01 / The signal
Start with three separate questions
Fit asks whether the account and the person match the customers you can serve well: use case, industry, size, geography, and role. Capability asks whether there is a plausible path to buy and implement, including budget ownership, decision participants, and internal approval. Intent asks whether a real problem or event makes a conversation useful now. These are practical lenses, not a claim that every team needs the same fields.[5]
Keep observed facts separate from assumptions. A public hiring announcement may suggest a timely question; it does not prove a budget or buying project. A content download can show interest; it does not, by itself, establish a sales-ready need. Record the source and date, then use a respectful conversation to test what remains unknown.[1]
Fit
Is this account and role within the audience we can help?
Capability
Is there a plausible buyer, funding path, and ability to act?
Intent
What problem, priority, or timing makes contact useful now?
02 / The conversation
Choose a framework for the deal in front of you
Use one framework as a conversation guide, not a script to complete in one call. Match its depth to the buying motion and leave room for the buyer’s own language.
BANT
Budget · Authority · Need · Timeline
Use it when
The offer is relatively straightforward and a rep can establish the buying path early without a long discovery process.
A useful question
What is the problem, how is a purchase funded, who needs to weigh in, and when would a change matter?
[1]CHAMP
Challenges · Authority · Money · Prioritization
Use it when
Discovery should begin with the buyer’s challenge and how important it is before discussing money.
A useful question
What is getting in the way, what happens if it stays unresolved, and where does it sit among current priorities?
[2]MEDDIC
Metrics · Economic Buyer · Decision Criteria · Decision Process · Identify Pain · Champion
Use it when
The deal has several stakeholders, formal evaluation steps, or a longer path to a decision.
A useful question
How will the buyer measure success, who approves the spend, what criteria and process will they use, and who can advocate internally?
[3]GPCTBA C&I
Goals · Plans · Challenges · Timeline · Budget · Authority · Consequences · Implications
Use it when
The sale is consultative and the team needs to connect company goals and plans to the consequences of acting or waiting.
A useful question
What are you trying to change, what is the plan, what could get in the way, and what follows if the plan succeeds or stalls?
[4]A small, consistently used framework is more useful than collecting every acronym. Start with the one that fits your deal complexity, then keep only the questions that help your team make a clearer decision.
03 / The decision
Build a small scorecard around evidence
Keep fit and readiness visible as separate scores. A single blended number can hide the difference between a perfect-fit account with no current reason to buy and an interested buyer your team cannot serve.
Illustrative QuarrySignal worksheet
The points and routing bands below are QuarrySignal’s illustrative starting worksheet. They are not published research, a sourced statistic, or a universal benchmark.
Fit · 0–4
Account match · 0–2
Compare the company’s use case, industry, size, and geography with your written ideal customer profile.
Fit · 0–4
Role match · 0–2
Check whether the contact is a buyer, evaluator, user, or credible path to the people involved.
Readiness · 0–6
Problem and outcome · 0–2
Look for a stated challenge and a concrete outcome the prospect wants to change.
Readiness · 0–6
Buying capability · 0–2
Record what is known about funding, approval, implementation resources, and other decision participants.
Readiness · 0–6
Intent and timing · 0–2
Look for an active evaluation, a relevant trigger, a stated priority, or an agreed time to revisit.
Score each dimension
- 0 — no supporting evidence, or evidence points the other way.
- 1 — partial, indirect, or not yet confirmed.
- 2 — confirmed in a conversation or supported by a reliable, dated source.
Mark unknown separately from a confirmed negative. Missing information is a prompt to research or ask, not an automatic reason to disqualify.
Example routing bands
Offer the prospect to sales with the evidence, a named owner, and one specific next step.
Keep the account in research or nurture. Name the missing fact and set a revisit date or trigger.
Hold for a short research task. Do not treat a blank field as a confirmed mismatch.
Disqualify with the specific reason, such as an unsupported use case or a segment you cannot serve.
04 / The handoff
Give every stage one owner and an exit condition
Use your CRM’s stage names if they differ. For each stage, name one accountable role, the evidence needed to move forward, and a dated next action. Salesforce’s pipeline guidance likewise recommends defining stage entry and exit criteria around the team’s own sales process. [6]
01
SDR or research owner owns this stage
Prospect identified
Exit when: ICP evidence and a relevant contact are recorded; the reason for outreach is written down.
Next: Verify the contact and prepare a specific, useful first message.
02
Named seller owns this stage
Sales accepted
Exit when: The seller accepts the handoff and confirms who will follow up by the team’s agreed response SLA.
Next: Contact the prospect or return the record with one clear rejection reason.
03
Named seller or account executive owns this stage
Discovery
Exit when: The problem, desired outcome, buying participants, timing, and next decision step are understood or marked unknown.
Next: Share a short recap and confirm the next conversation or research question.
04
Opportunity owner owns this stage
Evaluation
Exit when: The buyer’s success measures, decision criteria, decision process, and commercial path are documented.
Next: Agree on the next buyer action and date; keep the opportunity stage tied to evidence.
05
Named nurture owner owns this stage
Nurture or recycle
Exit when: The reason to wait and a revisit date or trigger are recorded.
Next: Return when the trigger occurs or the agreed date arrives; reassess intent then.
Carry these details forward
- Fit and readiness scores with the evidence behind them
- Source links and the date each signal was checked
- Known stakeholders, buying path, and unresolved questions
- One next action, a due date, and one accountable owner
05 / The close loop
Close the loop with a useful disposition
Every reviewed prospect should end with a next step or a reason to stop. Dispositions make handoffs auditable and help the team see where its criteria are too loose, too strict, or missing important evidence.[7]
Accepted for sales
A seller owns the next action and its due date.
Nurture — timing
The account fits, but there is no current priority; record a revisit trigger.
Nurture — evidence needed
A specific fit or buying-path question remains unanswered.
Disqualified — fit or capability
Record the confirmed mismatch or the requirement your offer cannot meet.
Unreachable or suppress
Record the outreach outcome and follow your team’s contact and suppression rules.
06 / The feedback loop
Calibrate against your own conversion history
Do not copy the example bands as if they were industry standards. Compare past prospects at the same point in the funnel: which fit and readiness evidence appeared in records that became accepted leads, qualified opportunities, and customers? Review results by segment and source where the sample is large enough, and also check response time, stage conversion, and reasons for rejection.[6][5]
When history is thin, treat the scorecard as provisional. Have sales review a small, consistent batch, record disagreements and outcomes, and adjust only when the evidence changes. Revisit the rules after the sales motion, offer, or target market changes.
Reading list
Sources and further reading
- [1]
- [2]What is CHAMP?Revenue.io
- [3]
- [4]
- [5]Finding and Qualifying LeadsSalesforce Help
- [6]
- [7]What is a Sales Pipeline?Salesforce