Definitions

What counts as a qualified lead, in writing

Last updated 2026-08-13 · 6 min read

Of 41 agencies advertising to developers in this market in August 2026, every one used the word "qualified" and not one published a definition of it. That gap is where most of the disputes in this industry live.

The five-point definition

Taken one at a time, and why each is there:

1. Contactable. The number connects and the person acknowledges the enquiry. This single condition removes the largest category of junk in Indian real estate lead generation.
2. Budget-matched. The stated budget overlaps the project's price band. A genuinely interested buyer for a ₹60 lakh flat is not a lead for a ₹3 crore one.
3. Timeline under six months. Intent decays. Someone buying "sometime next year" is a nurture contact, not a lead the sales team should be spending calls on this month.
4. In catchment. Inside the geography the project can realistically serve, however you define it — commute, corridor, or the buyer profile you are actually chasing.
5. Not a duplicate. Already in the CRM from a previous campaign means you are being billed twice for the same person.

What counts as evidence

A definition nobody can adjudicate is not a definition. Three things make it real:

• Call recordings. Whether the lead was contactable and what they said about budget and timeline is a matter of record, not opinion.
• CRM status. The shared artefact both sides look at. Disputes get resolved against the record rather than against memory.
• A seven-day window. Long enough for the sales team to work the lead, short enough that the record is still fresh. After that the lead is deemed accepted.

The replacement guarantee matters more than the definition does. A definition with no consequence is marketing copy. A definition where a failing lead is replaced free puts the cost of a bad lead on the party who chose the targeting — which is the only place it can sit if the incentives are going to point the same way.

What qualification is not

Three things that get sold as qualification and are not:

• A form with more fields. Friction reduces volume; it does not verify anything. A buyer can type any budget into a dropdown.
• A lead score. An opaque number produced by a model you cannot inspect is not a definition, it is a proxy for one. Ask what the score is made of; if the answer is vague, it is decoration.
• "We only send you good leads." Without conditions and a consequence, this is a promise to try.

Questions developers ask