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Qualifying the prospect

Qualifying the prospect before you write a proposal

Last updated: November 2026

Qualifying the prospect means confirming that a real problem exists, that solving it is worth money, and that you are talking to the person who decides.

In Tim Kilroy's five-stage agency funnel, a prospect only counts as Qualified when both sides have agreed to those three things out loud. The practical test is whether you can name the problem in the prospect's own words. If you cannot, the proposal is premature, no matter how friendly the conversation felt.

When is an agency prospect actually qualified?

A prospect is qualified when you have both agreed out loud that there is a real problem, it is worth money, and they are the one who decides. Tim Kilroy designed the rule so that the stage depends on what the prospect said and did, not on how hopeful you feel after a good call. Notice how much of the funnel depends on that distinction: counting your own activity as their intent is the source of most funnel inflation in agencies.

Definition: a qualified agency prospect

Using Tim Kilroy's definition, a qualified agency prospect meets three conditions at once. First, there is a real problem, described in their language rather than as a service request like "we need SEO." Second, the problem is worth money: they can say what it costs them or what solving it would be worth. Third, you are speaking to the person who decides, or you know exactly who that is and how they decide. Miss any one of these and the prospect stays in the Interested stage. That is not a failure. It simply means the next step is another conversation, not a proposal.

Signals worth noticing

  • They describe the cost of the problem without being pushed.
  • They tell you what they already tried and why it did not work.
  • They name who else is involved in the decision.
  • They agree to a specific next meeting with a date attached.
  • They are willing to invest in a diagnosis. Tim argues for a paid agency diagnostic instead of free strategy work.

Interested vs qualified: how to tell the difference

Interested vs qualified prospects in Tim Kilroy's agency sales funnel
QuestionInterested prospectQualified prospect
What happenedThey raised a hand: a reply or form fillYou agreed on a real, worth-it problem
ProblemVague or framed as a service requestNamed in their own words
ValueUnknownThey can say what it costs or is worth
Decision makerUnclearKnown, and involved
Right next stepA discovery conversationA sales call and then a proposal

How to qualify a prospect in five steps

  1. Filter before the call

    Use your ideal client description as a real-time filter. Tim notes most founders can only name a good client in hindsight.

  2. Ask about the problem, not the service

    What is broken, what it costs, and what happens if nothing changes.

  3. Ask how they decide

    Who else is involved, who signs, and how they will judge success.

  4. Say it back out loud

    Summarize the problem in their words and ask if you got it right. Agreement out loud is the qualifying moment.

  5. Walk from deals that anchor you low

    Raising the floor on who you take protects your pricing and your team.

A useful check on yourself: listen to how much you talked. Tim's Call Lab tool reports a talk-to-listen ratio, and one agency owner shared on timkilroy.com that it showed him talking 80% of the time on discovery calls. Qualifying depends on the prospect doing most of the talking. Pair this page with the discovery call guide and the five-stage agency sales funnel on timkilroy.com.

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Qualifying questions

What does qualifying the prospect mean?
Qualifying the prospect means confirming that a real problem exists, that solving it is worth money, and that you are talking to the person who decides. It protects your time and the prospect's. For agencies, it is the gate between a friendly conversation and a proposal worth writing. See this in the full FAQ
When is a prospect qualified?
In Tim Kilroy's five-stage funnel, a prospect is Qualified when you have both agreed out loud that there is a real problem, it is worth money, and they are the one who decides. The test is simple: you can name the problem in their words. A feeling that the call went well does not count. See this in the full FAQ
What questions help qualify an agency prospect?
Ask what is broken and what it costs them, what they have already tried, who else is involved in the decision, how they will judge success, and what happens if nothing changes. Ask in the prospect's language and listen more than you talk. Tim Kilroy's Call Lab once showed an agency owner he was talking 80% of the time. See this in the full FAQ
How do I stop taking the wrong clients?
Turn your ideal client description into an operating filter you use during sales, not something you recognize only in hindsight. Tim Kilroy's agency FAQ notes that most founders can name a good client only after the fact. Define the buyer, the problem, and the deal size you want, then walk from deals that anchor you low. See this in the full FAQ
Should I offer free strategy work to win a prospect?
Tim Kilroy argues against it. His blog post "Stop Doing Free Strategy" recommends designing a paid agency diagnostic instead, so the prospect invests in understanding the problem and your thinking is valued. A paid diagnostic also qualifies the prospect, since someone unwilling to pay for a diagnosis is unlikely to pay for the full engagement. See this in the full FAQ
How do I know if my sales funnel is leaking?
Run Tim Kilroy's leak test: pull the last 90 days, count how many prospects entered each of the five stages honestly, then calculate the conversion from each stage to the next. The stage with the steepest drop is your leak. It takes about twenty minutes and a spreadsheet, and it tells you what to fix first. See this in the full FAQ

Read all 45 agency sales questions and answers

Outgrown referrals? Talk with Tim Kilroy about your sales process.

Tim coaches marketing and creative agency owners on positioning, lead generation, and a repeatable way to win clients.

Contact Tim Kilroy