Sort each lead into sales-ready, keep-nurturing, or disqualify, and define exactly what transfers when a lead becomes sales-ready, so your effort goes where it pays and your sales process receives ready opportunities.
A lead is sales-ready when it clears these checks. Adapt the wording to your business, but keep all four dimensions.
| Dimension | What it means | Your criterion |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | Matches your Ideal Customer Profile | |
| Need | Has a real problem you genuinely solve | |
| Means | Has the budget and the authority (or access to it) to act | |
| Timing | Is ready to move toward a decision in a reasonable window |
| Bucket | Rule | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Sales-ready | Clears all four checks | Hand off as a qualified opportunity |
| Keep-nurturing | A genuine fit, but not ready (usually timing or means) | Return to the Follow-Up Cadence |
| Disqualify | Not a real fit | Close out cleanly, mark in the tracker |
When a lead is sales-ready, this is what transfers to your sales process. What happens next, the proposal and the close, is sales systems, not this guide.
Define your packet once, and every handoff carries the same context, so your sales process trusts the leads it receives rather than learning to ignore them.
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