How Do You Define the Right Engagement Approach by Lead Type?
You define the right engagement approach by scoring each prospect on commitment and influence, then assigning full, limited, or no resources based on where they land. This in-process qualification keeps finite sales effort flowing to the prospects most likely to close.
Commitment is read through behavior, not stated interest. The commitment check asks whether prospects are turning up to meetings, doing what they said they would, and providing requested information on time — and whether that information is complete, accurate, and to the necessary quality. Deteriorating timekeeping is a signal too. Prospects who attend and follow through are demonstrating commitment; those who do nothing are demonstrating its absence.
Influence is read through attendance. The influence check asks whether the important people are attending meetings or whether the prospect is sending subordinates. If most of the people the prospect invites actually show up, the contact has real influence and political power; repeated no-shows suggest the contact lacks the standing to get a deal done.
The two dimensions combine into a clear resourcing decision:
- Committed and influential — pursue with full resources; this is a high-probability deal with a strong chance of conversion.
- Committed or influential, but not both — pursue with limited resources, since the prospect either isn't fully committed or lacks the influence to close.
- Neither committed nor influential — re-evaluate against opportunity-fit criteria rather than continuing to invest.
Grading every prospect this way ensures the heaviest investment goes only to deals that have shown they deserve it.
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