Qualifying leads
As a sales leader, you have likely seen this many times over - An AE (Account Executive) wasting a good chunk of their time with unqualified leads that are never going to close. And you know that this was the result of not qualifying the lead properly.
Qualifying leads is one of the most important steps in order to run a good B2B sales process. There are many qualification frameworks out there like MEDDIC, BANT, ANUM and CHAMP. At the core many of these processes focus on a few key attributes of a lead -
- Is there a pain point/need that the lead has?
- Are we talking to the right person who can make the call to buy or can they influence the buying decision?
- Is it worth spending time right now or do we need to nurture the lead more before selling?
Just because the frameworks are similar, it doesn’t mean each of these processes are suitable for all companies. Depending on the type of product/service and the target market you may choose one over the other. In recent years, enterprise sales teams have taken to ‘MEDDIC’ to streamline their qualification. MEDDIC is most suited for companies whose customers have a fairly complex buying process with at least 3-4 teams involved.
The MEDDIC sales qualification process is like a high-stakes game of dating. You're trying to determine if the potential customer is really into you (your product or service) and if the relationship is going to be successful (i.e., result in a sale). You ask questions to figure out if they know what a successful relationship looks like (Metrics), have the money to buy (economic buyer), if they're experiencing any problems you can solve (pain), and if they have a clear idea of what they want (decision criteria). You also want to know who all will be involved in this relationship to succeed (decision process) and if they'll introduce you to their friends (champion). If all signs point to "yes," then it's time to take this relationship to the next level.
Quick round-up of the process:
- Metrics: What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will determine success for the customer?
- Economic buyer: Who has the authority to make the purchasing decision?
- Decision criteria: What are the factors that will influence the purchasing decision?
- Decision process: How will the purchasing decision be made?
- Identify pain: What problems or challenges is the customer experiencing that your product or service can solve?
- Champion: Who within the customer organization will be the primary advocate for your solution?
What can you do if the answer to most of the questions is ‘Yes’ but a few of them are a ‘No’. Based on which question was answered ‘No’, you could nurture the lead for the future. For eg: If you are not talking to the ‘Economic Buyer’, you could pass this lead back to your ABM (Account Based Marketing) team or your SDR (Sales Development Rep) team with the goal of connecting to the right buyer persona.
In order to implement the MEDDIC process, you will need to translate each step mentioned above into actionable questions that your AEs/SDRs can ask. Also, just because you have defined the process, it will not automatically translate into success. Your sales teams will likely need good training and playbooks.
Using Luru for qualification
You could use tools like Luru to help AEs follow the MEDDIC process by using meeting playbooks. Luru ensures meeting playbooks automagically show up on Zoom/Gmeet to help them follow the process, take notes and update their CRM without having to open multiple tabs.
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