Qualification Scoring System

Create a practical scoring system to evaluate fit, urgency, authority, budget, risk, and next-step readiness.

Sales - Discovery - Qualification Scoring System

Who it's for

Sales managers, Account executives, SDRs, Founders, Revenue teams

Get Ready

Prepare the Required Inputs listed in the Workflow Prompt. Use as much detail as necessary.

How to use this prompt

1. Copy the Workflow Prompt.
2. Paste it into your AI tool.
3. Replace the "Required Inputs"
4. Run the prompt.

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Workflow Prompt

				
					You are a sales qualification strategist. Your task is to create a practical qualification scoring system for a specific offer so a team can evaluate whether an opportunity is worth pursuing, nurturing, or disqualifying.

### Required Input
- Offer: [What you sell, e.g. payroll software for companies with 50 to 500 employees]
- Ideal Customer Profile: [Best-fit company traits, e.g. region, size, industry, team structure, maturity]
- Target Buyer: [Primary buyer roles, e.g. HR Director, CFO, Operations Lead]
- Sales Motion: [Inbound, outbound, partner-led, founder-led, enterprise, self-serve assisted]
- Typical Deal Risks: [Common blockers, e.g. no budget, long procurement, low urgency, weak champion]
- Must-Have Qualification Criteria: [Criteria you cannot compromise on]
- Nice-to-Have Criteria: [Criteria that improve fit but are not required]

### Input Validation
Review the inputs before creating the scoring system. If the offer, ideal customer profile, sales motion, or must-have criteria are missing or vague, ask specific clarification questions. Pause and wait for clarification before generating the final output.

### Instructions
Create a scoring system that a small sales team can actually use after discovery or qualification calls. Keep it simple enough to apply consistently, but detailed enough to separate strong opportunities from poor-fit leads.

Use scoring categories that reflect fit, pain, urgency, authority, budget, decision process, solution alignment, implementation feasibility, and next-step commitment. Do not rely on one rigid qualification acronym unless it clearly fits the context.

Define each scoring category with a 0 to 5 scale. Explain what a low, medium, and high score means in observable terms. Avoid vague scoring labels such as good fit without evidence.

Include disqualification flags that override the score, such as no relevant problem, no reachable stakeholder, impossible implementation requirement, unethical use case, or complete mismatch with the offer.

Create score ranges with recommended actions. For example, pursue now, nurture, gather more information, or disqualify. Include guidance for handling incomplete information without punishing deals too harshly.

### Output
Provide the scoring system in this format:

1. Qualification Model Overview
2. Scoring Categories and Definitions
3. 0 to 5 Scoring Rubric for Each Category
4. Must-Have Disqualification Flags
5. Score Range Interpretation
6. Recommended Action by Score Range
7. Questions Needed to Complete the Score
8. Example Scoring Summary Format
9. Manager Review Notes

Optional advanced instructions

				
					Adapt the scoring system for SDR-to-AE handoff and include clear handoff thresholds.

Example output

1. Qualification Model Overview

Offer: Payroll and workforce compliance software for companies with 50 to 500 employees

Ideal Customer Profile: United States-based companies with 75 to 400 employees, multi-state hiring, lean HR or finance team, growing headcount, and recurring payroll or compliance complexity.

2. Scoring Categories and Definitions

Each opportunity is scored from 0 to 5 across nine categories. The maximum score is 45. Must-have disqualification flags override the numeric score.

ICP Fit
Payroll and Compliance Pain
Urgency or Trigger
Authority and Stakeholder Access
Budget Evidence
Decision Process Clarity
Solution Alignment
Implementation Feasibility
Next-Step Commitment

3. 0 to 5 Scoring Rubric for Each Category

ICP Fit: 0 means outside must-have size, geography, or use case. 3 means acceptable fit with basic size and buyer match. 5 means ideal fit with size, growth, multi-state payroll, lean team, and compliance exposure.
Payroll and Compliance Pain: 0 means no relevant pain. 3 means clear process friction. 5 means high-impact pain affecting risk, employee trust, leadership reporting, or payroll accuracy.
Urgency or Trigger: 0 means no reason to act. 3 means internal goal suggests action this year. 5 means compelling event within 90 days with clear risk of inaction.
Authority and Stakeholder Access: 0 means no reachable stakeholder. 3 means relevant manager involved. 5 means economic buyer and operational buyer engaged.
Budget Evidence: 0 means no budget and no willingness to discuss. 3 means existing payroll budget or renewal creates funding path. 5 means approved budget or active replacement project.
Decision Process Clarity: 0 means no process. 3 means basic steps known. 5 means decision path, approvals, timeline, criteria, and legal or procurement steps confirmed.
Solution Alignment: 0 means offer does not solve the problem. 3 means relevant to one primary pain. 5 means direct alignment with critical payroll, compliance, and workflow needs.
Implementation Feasibility: 0 means impossible requirement. 3 means feasible with standard onboarding. 5 means high readiness with project owner, data access, and realistic timeline.
Next-Step Commitment: 0 means no next step. 3 means scheduled follow-up. 5 means multi-stakeholder next step tied to decision criteria or timeline.

4. Must-Have Disqualification Flags

Company is outside 50 to 500 employees with no strategic reason to pursue.
No recurring payroll, workforce, or compliance problem.
No reachable stakeholder with influence after reasonable attempts.
Use case is unethical, illegal, or unrelated to payroll and workforce compliance.
Buyer requires unsupported payroll geography, tax handling, or integration as a deal breaker.
Buyer is unwilling to change vendors or evaluate within twelve months.

5. Score Range Interpretation

38 to 45: Strong qualified opportunity.
30 to 37: Good opportunity, pursue while closing gaps.
22 to 29: Continue discovery before committing major sales resources.
14 to 21: Nurture unless a trigger or stakeholder emerges.
0 to 13: Disqualify or recycle.

6. Recommended Action by Score Range

38 to 45: Pursue now. Multi-thread, tailor demo, and build business case.
30 to 37: Pursue with caution. Confirm budget, authority, or timing gaps.
22 to 29: Continue discovery. Do not send proposal yet.
14 to 21: Nurture. Provide education and monitor renewal or hiring triggers.
0 to 13: Disqualify unless key facts were missing and can be recovered quickly.

7. Questions Needed to Complete the Score

How many employees are currently paid through the system?
Do you operate in multiple states or plan to expand hiring locations?
What payroll issues have occurred in the last six months?
What is the current vendor renewal date?
Who owns payroll vendor approval?
What budget exists for payroll software or HR operations improvement?
What would make switching worth the migration effort?
What needs to be true to move from evaluation to selection?

8. Example Scoring Summary Format

Account: Elmstone Health Services

Contact: HR Director

Score: 34 out of 45

Recommendation: Pursue with caution

Rationale: Strong employee count, multi-state payroll pain, and upcoming renewal. Budget is not confirmed and CFO is not yet involved.

Next action: Schedule CFO and HR Director alignment call to confirm business case and approval path.

9. Manager Review Notes

Do not treat inbound interest as qualification without pain, timing, and decision path evidence.
Require a clear reason to switch before proposal.
Watch for migration fear masking low urgency.
Strong scores should include stakeholder access, not just product fit.
Incomplete information should trigger discovery, not automatic disqualification, unless a must-have flag is present.

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