Qualified lead

A lead confirmed to have the problem, the budget and the authority to act.

Example

An ops manager with a stated budget and a decision date this quarter.

Disqualifying fast is a kindness to both sides. Time spent on someone who will never buy is time stolen from someone who would.

Lead — Someone who might become a customer but has not yet been qualified.
Sales pipeline — All your live opportunities, organised by stage, with a value and an expected close date.
Discovery call — A first sales conversation focused on understanding the prospect's situation before proposing anything.

Founder-led sales for people who hate selling — Selling early is not persuasion. It is finding out whether this person has the problem badly enough to pay — and that is a question, not a pitch. (12 min)
Running a discovery call — A structure for the first real sales conversation, and how to end it with a next step that actually exists. (12 min)
Handling objections — Most objections are information, not resistance. The four you will hear constantly, and what each actually means. (12 min)
Closing and following up — Most deals are lost to silence, not to a no. Asking clearly and following up systematically wins more than any technique. (10 min)