BUSINESS LAB · EVIDENCE BEFORE TACTICS
How do I know if my leads are good enough to buy?
A useful lead fits the need your offer can serve and has a realistic route to a purchase: suitable budget, decision authority and timing. These are conversation prompts, not a rigid rejection checklist. Distinguish a poor fit from a suitable buyer who needs more information, then compare like-for-like opportunities and actual outcomes.
Define fit before measuring quality
Write down who the offer can help, the conditions needed to deliver it and the total cost the buyer must accept. Marketing and sales should use the same definition. Otherwise one team may count any message while another counts only a purchase-ready decision maker.
Fit depends on the offer. A buyer outside the delivery area or needing an unavailable feature differs from a suitable customer planning a later purchase. Record those differences instead of describing all non-buyers as bad leads.
Ask useful questions without interrogating
Answer the customer’s question and ask one question that helps recommend an appropriate next step. Explore the intended use, the decision process, affordability and timing as the conversation requires. Do not invent a numerical lead score from incomplete answers.
A suitable prospect may need an explanation, authentic proof or internal approval. A person with no practical use for the offer may need a clear decline or another route. Respect privacy and collect only information needed for the enquiry.
Compare evidence across the handover
Review a defined set of recent enquiries, including unanswered and lost ones. Compare the promise that attracted them, source, fit, first useful reply and outcome. Keep missing data separate from genuine disqualification.
If suitable leads repeatedly stop after the price or proposal, inspect the buying conversation and offer before changing targeting. If poor-fit enquiries share one misleading promise, correct that promise and measure qualified opportunities and profitable purchases, not just enquiry volume.
Continue the diagnosis
Frequently asked questions
Is a lead with a small budget always unsuitable?
No. Check whether an available offer can serve that need profitably. Do not promise an unapproved package simply to preserve a lead.
Should marketing and sales use the same definition?
Yes. Agree what a suitable opportunity means and which evidence supports it, then review actual cases together.
Does a good lead guarantee a sale?
No. Timing, alternatives, trust, the offer and the buying process still affect the decision.
Book a free 15-minute introductory call. The call clarifies the challenge and fit; it is not a free detailed diagnosis.