What you'll get
- 3 copy-ready blocks
- 5 min read
- A meeting counts as qualified when all four are true
- A meeting counts as qualified when all four are true
- A meeting counts as qualified when all four are true
How to use it
- Step 1: Fill in the four criteria in Part 1 with your own roles, market and problems.
- Step 2: Agree the never-counts list in Part 2 word for word, before signature.
- Step 3: Name the judge and the remedy in Part 3.
- Step 4: Date the finished sheet, attach it to the agreement and reference it in the fees clause.
A qualified appointment is only qualified if both sides agreed what the word means before the meeting was booked. This sheet is that agreement: four criteria to fill in, a list of what never counts, a named judge for borderline cases and the remedy when a meeting fails the test. It is written to be attached to an appointment setting agreement as an annex.
Part 1: The four criteria
A meeting counts as qualified when all four are true
1. Role. The attendee can influence the purchase of [your offer].
Counts: [the roles, named]
Does not count: [junior titles, students, job seekers, consultants browsing]
2. Fit. The company is on the approved target list, or matches all of:
[sector] [size band] [geography] and none of the knock-outs:
[signed with a rival this year, too small to buy, outside delivery area]
3. Problem. The conversation was about a problem we solve: [name the two or three problems]
4. Timing. The buyer accepts a plausible time frame: [this year / a named quarter / an active project]One line on why each is there. Role stops the meeting with whoever was free. Fit stops meetings with companies you would never serve. Problem stops the polite chat that goes nowhere. Timing stops meetings with buyers three budget cycles away.
Part 2: What never counts
- A no-show, until the meeting has actually been held
- A rebooked meeting counted twice
- A meeting taken as a favour, with no problem discussed
- Your own existing customer, or an opportunity already open in your pipeline
- A company that fails a knock-out, whatever the attendee's title
- A meeting where the notes cannot say which problem was discussedThis list causes the least argument when it is agreed first and the most when it is quoted later, so agree it first.
Part 3: The judge and the remedy
Borderline cases: [name, buyer side] decides, within [3] working days of receiving the meeting notes.
The standard: the written criteria above, not either side's memory of the sales call.
The remedy: a meeting that fails the test is replaced at no charge, not argued over.
The review: both sides reread this annex after the first [10] meetings and may tighten it once.The replacement rule matters more than it looks. It converts every dispute from a negotiation about money into a scheduling task, which is why good vendors accept it readily.
Make it part of the contract
An email agreeing the definition is better than nothing. An annex is better: date it, attach it and have the fees clause say that only meetings meeting Annex [A] are invoiced. Our qualified meeting glossary entry covers the term itself; the Lead Qualification Checklist is the fuller 15-check version for judging each meeting; the Outsourced SDR Contract Checklist covers the rest of the agreement.
Worked example (illustrative, not a real company)
Northfield Logistics signs with an appointment setting vendor. Dana Whitfield fills in the annex: roles are operations director and above at the named depots, fit is the approved 60-account list, problems are dock scheduling and cold-chain compliance, timing is an active project or a named quarter. Week three, a meeting arrives with an operations analyst. It fails the role line, the vendor replaces it without argument and the relationship survives its first test. All names and details are invented.
Five mistakes to avoid
- Agreeing the definition after the first invoice. By then both sides are defending money, not writing rules.
- Defining role with a seniority word. "Decision maker" is an opinion. Named roles are a test.
- Counting rebooked no-shows twice. One meeting held is one meeting, whatever the diary says.
- Letting the vendor judge borderline cases alone. The judge must be on the side paying the invoice.
- Writing a definition nothing can pass. If only the CFO counts, nothing will be booked and the programme dies politely. The test is influence, not the top title.
Why this works on named accounts
Common questions
What should count as a qualified appointment?
A held conversation with someone who can influence the purchase, at a company on the approved list, about a problem the seller solves, with a time frame the buyer accepts. All four, in writing, before outreach starts.
Who decides whether a meeting was qualified?
A named person on the buyer side, judging against the written criteria within a fixed number of days. If nobody is named, the loudest voice on the monthly call decides, and that is a bad system for both sides.
What happens when a meeting fails the definition?
The cleanest remedy is replacement at no charge. It keeps the dispute small, keeps the vendor's incentive pointed at quality and keeps the relationship working while the list gets refined.
More from the Academy
Lead Qualification Checklist, Account Edition
For sales leaders and SDRs who qualify a person and then lose the deal inside the company.
You leave with 15 checks in three groups, the questions that answer them, a decision rule and a handover note.
Outsourced SDR Contract Checklist
For founders and sales heads holding a proposal from an outsourced SDR or sales outsourcing provider.
You leave with a 30-point contract checklist, five clauses to ask for in writing and a sheet to compare three proposals.
Lead-Gen Agency Vetting Checklist
For founders and sales leads holding a lead generation proposal.
You leave with 12 questions to send in writing, the evidence to ask for with each, six walk-away signs and a sheet to file with the contract.
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