HQL Precision enables you to qualify leads based on specific, customized questions that are typically around buyers’ priorities, pain points, tech stack, or timeline for investment. This gives you full control over what counts as “highly qualified” to drive real pipeline growth.
Key Benefits of HQL Precision
- More Intent-Driven – HQLs include additional qualification criteria such as timeframe to purchase, budget, decision-making authority, or custom questions, ensuring leads are further along in the buying process.
- Sales-Ready Leads – Since HQLs are filtered based on purchase intent and decision-making influence, they are more likely to convert into actual customers.
- Customization & Targeting – You can add custom qualification questions to refine lead quality based on your specific criteria (e.g., “Are you currently evaluating solutions?” or “What’s your budget?”).
- Higher ROI & Faster Conversions – By filtering out lower-quality leads, your sales team can focus on engaged prospects, reducing wasted efforts and improving sales efficiency.
- Optimized Cost Per Lead (CPL) – While HQLs cost more per lead than standard content syndication, they provide better long-term value by delivering high-intent prospects.
How HQL Precision Works:
These custom questions are directly embedded into your lead generation campaign to capture insights right when prospects are engaging with your content – no extra steps.- Custom, Qualifying Question Inclusion – In addition to standard targeting filters (e.g., industry, job title, company size), you can add a custom qualification question that potential leads must answer on 1 custom question.
- Filtering Mechanism – Leads are only considered “qualified” if they meet the criteria set for the custom question.
Example 1: Timeframe to Purchase:
- “What is your expected timeframe for purchasing a [product/service]?”
- 0–3 months
- 3–6 months
- 6–12 months
- 12+ months – filter out
- Filter Criteria: Leads selecting “0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-12 months are considered high-priority. Leads who answered 12+ months will be filtered out.
- “What is your role in the purchasing decision for [product/service]?”
- I am the final decision-maker
- I influence the decision
- I recommend
- No involvement in the decision – filter out
- Filter Criteria: Leads who select “I am the final decision-maker” or “I influence the decision” or “I recommend” qualify as highly-qualified leads (HQLs).
Example 3: Current Challenges/Pain Points with [Product/Service] Provider:
- “What is your biggest challenge with your current [product/service] provider?”
- Poor customer support
- High cost/lack of ROI
- Limited features or functionality
- Integration issues
- We don’t currently use a provider
- No challenges – filter out
- Filter Criteria: Leads who select any option except “No challenges – filter out”, qualify as HQLs, indicating dissatisfaction or openness to change.
FAQs
How many custom questions be used?
Up to 4 custom questions are available per campaign. You can only filter answers on 1-2 custom questions. As a best practice, we recommend only having 1 qualifying question (leads are filtered out based on their answer) for performance reasons, but up to 2 can be supported per campaign.
How are the campaigns set up?
HQL Precision campaigns are supported in the NetLine Portal as full-service lead generation campaigns.
- Your Client Services rep will set up your custom questions and filters depending on client direction
- Connector fulfillment and regular fulfillment is supported
- Reporting on HQL data is available via the Campaign Summary Web Report
- Prioritize HQLs for immediate follow-up.
- HQLs are highly qualified because they have shared their specific needs that meet your criteria.
- Use any timeframe responses to segment prospects.
- Tailor your follow-up approach based on the urgency indicated.
- Personalize your messaging by addressing the user’s shared challenges, goals, or priorities, or other answers shared.
- This approach demonstrates your understanding of their specific needs.
- Encourage thorough account research to deliver a “white glove” experience.
- A deeper understanding of the prospect’s business can enhance engagement and build trust.
- Assume these leads are fully ready to buy.
- Consider external factors like budget constraints or project delays that might have altered their priorities.
- Rely solely on the provided responses for your outreach strategy.
- Combine their answers with additional research to create a well-rounded and compelling approach.
- HQLs are scored higher in their lead ranking system and flow directly to Sales.
- Sales Team leverages a custom report to review and follow up with leads depending on answers to the custom questions.
- HQLs are still put through a nurture track and followed up by Sales depending on how they answer the timeline question.
- Via the nurture track, the leads are sent one email a week that focuses on the topic of the original asset they downloaded. The additional assets sent consist of different types of assets that pertain to where the lead is within the customer journey.
- The goal is for sales to book a meeting, and until they do so, the leads are nurtured.
