Sales lead qualification process flowchart
This sales lead qualification process flowchart shows how a new lead becomes a sales opportunity, or goes back to marketing nurture. It has three lanes, **Marketing**, **SDR** (sales development rep) and **Account Executive**, and three qualification gates: lead score, **BANT** (budget, authority, need, timing) and the discovery call. It is for sales and marketing managers who want a clear MQL to SQL hand-off.
Example: Swimlane diagram for sales lead qualification: click to open it in the editor and change it.
Lanes and steps in order
- Capture lead (Marketing): a lead arrives from a form, event, ad or content download.
- Score lead (Marketing): the lead is scored on fit (company size, role) and behavior (pages visited, emails opened).
- Score above threshold? (Marketing, decision): Yes is a marketing qualified lead (MQL) and goes to an SDR. No goes to Add to nurture campaign.
- Research & first call (SDR): the SDR researches the company and reaches out.
- Fits BANT? (SDR, decision): Yes books a meeting. No goes back to nurture.
- Book discovery meeting (SDR): the SDR books a call with an account executive. The lead is now sales accepted.
- Run discovery call (Account Executive): the AE explores the problem, buying process and decision makers.
- Qualified opportunity? (Account Executive, decision): Yes creates an opportunity. No goes back to nurture.
- Create opportunity in CRM (Account Executive): the deal enters the sales pipeline.
Hand-offs and decision points
There are two hand-offs, Marketing → SDR and SDR → Account Executive, and each is a common source of friction between teams. All three No paths return to nurture rather than being deleted, so leads that aren't ready now can come back later.
Where this process usually slows down
- Research & first call: response time matters most. Leads contacted within an hour convert far better than next-day follow-ups.
- Score lead: thresholds set too low flood SDRs with poor leads.
- Book discovery meeting: AE calendars fill up, and booked leads go cold.
How to adapt it for your company
- Swap BANT for MEDDIC or CHAMP if that is what your team uses.
- Add a fast lane for demo requests that skips scoring and goes straight to an SDR.
- Add a disqualify end for leads that will never fit, such as students or competitors.
- Write the definition of MQL and SQL next to each gate so both teams agree.
Tip: Agree the MQL threshold and the SDR response SLA with both sales and marketing leaders. Most lead disputes come from those two numbers.
Standard operating procedure
Purpose: Send sales only the leads worth their time, quickly, and keep the rest warm.
Scope: Starts when a new lead is captured. Ends when it becomes an opportunity or goes to nurture.
Roles
- Marketing: Captures and scores leads, and runs nurture.
- SDR: Researches, calls and checks BANT.
- Account Executive: Runs discovery and creates opportunities.
Procedure
- Marketing: Score each new lead on fit and behavior. Leads below the MQL threshold go to nurture.
- SDR: Research and contact each MQL within 1 business hour.
- SDR: Check budget, authority, need and timing. Leads that do not fit go back to nurture with a note.
- SDR: Book a discovery meeting with an account executive.
- Account Executive: Run the discovery call and decide whether it is a qualified opportunity.
- Account Executive: Create the opportunity in the CRM, or return the lead to nurture with the reason.
Process owner: Head of Sales Development
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Frequently asked questions
What is lead qualification?
The process of deciding whether a lead is worth sales time, using a score and a framework such as BANT, before it becomes a sales opportunity.
What does BANT stand for?
Budget, Authority, Need and Timing: does the lead have budget, are they a decision maker, do they need the product, and do they plan to buy soon?
What is the difference between an MQL and an SQL?
An MQL (marketing qualified lead) has scored high enough for sales to contact. An SQL (sales qualified lead) has been checked by sales and is ready for a sales conversation.
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