Qualify every inbound lead the same way every time

Fields

• Job title, as entered on the form
• Company, as entered on the form
• What they wrote in the message box

Questions

1. What kind of submission is this? Choice

   Pick the one option that fits the submission as a whole, using the message, the job title and the company.

   • Buying interest Wants to evaluate, buy or replace a product for their own organisation, or asks for a demo, a quote or pricing for it.
   • Existing customer Already uses our product and needs support, account help or a billing change.
   • Partner enquiry Wants to resell, refer, integrate with or build on our product, rather than use it.
   • Vendor pitch Is selling something to us, such as leads, marketing, staff or software.
   • Job seeker Asks about jobs, internships or sends a CV.
   • Student or researcher Asks for help with a study, a survey, a thesis or market research, with no plan to buy.
   • Spam or test Junk, gibberish, a link dump or an obvious test entry.

2. How closely does the need described match what our product does? Scale

   Compare the need in the message with what we sell in the context. Judge the need only, not the size or country of the company. Pick one level.

   • No match The need is something we do not do, such as payroll or bookkeeping, or no need is described.
   • Partial Part of the need is something we do, but the main problem lies elsewhere.
   • Good The main need is one we solve, described in general terms, such as "we want to automate AP".
   • Strong The need is one we solve and is described in specifics we cover, such as invoice volumes, several entities, approval chains or a named ERP.

3. What role does the writer say or show they have in the purchase? Choice

   Use what the message says about their part in the decision, and the job title only where the message says nothing.

   • Decision maker Says they own the budget or make the final choice.
   • Evaluator Leads or runs the evaluation, or will recommend a product to the person who decides.
   • End user Would use the product day to day but does not choose it.
   • Gathering information for someone else Collecting brochures or prices at someone else's request, with no part in the evaluation.

4. What does the submission say about when they plan to act? Choice

   Go by the words used, not by a date: code reads any date and compares it with today. Pick one option.

   • Active project They are choosing or buying now, or name a deadline for the decision, such as a shortlist, a contract end or a go-live date.
   • Planned for later They plan to act at a later stage, such as next year or after another project, with no active evaluation yet.
   • Exploring They are looking around or learning, with no plan to act.
   • No timing given The submission says nothing about when they would act.

5. Does the writer say they use, have signed with or are evaluating a competing product or a manual process? Yes / No

   Use the list of competing products in the context where there is one. Count any accounts payable, invoice capture or supplier payment product the writer uses today, has signed with or is evaluating, and a manual process such as spreadsheets or email approvals run by hand. Yes: A competing product or manual process is named or described. No: None is named or described.

6. Does the submission mention an event driving the purchase, such as a contract ending, a deadline, a new rule, a merger, growth or a failure? Yes / No

   Count a reason to act now that the submission states: a renewal or contract end, a system being retired, an audit finding, a new regulation, a merger or acquisition, new entities, a funding round, rapid growth, staff leaving, or a failure or outage. Yes: At least one such event is stated. No: No event is stated.

7. Does the submission ask for a demo, a call, a quote or pricing? Yes / No

   Count a direct request for a demo, a meeting, a call, a trial, a quote or prices. A request for written material only, such as a brochure or a case study, does not count, and neither does choosing the "Book a demo" form. Yes: The message asks for at least one of these. No: The message asks for none of these.

8. Does the submission say enough to judge what they want and whether we can help? Yes / No

   Judge whether a rep could tell from the submission what the writer wants and whether it is something we do. A single word, a greeting or "please call me" with no need described is not enough. Yes: The submission says what they want clearly enough to act on. No: A rep would have to ask what they want before doing anything.

Lens columns

submission_type, submission_type_probability, need_fit, need_fit_average, decision_role, decision_role_probability, timeline, timeline_probability, uses_competitor, uses_competitor_probability, trigger_event, trigger_event_probability, asks_for_contact, asks_for_contact_probability, enough_information, enough_information_probability