Lead qualification questions: a bank organised by BANT, CHAMP and MEDDIC-lite

Lead qualification questions are the shortest route from a name on a list to a decision: book, transfer, nurture or close. The bank below is grouped by three common frameworks and worded for the phone, so you can lift lines straight into a script or into the question list of an AI voice agent prompt.

You do not need all of them. Choose three to five that match your sales process, put them in a sensible order and leave the rest.

How to use these lead qualification questions

1. Pick one framework as your spine (BANT is the simplest to start).
2. Choose the three to five questions that decide your next step.
3. Write them as speech, with short, open wording.
4. Decide in advance what each answer means (see the scoring table near the end).

The principles behind this are in AI lead qualification calls.

BANT: budget, authority, need, timing

Need

• "What made you reach out about [topic]?"
• "What are you using for that at the moment?"
• "What isn't working with it?"
• "What would a good result look like for you?"
• "How big is the problem, roughly?"

Timing

• "When are you hoping to have something in place?"
• "Is there a date driving that?"
• "What happens if it slips?"
• "Where are you in looking at options?"

Authority

• "Who else would be involved in a decision like this?"
• "Is this something you decide, or would someone else sign off?"
• "Would it help to include them in a follow-up call?"

Budget

• "Have you set aside a budget for this?"
• "Is there a range you're working within?"
• "How have you paid for similar things before?"

CHAMP: challenges, authority, money, prioritisation

CHAMP begins with the problem, which tends to feel less like a form.

Challenges

• "What's the biggest challenge you're dealing with in [area]?"
• "How long has that been an issue?"
• "What have you tried so far?"
• "What does it cost you when it goes wrong?"

Authority

• "Who's affected by this besides you?"
• "How are decisions like this usually made at [Company]?"

Money

• "What would solving this be worth to you?"
• "Is there funding for it already, or would it need approval?"

Prioritisation

• "Where does this sit among your priorities this quarter?"
• "What else is competing for attention?"
• "What would make it urgent?"

MEDDIC-lite: for longer or higher-value sales

A full MEDDIC process belongs in a human-led sales cycle. These lighter questions help a phone agent gather the key facts before a person takes over.

• Metrics: "How do you measure success for this today?"
• Economic buyer: "Who controls the budget for this?"
• Decision criteria: "What will you compare options on?"
• Decision process: "What are the steps from here to a decision?"
• Identify pain: "What's the main thing you'd like to fix?"
• Champion: "Is there someone on your side who's pushing for this?"

Fit and disqualifying questions

These save time on both sides.

• "Roughly how many [people, properties, locations] are we talking about?"
• "Which area or region do you operate in?"
• "Do you already work with a provider for this?"
• "Is a contract in place that runs beyond this year?"
• "Are you the right person to speak to about this?"

Next-step questions

• "Would a 15-minute call with [Name] be useful?"
• "I can offer [day] at [time] or [day] at [time]. Which is better?"
• "Would you rather I send details by email first?"
• "Is it okay if I check back in [timeframe]?"

Phone-friendly wording tips

• Ask one question at a time and pause.
• Avoid stacked questions such as "What's your budget and timeline and who decides?"
• Acknowledge each answer in a few words before moving on.
• Replace "budget" with "range you're working within" if it feels blunt.

Scoring answers

Write the scoring rules before you call, not after. An illustrative example:

Signal	Strong	Medium	Weak
Need	Clear problem, tried solutions	Vague interest	No problem stated
Timing	Within 3 months	3-12 months	No date
Authority	Decides or leads decision	Influences	Cannot say
Budget	Range or approved funds	Open to discussing	Rules it out

Define what counts as a booked meeting, a transfer to a human, a nurture list and a close. The objection handling cheat sheet will help with the replies that come back.

Using the bank with an AI voice agent

• List questions in order and tell the agent to skip any that are already answered.
• Ask it to log each answer in a consistent format in the call summary.
• Keep the list short enough to feel like a conversation.
• Review transcripts with the call quality scorecard and prune questions that cause drop-off.

For the opening around these questions, borrow from the cold call script templates.

Try it

Load your chosen questions into a Purple Voice agent, test them with a call to your own phone and review the summaries to see what you are learning. The Free plan includes one agent and 100 minutes a month, with no card. Start at voice.purplerocket.co.