Often a dead end: little interest, no budget or no buying power
Qualified lead
- Detail
- Convert to contact, account (if new) and opportunity
Lead conversion
- Detail
- Cannot be reversed
Unqualified lead
- Detail
- Plan to revisit later in case needs changed
End of the sales call
- Detail
- Agree next steps, follow-up calls and a proposed close date
Process vs methodology
- Detail
- Process is the "what"; methodology is the "how"
Sources for this section (5)
- Which four areas does a qualification call confirm?
- Why treat the qualification questions as guidelines rather than a script?
- When a lead is marked Unqualified, what should the rep plan to do?
- When is a deal ready to move from pitch to close?
The questions are free to read. Answers with their sources and self-grading are included with the pack.
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