Role Guide: Lead Qualifier
For Lead Qualifiers on outbound and inbound funding campaigns. After this page you will know what you own, how your shift runs, how you are measured, and exactly when and how to hand a merchant to the next person.
Track: Strategic Funding · Role: Lead Qualifier · Time to complete: 30 min
What you own
You are the first human voice the merchant hears. You own four outcomes:
- Fast, compliant first contact. New leads are called within minutes, only through consented channels and only inside the merchant's local calling hours.
- An honest qualification. You collect the facts that decide which product fits, and you record them exactly as the merchant said them.
- A signed application. The merchant signs the application, which includes their permission to share the file with funders.
- A clean handoff. The Application Assistant and Document Chaser receives a complete note and a merchant who knows what comes next.
You do not own pricing, offers, approvals or funder selection.
Outbound and inbound: what changes
| Inbound | Outbound | |
|---|---|---|
| Who starts it | The merchant filled out a form, called in or replied to an ad | You contact a lead the campaign is allowed to contact |
| Speed matters because | The merchant likely applied with several companies at once | Leads go stale fast and shared leads are worked by others |
| Your first job | Confirm they asked for information and pick up where the form left off | Confirm you have the right person, say who you are and why you are calling, and ask permission to continue |
| Consent check | The form's consent record covers your channel | The lead must be on a list the campaign has cleared for that channel; if unsure, do not dial |
| Typical script | Inbound Application Call | Outbound Qualification Call |
Daily rhythm
Your campaign sets your scheduled shift and check-in method. A typical Lead Qualifier shift looks like this:
| Part of shift | Focus |
|---|---|
| Before the first dial | Check in. Read the team channel for overnight notes. Review your callback list and new inbound leads. Open the CRM, dialer and scripts. |
| First block (East Coast morning) | New inbound leads first, then scheduled callbacks. Speed to lead beats everything else. |
| Middle blocks | Outbound lists that are cleared for contact, following time zones west as their mornings start. Application follow-ups. |
| Every hour | Clear new inbound leads. A new lead should never sit while you work an old list. |
| Last block (West Coast) | Final callbacks, then dispositions. Every lead you touched has a status and a next task. |
| End of shift | End-of-shift report: dials, contacts, qualified, applications signed, handoffs, issues. Check out. |
Coach's note: the best qualifiers protect the first five minutes of every inbound lead. Keep a second screen or tab on the new-lead view all shift. A merchant who applied two minutes ago remembers you. A merchant who applied two hours ago has already talked to three other companies.
KPIs that matter
| KPI | What it means | Narqix standard |
|---|---|---|
| Speed to lead | Minutes from form submit to your first call | Under 5 minutes during your shift |
| Contact rate | Leads reached live divided by leads attempted | Campaign target |
| Qualified rate | Leads that meet a product's screening minimums divided by leads reached | Campaign target |
| Application signed rate | Signed applications divided by qualified leads | Campaign target |
| Handoff quality | Handoff notes with every required field filled | 100% |
| QA score | Score on recorded call reviews | Campaign target, with zero compliance misses |
| Compliance | Calls outside hours, contacts without consent, missed opt-outs | Zero, always |
A high application rate with low QA scores is not a good month. Numbers built on pressure or promises create complaints, kickbacks and legal risk.
Tools you use (generic)
CRM (lead record, pipeline, tasks, notes), dialer, texting platform (only for consented leads), email, secure upload link, e-signature tool for the application, team channel, script library.
The handoff
You receive work from: marketing forms, inbound calls, the CRM admin (cleaned outbound lists), and the Renewal and Follow-Up Rep (revived leads).
You pass work to: the Application Assistant and Document Chaser, once the application is signed or the merchant has agreed to sign and has received the link.
What the handoff must contain:
- Product recommended and why (one line)
- Legal business name, DBA, state, industry, time in business
- Amount requested and use of funds
- Average monthly deposits or revenue (self-reported)
- Existing advances or loans, exactly as the merchant described them
- Credit band (self-reported)
- Any red flag the merchant mentioned
- Best time and channel to reach them, and their consent status
- Documents they said they have ready
Quality checklist (every call)
- Said your name and the company name at the start
- Gave the recording disclosure when the campaign requires it
- Confirmed you were speaking with an owner or decision maker
- Asked every core qualification question for the product
- Recorded answers in the merchant's words, not rounded up
- Made no promise of approval, amount, rate, payment or timing
- Explained the next step and who will contact them
- Set a disposition and a next task in the CRM
- Honored any opt-out on the spot
Common mistakes
- Chasing the amount, not the fit. Writing "wants 200K" without asking deposits, existing advances and use of funds.
- Rounding up. The merchant said "about 30, 35K a month" and you wrote 35K. Write what they said.
- Skipping the open advances question because the merchant seems in a hurry. This is the question funders care about most.
- Saying "you should be fine". That is an approval promise. Say what is true: "You fit the programs we work with, so it is worth submitting."
- Texting a lead with no texting consent because they did not answer the phone.
- Leaving a lead with no next task. If it is not in the CRM, it did not happen.
Never do this: never mention your own country, never use a fake name, never call outside the merchant's local calling hours, never say "pre-approved", "guaranteed" or "lowest rate", and never tell a merchant to leave an existing advance off their application.
Escalation rules
Escalate to your team lead the same shift when:
- The merchant mentions a lawyer, a lawsuit, a complaint or a regulator
- The merchant says they are in default, being sued by a funder, or thinking of stopping payments
- The merchant asks you to hide something or says they will "fix" a statement
- You suspect the caller is not the owner or is using someone else's information
- The merchant is upset about how they were contacted
- You are unsure whether you are allowed to contact a lead
Escalate to a founder the same day (through your lead) for any legal threat or default conversation.
Check yourself
- A form came in 40 seconds ago and you are mid-way through an outbound list. What do you do?
- The merchant says "maybe 25K a month in deposits, maybe a bit more". What do you write in the CRM?
- Name five fields your handoff note must contain.
- The merchant asks, "So I'm approved, right?" Give a compliant answer.
- A lead has no texting consent and did not answer. Can you text them?
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