The short definition
A qualified lead is an enquiry that meets criteria you have defined in advance as making it worth pursuing.
The phrase is meaningless without those criteria. Most businesses use it loosely to mean "a lead that seems promising", which is a feeling rather than a definition.
The four conditions for a service business
Right service. Something you actually do, rather than something adjacent that you would have to subcontract or refuse.
Right area. Within a distance where the job is profitable after travel. This is where many Houston service businesses lose money — a job across the metro at standard pricing can cost more in drive time than it earns.
Right scale. Large enough to be worth a visit, or small enough to fit your capacity. Both directions disqualify.
Right person and timing. Someone who can decide, and a timeframe you can serve. A landlord's tenant asking for a quote they cannot authorise is not yet a lead.
Why writing them down matters
Until the criteria are written down, every enquiry gets evaluated from scratch by whoever picked up the phone, which produces inconsistency and wasted visits.
Written criteria also make it possible to sort automatically — a form or an assistant can ask the three questions that separate qualified from not, before anyone spends time.
What disqualified does not mean
It does not mean ignore. A prompt, polite reply — a referral where you can, or an honest note that it is not work you take — costs a minute and protects your reputation. People remember being turned down well.
The over-qualification trap
Every extra qualifying question costs enquiries, and the losses are not random. People in a hurry abandon long forms first, and urgent jobs are frequently the most profitable.
Three questions is usually the right number: what service, where, and how soon. Everything else belongs on the call.
A related term
A sales qualified lead is a stricter category used where marketing and sales are separate functions — a lead that sales has accepted as worth pursuing, not merely one that met a form's criteria.
Working out yours
List last month's enquiries and mark which you would take again. What the good ones have in common is your qualification criteria, already written by your own experience.
Frequently asked questions
What makes a lead qualified?
It matches a service you actually provide, sits in an area profitable after travel, is the right scale for your capacity, and comes from someone who can decide within a timeframe you can serve.
How many qualifying questions should a form ask?
Usually three: what service, where, and how soon. Every extra question costs enquiries, and people in a hurry abandon first — often the most profitable jobs.
What should happen to unqualified leads?
A prompt, polite reply — a referral where you can offer one, or an honest note that it is not work you take. It costs a minute and people remember being turned down well.
How do I define my own criteria?
List last month's enquiries and mark the ones you would take again. What those have in common is your qualification criteria, already written by experience.