Lead qualification & discovery call SOP template

“Qualified” means something different to every seller until it’s written down — and then pipeline reviews stop being debates about vocabulary. This template fixes the definition, structures the discovery call, and makes disqualification a respectable outcome instead of a failure.

Qualification criteria

Define qualified in writing

Pick a framework and make it concrete for your product. A practical starter (adapt freely): Problem — they have the pain your product solves, in their own words; Authority — you’re talking to someone who can buy or directly champions to who can; Size — the account fits your target range (team size, volume, spend); Timeline — a reason to decide inside a quarter, not “someday”. A lead is qualified at 3 of 4 with Problem mandatory.

Score at intake

Every inbound lead gets a first-pass score within one working day from whatever signals exist — form answers, company site, plan interest. Two outcomes only: book a discovery call, or a polite decline/nurture. “Sitting in the CRM unscored” is not an outcome.

The discovery call

Prepare for fifteen minutes

Before the call: their website, their role, any product signup activity, and one hypothesis about why they showed up. Walking in blank wastes the single highest-intent moment in your funnel.

Run the structure

Thirty minutes: (1) two minutes of framing — what they’ll get from the call; (2) fifteen minutes of their problem — current process, what breaks, what it costs, what they’ve tried; (3) five minutes of targeted demo or description mapped to what they just said — not the full tour; (4) five minutes on process — who else decides, budget reality, timeline; (5) explicit next step booked before hanging up.

Listen for disqualifiers

Fundamental product mismatch, no path to authority, size far outside range, or a hard “just researching”. When one lands, name it kindly on the call: “Honestly, I don’t think we’re the right fit for X — what I’d suggest instead is…” A clean, honest no earns future referrals; a strung-along maybe earns resentment.

After the call

Write the record same day

In the CRM before end of day: problem in the customer’s words, qualification score with evidence, stakeholders named, agreed next step with date, and any pricing signals. The test: a colleague could pick up the deal tomorrow from the record alone.

Route the outcome

Qualified → proposal or trial with an owner and a date. Not yet → a dated nurture action, not a vague “follow up sometime”. Disqualified → mark the reason (mismatch, size, timing) so the pattern is visible in the quarterly review — disqualification reasons are your best product and positioning feedback.