6 Solid sales qualification frameworks that you must know in 2024!

According to a study, 67% of sales are lost because reps are not effectively qualifying leads. So, to save you from this fiasco, implement a sales qualification framework in your business.  

This will ensure that your sales team only works on the most qualified prospects.   

A sales qualification framework can; 

• Improve your sales team productivity 
• Save your rep’s time and energy 
• Save your money 
• Boost conversion rates 

To improve your sales qualification process, you must consider these lead qualification frameworks.

Learn the six best sales qualification frameworks and find the best one for your industry in one article. 

Let’s get started with the simple definition. 

What is sales qualification framework? 

The sales qualification framework is a set of predefined criteria that one can implement to qualify leads.  

The qualification framework helps you identify the characteristics of the lead and match them with your ideal customer profile.   

It is a major part of your sales qualification process. This helps you figure out what can be the ideal sales qualifying questions for an effective sales conversation.

To close more deals, you need to discover that your ideal prospects are more likely to become buyers.

But the concern is how quickly you can identify your opportunities when dealing with dozens of profiles.

Among those generated lists of leads, some can be marketing-qualified leads; some can be sales-qualified leads. Also, there might be unqualified ones.

See the image below to understand how a sales qualification framework is a game changer for sales teams! 

Finding high-quality prospects takes time and effort, and you achieve it with two smart weapons of success: a lead scoring software and a sales qualification framework.

A lead scoring software is a lead qualification tool. It will automatically prioritize leads based on their interests and engagement with your brand. And get your relevant leads.

The sales qualification framework will help you in your sales process, from smart prospecting to deal closing. 

Moving on to the 6 best lead qualification frameworks for sales professionals.

6 Best sales qualification frameworks you can choose from 

Every sales rep uses a certain lead qualifying framework to define the likelihood of a lead to turn a paying customer. 

Here are the 6 best lead qualification frameworks that you can choose from: 

1. BANT 

BANT is a long-established framework to qualify sales leads. It is developed in the year 1950 by IBM.   

It emphasizes a lot on a budget of the lead. Can the lead purchase your product or service?  

Budget is considered a sales qualification criterion, as the lead must have a budget that matches your solution.   

Then, it focuses on whether the lead has the authority to make purchasing decisions.

This is followed by understanding the prospect’s problem, making it easy for the sales rep to pitch the required solution and create a great impact.   

This framework enables the sales reps to qualify the leads in initial calls, instead of spending days or weeks. Lastly, it focuses on the urgency of the lead’s purchase.  

Let’s look at the pros and cons of this framework. 

Pros: 

• It saves time in the qualification process. 
• Using the BANT framework ensures a short sales cycle. 
• It is flexible and reliable. 

Cons: 

• It is a seller-focused approach, which sometimes irritates the customers. 
• This isn’t the fastest framework to implement. 

 2. ANUM  

It’s the modern version of the BANT framework developed by Ken Krogue.   

ANUM framework takes a customer-centric approach. It focuses on the rep getting in touch with the concerned person. This saves a lot of time for both parties.  

With ANUM, sales reps ensure that the lead is the decision-maker before taking the discussion ahead.    

It then guides to focus on the lead’s problem and offer a solution.   

Further, the framework focuses on understanding the urgency of implementing the solution from the prospect’s end.   

And lastly, considers the evaluation of their budget range to understand their eligibility for your offered service.   

Let’s look at the pros and cons of the ANUM framework. 

Pros: 

• It saves time for the reps by making them contact the decision-maker.  
• It clarifies the potential lead that can be moved down the process. 

Cons: 

• It qualifies leads on the decision-making power, which means if someone is a gatekeeper, they would be disqualified. However, they can lead to the right person. 
   

3. MEDDIC 

MEDDIC framework was developed during the 1990s by Jack Napoli and Dick Dunkel. This framework majorly focuses on knowing more about your prospect. 

This framework considers various aspects of the lead while you qualify it. It starts with understanding the measurable value your solution provides to the prospects.  

Then, move forward to identify whether you are communicating with the economic buyer; the one who’s responsible for making the buying decision. And understand the factors that will affect their decision-making process. 

Then identify pain points to make your pitch more effective. Lastly, this framework talks about “sales champion.”   

This is a person from the client’s organization that will help you sell better or would sell on your behalf. They will keep you updated with the decision-making steps and help you with pointers that will close the deal for you. 

Let’s learn about the pros and cons of this framework. 

Pros: 

• This framework helps you accurately qualify the lead. 
• With this framework, you experience lesser deal failure. 

Cons: 

• This framework has a very lengthy process of qualifying leads. 
• An immense tracking and recording of data are required. 

4. CHAMP 

This framework focuses more on solving the lead’s problem. It prioritizes the challenge faced by the prospect.  

This framework is customer centric. It starts with understanding the lead’s problem and focuses on providing an adequate solution. Then checks the authority of the lead in terms of its decision-making power.   

Further, it evaluates the budget proposition of the lead. Lastly, it evaluates whether the solution is a priority for the lead or not.   

This is how you can qualify leads using the CHAMP framework. Here are some pros and cons of using CHAMP framework. 

Pros: 

• This framework helps to understand the prospect better as the problem is already detected with the first question. 
• It makes it easier to disqualify the leads. 

Cons: 

• This framework can lead to a delayed sales cycle. 
• It lacks other various aspects like the decision criteria and decision-making process. This would be a problem moving down the process. 

5. FAINT 

Mike Schultz developed this framework. It is different from other frameworks in that it considers the interest factor of the lead.  

It solely focuses on the product or service while making the buying decision.  

This framework considers prospects who make unplanned purchases. Not to avoid the fact that there’s a high volume of sudden buyer categories.   

This framework qualifies the lead and prioritizes the monetary capability of the lead.  

Then, it considers checking the decision-making capability of the lead.  

And then, it focuses on making efforts to create interest of your prospect in the solution you are offering. It’s similar to creating curiosity about your solution. 

This is how you can use the FAINT framework. Here are some pros and cons of this framework: 

Pros: 

• It is faster to turn leads into prospects using this framework. 
• With this framework, you can effectively utilize your resources and time. 

Cons:  

• If the product or service isn’t the solution to the lead’s problem, creating interest around it might not be successful.  
• There’s a possibility of losing the lead if they have limited funds, despite being the best solution to their problem.    

6. GPCTBA and C&I  

It is a B2B centered qualification framework. It is designed to align the company’s and lead’s goals and result in fruitful engagement.  

This framework considers that the prospect is already familiar with your products and services and needs to know more than just a basic introduction.  

This framework qualifies the lead considering multiple aspects.

First, it starts with understanding the prospect’s goals and plans. Then it focuses on providing solutions to the challenges faced by the prospect.   

Then understands the timeline they want to implement the solution. Followed by their budget bracket, along with considering their authority power.   

Lastly, it focuses on considering positive implications as well as negative aspects of the deal.  

This point makes GPCTBACI framework stand out from other sales qualification frameworks. 

You need to understand your prospect’s business model, buying process, goals, etc., to persuade them to convert.

Let’s now understand the pros and cons of this framework. 

Pros: 

• This framework ensures that you move ahead with leads that have the highest probability of deal closures. 

Cons: 

• It has a lengthy sales qualification process and is time consuming. 

Each sale qualification framework comes with its unique approach.   

But auditing the efficacy of your sales qualification framework is one of the common concerns of sales leaders. Worry not!   

A Sales Goal Tracking software can help you track your sales deals by giving insights like conversion rates, team efforts and many key performance indicators. 

Which framework is suitable for your industry? 

After learning the amazing frameworks above, I’m sure you’ll be confused about which to adopt and which not to.  

So, here’s the table to ease your decision-making. 

Sales qualification framework	When to use it?	Which type of businesses it suits well?
BANT	When a lead has a specific budget and you want to invest efforts and time. It is used by organizations that have high-deal prizes.	Software and IT companies
ANUM	When the client has a long and complicated decision-making process. This framework should be adopted when dealing with large-sized companies.	All type of industry
MEDDIC	Helpful with long sales cycles e.g. while launching new software or selling a new version of a solution.	SaaS and other Online industries
CHAMP	When you want to focus on understanding your target audience in the long run.	Startups and SaaS
FAINT	When the lead has huge funds and makes unplanned purchases. The industries with unplanned buyers are the ones that must implement this framework.	eCommerce and other online industry
GPCTBA & CI	When you have enough time to understand prospects needs and goals.	Startups, small, and mid-sized businesses belonging to any industry

Conclusion 

A sales qualification framework is a predefined set of leadership qualities that eases your lead qualification process.   

You can qualify your leads to further the sales pipeline with these qualification questions.  

However, different businesses with different products or services must have adequate knowledge of how they can utilize these frameworks to improve sales conversion.   

Additionally, a CRM is a constant support when managing a plethora of leads and can help you grow your business seamlessly! 

Frequently asked questions