Lead qualification worksheet
A one-page sheet that sorts the week's leads by fit and timing, sets aside deal breakers and checks how many calls the week can hold.
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The worksheet is a single sheet for a week of leads. Each lead gets a fit score and a timing score from one to three, leads that hit a deal breaker come off the list before scoring, and an hours check at the bottom caps how many calls the week can take. A filled-in sheet shows which leads get a call this week and why the others wait.
The deal breakers
A lead that hits any one of these gets a reply the same day naming the reason, and a note on the record.
- The seller cannot legally or practically serve the lead, because of where it is or a license the seller does not hold.
- The problem the lead describes is one the seller does not solve.
- What the lead expects to spend is far below the seller's smallest engagement.
- Nobody the seller can reach has a path to the person who decides.
- The lead's timing is well past the planning window, with nothing to pull it forward.
- The lead is a competitor gathering information.
- The lead has asked for no more messages, or sits on the suppression list.
The fit score
Fit asks whether the lead is the kind of account the seller serves. It is set from research, before any contact.
| Fit score | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1 | Outside the problem or the size the seller serves |
| 2 | Has the problem, at a size the seller can serve |
| 3 | Matches the accounts the seller has already signed |
The timing score
Timing asks whether the lead has a reason to act soon. It changes only when the lead says or does something new.
| Timing score | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1 | No reason to act inside the planning window |
| 2 | A reason to act, with no date on it |
| 3 | A reason to act and a date the buyer named |
What the scores decide
Fit is read first. A fit of one gets a polite close whatever the timing.
| Fit | Total of fit and timing | What happens this week |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Any | A polite close and a note on the record |
| 2 or 3 | 5 or 6 | An answer today and the offer of a call |
| 2 or 3 | 4 | An answer within two days and a follow-up date |
| 2 or 3 | 3 | A short answer and a date a month out |
How many calls the week can hold
Every figure in the example column is made up, and the last column is for the week's own numbers.
| Line | How it is worked out | Example (made up) | This week |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Hours available for selling this week | 8 | |
| B | Minutes per first call, with preparation and notes | 45 | |
| C | Calls the week can hold, A times 60 divided by B, rounded down | 10 | |
| D | Calls already on the calendar | 4 | |
| E | New calls to book, C minus D | 6 |
When more leads score 5 or 6 than line E allows, the ones with the higher timing score go first, then the higher fit score. The rest get a date the following week.
The weekly log
The first row is a made-up example.
| Lead and company | Fit | Timing | Deal breaker | What happens | Next step and date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner of a regional dental lab (made up) | 3 | 2 | None | Answer today and offer a call | Call Tuesday at 10 |
How to use it each week
- Take out every lead that hits a deal breaker, and note the reason on the record.
- Score fit for new names and timing for anyone who replied or went quiet since last week.
- Work out line E for the week ahead.
- Book calls from the top of the list until line E is used up.
- Once a month, read back through the leads let go and the leads that signed, and adjust what each fit score means if the pattern has moved.
The reasoning behind the scores is in how to qualify leads when you are the whole sales team, and the arithmetic behind a weekly target is in counting outreach before judging a channel.