A free one-page matrix to sort your leads by how well they fit and how ready they are to buy, so sales spends time on the right people first.
A simple grid to sort every lead
- 1Good fit or bad fitThe top half is for leads who match the customers you want. The bottom half is for those who don't.
- 2Three levels of readinessHand raisers, sales ready and not ready, as columns across both halves.
- 3Six boxes to fill inWrite down what puts a lead in each box, then agree it with your sales team. One printable A4 page.
| Hand raisers | Sales ready | Not ready |
|---|---|---|
| Good fit | ||
| Call today | Call this week | Nurture by email |
| Bad fit | ||
| Short qualifying call | Check fit first | Leave out of sales |
What to do with each box
Our suggested next step for each box. Agree your own with sales.
What changes once leads are sorted
Without a matrix
- Leads are called in the order they arriveNot in the order they are likely to buy.
- Good leads go coldWhile sales is busy with people who were never going to buy.
- Arguments about lead qualityMarketing and sales have no shared view of a good lead.
With a matrix
- Sales starts with the best leadsGood fit hand raisers get a call first.
- Every lead has a next stepCall, check, nurture or leave alone.
- One shared definitionBoth teams agreed what goes in each box.
From blank grid to agreed rules
Download and print
We email you the PDF. It is one A4 page, made to fill in by hand or on screen.
Define a good fit
Write down what your best customers have in common: industry, company size, role and location.
Sort recent leads
Agree what makes someone a hand raiser or sales ready, then place a sample of recent leads in the grid and check sales agrees.
Once the matrix works on paper, carry it into your CRM. Fit becomes your lead scoring criteria, and readiness becomes your lifecycle stages and lead status.
Ready to turn the matrix into a score?
Our Lead Scoring Model turns fit and buying signals into points, based on your own deals and sales process, with a guide to set it up in HubSpot. We walk you through it on a debrief call.
Before you download
How is this different from lead scoring?
The matrix is where you agree the rules. Lead scoring puts those rules into your CRM so every lead is sorted automatically.
Do I need HubSpot to use it?
No. It is a printable page that works with any CRM, or none.
What is a hand raiser?
Someone who has asked to talk to you, for example by requesting a quote, a demo or a call.
Is it really free?
Yes. Fill in the form and we email you the PDF.
Get your copy of the matrix
- One page PDF, A4
- Good fit and bad fit, by three levels of readiness
- Blank boxes to fill in with your sales team