03 Lead Generation & Customer Acquisition
Scorecard
Lead Qualification Scorecard
A 25-statement diagnostic that scores how well your business qualifies enquiries, shows where time and good leads are being lost, and turns the result into a 90-day action plan.
How to use this tool. This scorecard is for owners and sales leads who handle enquiries and want to spend time on the right ones. It takes about 30 to 40 minutes to complete in one sitting. At the end you will have a percentage score, a ranked list of weak areas and a 90-day action plan with owners and dates.
Why it matters
Most small businesses do not have a lead shortage. They have a sorting problem. Hours go into quoting for buyers who were never going to proceed, while good prospects wait days for a reply. Qualification is the step that sorts them: a consistent way to decide which enquiries get your best time, which get a lighter response and which get a polite no.
Done well, it protects your calendar, lifts your win rate and makes your forecasts more believable. It does not need software. A one-page checklist and a habit of using it is enough to start.
How the scorecard works
The scorecard covers five areas of lead qualification, with five statements in each. You score each statement from 0 to 4, total each area out of 20, then add the areas for a total out of 100.
- Score what happens, not what should happen. If your team skips a step when busy, score the skipping.
- Use the last 20 enquiries as evidence. Pull them up from your inbox, CRM or a spreadsheet and check before you score.
- Score quickly. Your first instinct is usually right. Spend more time on the actions than the scoring.
- If you have a team, have your sales lead or office manager score separately, then compare. Gaps between your scores are findings in themselves.
Scoring scale
| Score | Meaning | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Not in place | Never happens, or no one has thought about it |
| 1 | Ad hoc | Happens occasionally, depends on who is on the phone |
| 2 | Inconsistent | Happens about half the time, not written down |
| 3 | Mostly in place | Happens most of the time and is documented |
| 4 | Embedded | Happens every time, is documented and is reviewed regularly |
The scorecard
Area A: Knowing who you want
| # | Statement | Score (0-4) |
|---|---|---|
| A1 | We have a written description of our ideal customer (industry, size, location, type of work). | |
| A2 | We know which job types or customers are unprofitable and have written them down. | |
| A3 | We have a minimum job or contract value below which we decline or refer on. | |
| A4 | Everyone who handles enquiries could describe a good-fit customer in the same way. | |
| A5 | We have reviewed our best 10 customers in the last 12 months to refine the profile. | |
| Area A total (out of 20) |
Area B: Capturing enquiries
| # | Statement | Score (0-4) |
|---|---|---|
| B1 | Every enquiry, from any channel, ends up in one place (CRM, job system or spreadsheet). | |
| B2 | We record the source of every enquiry (referral, website, tender, repeat client and so on). | |
| B3 | Phone, email and web form enquiries are logged the same day. | |
| B4 | Our web form or intake script asks enough to judge fit (job type, location, timing, budget range). | |
| B5 | Nothing relies on someone remembering a conversation. | |
| Area B total (out of 20) |
Area C: Qualifying criteria and questions
| # | Statement | Score (0-4) |
|---|---|---|
| C1 | We have a short, written list of qualifying questions that we ask every time. | |
| C2 | We check fit: is this work we do, in an area we serve, at a size we want? | |
| C3 | We check need and urgency: what is driving this and what happens if they do nothing? | |
| C4 | We confirm budget range and who makes the decision before investing in a detailed quote. | |
| C5 | Each lead is rated (for example A, B or C) using the same criteria every time. | |
| Area C total (out of 20) |
Area D: Response, handoff and follow-up
| # | Statement | Score (0-4) |
|---|---|---|
| D1 | We have a stated response time for new enquiries and we meet it. | |
| D2 | A-rated leads get a faster, more senior response than C-rated leads. | |
| D3 | We have a standard, polite way to decline or refer poor-fit enquiries. | |
| D4 | Every open quote has a scheduled follow-up date. | |
| D5 | Handoff from whoever takes the enquiry to whoever quotes loses no information. | |
| Area D total (out of 20) |
Area E: Measurement and compliance
| # | Statement | Score (0-4) |
|---|---|---|
| E1 | We know how many enquiries we received last month and how many were qualified. | |
| E2 | We know our quote-to-win rate by lead rating or source. | |
| E3 | We record reasons for lost or declined leads and look at them at least quarterly. | |
| E4 | We have consent and a working unsubscribe for email and SMS follow-up, and we check the Do Not Call Register before calling individuals. | |
| E5 | We collect and store customer details in line with our privacy obligations and know who can access them. | |
| Area E total (out of 20) |
Compliance note: E4 and E5 are general prompts based on the Spam Act 2003, the Do Not Call Register and the Privacy Act. For your specific obligations, take professional advice.
Your results
Add your five area totals, then enter the total here and divide by 100 to get your percentage.
| Area | Total (out of 20) | Percentage | Priority rank (1 = weakest) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A: Knowing who you want | |||
| B: Capturing enquiries | |||
| C: Qualifying criteria and questions | |||
| D: Response, handoff and follow-up | |||
| E: Measurement and compliance | |||
| Overall (out of 100) |
Interpretation bands
| Overall score | Band | What it means | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0% to 39% | Unfiltered | Most enquiries get the same treatment. Time is being lost on poor-fit leads and good ones are slipping away. | Build the basics: ideal customer, one log, five qualifying questions. |
| 40% to 59% | Patchy | Qualification happens, but depends on individuals and on how busy you are. | Write it down and make it consistent. Start with your lowest area. |
| 60% to 79% | Working | You have a sound process. Gains now come from speed, follow-up and measurement. | Tighten response times, rate every lead and track win rates. |
| 80% to 100% | Disciplined | Qualification is a habit. | Review quarterly, test your criteria against actual wins and keep the data clean. |
Worked example (fictional)
Karri Coast Commercial Fit-outs is a ten-person Perth business that does office and retail fit-outs. The owner scored the business honestly after pulling up the last 20 enquiries.
| Area | Total (out of 20) | Percentage | Priority rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| A: Knowing who you want | 11 | 55% | 3 |
| B: Capturing enquiries | 9 | 45% | 2 |
| C: Qualifying criteria and questions | 8 | 40% | 2 (tied) |
| D: Response, handoff and follow-up | 12 | 60% | 4 |
| E: Measurement and compliance | 6 | 30% | 1 |
| Overall | 46 | 46% |
The overall result put them in the Patchy band. Measurement scored lowest because no one tracked win rates or lost reasons. The owner was also surprised by C4, which scored 1. Detailed quotes were being prepared before anyone had asked about budget or who signed off. The owner decided to add a five-question call script, a "lost reason" field to the spreadsheet and a rule of no detailed quote under $15,000 without a site visit and a confirmed budget range. Those three changes were the first lines of their 90-day plan.
Your 90-day action plan
Choose actions from your two lowest-scoring areas first, and any statement you scored 0 or 1. Aim for no more than six actions in total. Each needs one owner and one date.
| Phase | Action | Linked statement | Owner | Due date | Measure of success |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days 1 to 30 | |||||
| Days 1 to 30 | |||||
| Days 31 to 60 | |||||
| Days 31 to 60 | |||||
| Days 61 to 90 | |||||
| Days 61 to 90 |
How to read your results
- Look at the weakest area before the total. A business scoring 65% overall with a 5 out of 20 in Area D has a specific leak, and the headline number hides it.
- Look for scores of 0 and 1. These are the cheapest wins, because they usually need a decision and a document, not a budget.
- Compare scorers. If you scored a 4 and your office manager scored a 2, the process lives in your head and not in the business.
- Retake it in 90 days. A gain of 10 points or more, with the weakest area improving first, is a good result.
Common mistakes
- Scoring on intention. If it is not written down and not done every time, it is not a 4.
- Making qualifying questions so long that they feel like an interrogation. Five to seven good questions are enough.
- Declining poor-fit leads rudely or not at all. A prompt, courteous referral protects your reputation.
- Changing criteria every month. Set them, use them for a quarter, then review them against actual wins.
- Fixing everything at once. Pick the two lowest areas and finish those.
- Treating compliance as an afterthought. Check consent and your handling of customer data before you build follow-up sequences.
Put it to work this week
- Block 40 minutes, pull up your last 20 enquiries and complete the scorecard, with your sales lead scoring separately if you have one.
- Write your ideal customer and minimum job value in three or four lines and share it with everyone who answers the phone or inbox.
- Draft five qualifying questions covering fit, need, budget, timing and decision-maker, and use them on every new enquiry from Monday.
- Add two columns to your enquiry log: lead rating (A, B or C) and lost or declined reason.
- Complete the 90-day action table and book a 30-minute review in your calendar for day 30.
Where Lotus helps
Lotus Strategic Services can review your scorecard with you, test your criteria against your actual wins and losses, and build a qualification process your team will use. We work with Australian B2B small and medium businesses to make the results measurable. Book a free 30-minute discovery call at lotusstrategic.com.au.