Many sales reps jump up and down when they land a new “prospect.” However, many a sales manager has been frustrated a month later to find that the “prospect” was only a suspect.

One of my old bosses developed the list below as a filter before a prospect could make it onto the sales pipeline report.

A quality prospect is defined as:

  1. We have received confirmation that the budget dollars are available and know the dollar figure.
  2. We can describe the competitive situation.
  3. We have some advantage over the alternative choices.
  4. We can describe prospects current system and full set of prioritized needs.
  5. We have identified the decision-makers.
  6. We know the implementation process including the timeline for the decision and implementation.
  7. We have a champion within the prospect organization.
  8. We have received a Request for Proposal.
  9. What criteria will be used to select a Vendor and are we a good match?