Last updated: 2026-05-12
\nNot every prospect should be pitched. Pitching to unqualified prospects wastes time, inflates your \"in progress\" pipeline, and trains your team to chase ghosts. A qualification scorecard creates a repeatable standard for who advances to the pitch and who gets moved to nurture.
\nScore each prospect on a 1–3 scale (1 = poor, 2 = acceptable, 3 = strong).
\nDoes the prospect have a clearly articulated problem that your service solves?
\n| Score | Signal |\n|---|---|\n| 1 | No pain stated. \"Things are fine.\" or vague dissatisfaction. |\n| 2 | Acknowledges a problem but not urgent. \"We'd like more leads eventually.\" |\n| 3 | Acute, active pain. \"We're slow right now and I need to fix this this month.\" |
\nHow to gather: Ask \"What's the biggest thing holding your business back?\" early in the call. If they struggle to answer or give a vague answer, score low.
\nDoes the person you are speaking with have the authority to say yes?
\n| Score | Signal |\n|---|---|\n| 1 | Clearly a gatekeeper or junior employee. |\n| 2 | Influencer — involved in the decision but not the final yes. |\n| 3 | Sole decision-maker. They can sign the contract without asking anyone. |
\nHow to gather: \"Are you the one who makes decisions on marketing, or is there a partner involved?\" Ask directly. Do not assume.
\nIf score is 1 or 2: Do not pitch. Schedule the call with the decision-maker present or disqualify.
\nDoes the prospect have the financial capacity to invest in the solution?
\n| Score | Signal |\n|---|---|\n| 1 | \"We have no budget.\" or business is clearly underperforming. |\n| 2 | \"We have something set aside.\" No specific amount. |\n| 3 | Currently spending on marketing. Can state a rough budget range. |
\nHow to gather: \"Are you currently spending anything on marketing, or would this be the first time?\" and \"Do you have a budget in mind for this?\"
\nA business currently spending on Google Ads is a 3 — they have both the habit and the infrastructure. A business that has never paid for marketing is usually a 1 unless the deal value is so high they can clearly afford it.
\nIs the prospect ready to make a decision within a reasonable window?
\n| Score | Signal |\n|---|---|\n| 1 | No urgency. \"We're not in a rush.\" or \"Maybe next year.\" |\n| 2 | Moderate urgency. \"We're hoping to have something going by Q3.\" |\n| 3 | High urgency. \"We need this now.\" or \"Things are slow and I need help this month.\" |
\nHow to gather: \"Are you looking to get something started soon, or are you still in research mode?\"
\nTimeline score affects your follow-up cadence. Score-1 prospects go to 30-day drip, not the active pipeline.
\nDoes your service actually solve their problem? Can you deliver what they need?
\n| Score | Signal |\n|---|---|\n| 1 | Poor fit — wrong service, wrong stage, wrong market. |\n| 2 | Partial fit — you can help but need to scope carefully. |\n| 3 | Clear fit — their problem is exactly what you solve. |
\nHow to gather: This is an internal score based on your honest assessment, not what the prospect says. If a plumber wants a national brand campaign and you do local SEO, that is a 1 regardless of their enthusiasm.
\n| Total Score | Decision |\n|---|---|\n| 13–15 | Strong — advance to pitch immediately |\n| 9–12 | Viable — pitch with a scope conversation first |\n| 5–8 | Weak — move to 30-day nurture sequence |\n| Under 5 | Disqualify — close the opportunity |
\nIn GHL, add a custom field: \"Qualification Score\" (number field) to the contact record. Log the score after every discovery call. Use it to filter your pipeline — do not work a pipeline of unscored or low-scored leads.
\nOver-qualifying: Disqualifying someone who scores a 2 on timeline because you want only 3s. A 2 on timeline with a 3 on pain, 3 on authority, and 3 on budget is a 13 — pitch them.
\nUnder-qualifying: Pitching a prospect who scored well on pain but is clearly a gatekeeper (score 1 on authority). You will close a person who cannot say yes.
\nSkipping the scorecard entirely: \"They seemed interested\" is not a qualification. Score every prospect.
\nSetters score prospects on Dimensions 1, 2, and 4 only (Pain, Authority, Timeline). If any of the three score 1, they do not book the call — they move to nurture or disqualify.
\nScore all five dimensions on the discovery call before pitching.
\nScore Dimensions 2 and 3 first (Authority and Budget) because the cost is lower and the commitment is shorter. Lower threshold for advancing — a score of 8+ is enough to pitch a PPL offer.
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