What is a qualified lead?

Not every form submission is a lead in any useful sense. Some numbers are wrong, some people tapped by accident, some live in another city, some wanted a job, and some were curious about price with no intention of buying. A qualified lead is what remains after you filter those out using criteria that fit your business. The criteria are yours to set, which is exactly why they need writing down.

Typical criteria for a local service business are: the number works and the person confirms they enquired; they are in or willing to come to your area, such as within reach of Bahria Town or I-8; they want the service you advertised; and their timing and budget roughly fit. A property agent might add the kind of property and price band; a school, the child's grade; a solar installer, whether the person owns the roof.

Qualification can happen at three points. Before the lead, through targeting and an ad that clearly states price, location or eligibility. During the lead, through one or two questions on the form or in the first WhatsApp reply. After the lead, through a quick call. The more you filter early, the fewer leads you get and the higher the share that qualify.

Once defined, use it everywhere. Ask whoever runs your ads to report cost per qualified lead, not just cost per lead, and to optimise toward it where the platform allows, for example by sending qualified outcomes back to Meta or Google. Your sales team should mark each lead against the same definition, so the numbers mean the same thing in every report.