Qualifying calls and meetings
What makes a sales call or meeting qualified? A checklist
A call or meeting is qualified when it's with the right kind of business, the right person, for a real reason, and they've agreed to talk. Everything else on this page helps you pin those four things down for your business, in writing, before any are booked.
The point isn't paperwork. If you pay per qualified call or meeting, a clear definition is what stops you paying for a chat that was never going anywhere, and stops your provider arguing about one that obviously was.
The four tests
| Test | The question it answers | Example for an IT provider |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | Is this a business you can actually serve? | In your service area, within the staff range you support |
| Person | Is the right person in the room? | Someone with a say in IT decisions or budget |
| Reason | Is there a live reason to talk? | Slow support, a move, a contract ending, a security question |
| Agreement | Did they agree to a conversation, not just information? | They've accepted a call about their IT support |
A booking that fails one of the four is a weak opportunity, however polite the prospect is.
The checklist
Use this when you agree terms with an appointment setter, or to sanity-check your own pipeline.
Fit
- The business is in an area you serve (or happy with remote service, if you offer it)
- It's a size you can serve well, in staff, sites or spend
- It's in a sector you want, and not one you've ruled out
- It isn't one of your existing clients
- It isn't already in your pipeline or talking to you
Person
- The person attending makes, or has a real say in, the decision
- If they need someone else to sign off, you know who, and whether they're coming
- Their role matches the roles you agreed
Reason
- They've said why they're open to talking, in their own words
- The timing is in a window you care about (a renewal, a project, a move)
- What they want to cover is something you actually sell
Agreement and logistics
- They agreed to a call or meeting, not just to be sent a brochure or a price
- A time, a format (phone, video or in person) and attendees are confirmed
- You received a brief beforehand with enough context to prepare
What shouldn't be in the definition
Some things sound reasonable but make a definition unworkable:
- Whether they buy. A qualified call or meeting is a real chance to win the work. Whether you win it depends on your offer, your price and the conversation. Tie payment to the sale and you're describing a different service.
- A minimum length. A good conversation can be short. Judge it on whether it was genuine, not on the clock.
- Vague words. "Decision-maker", "interested" and "mid-sized" mean different things to different people. Replace them with roles, a specific reason and a staff or revenue range.
Agree it per industry
There's no universal definition. A fire protection business might need the person who manages the building's service contract. A software company might need both the person with the problem and the person with the budget. A recruitment agency might only count employers with roles open now.
Write your definition with examples from your own market, then test it against the last few good and bad sales conversations you had. If it would have counted a bad one, tighten it.
When something doesn't fit
Decide in advance what happens when a booked call or meeting doesn't meet the criteria:
- Before it happens: you read the brief and flag a poor fit. It's cancelled and not counted.
- No-shows: if the prospect doesn't turn up, it isn't counted. Agree whether the setter tries to rebook.
- Your no-show: if you miss it or cancel late and the prospect was ready, agree how that's treated. Usually it counts.
- Already known to you: if they were already your client or in discussions, say so quickly, and it isn't counted.
At GoodYarn, these are set out in each client's agreement, with the criteria agreed before any outreach starts. The pay-per-held-meeting guide explains how that works commercially.