In today’s market, where every deal counts and pipelines are under constant scrutiny, smarter qualification isn’t just a nice-to-have it’s essential to driving profitable growth

I recently had the privilege of getting an early look at new research from Guy Rubin and the team at EBSTA (due for release on August 7th). The report focuses on a topic many sales leaders know is important, but often don’t act on consistently: deal qualification

And the findings are both powerful and practical

Why qualification matters more than ever

One key insight from the research:
💡 Deals that are properly qualified are more likely to close within 71 days compared to 91 days

That 20-day difference is huge

It means that, as a sales leader or CRO, you have the chance to generate and close opportunities within the same quarter

This has direct implications for forecasting accuracy, quota attainment, and revenue predictability

More importantly, the data backs up a pattern we often see in real sales environments:
The longer a deal drags on, the less likely it is to close

So, improving your qualification process doesn’t just make deals close faster, it makes more deals close, period

Qualification isn’t just a stage—It’s a system

The EBSTA report also looks across the entire deal cycle and shows how qualification can be reinforced at every step

It’s not just about early discovery, it’s about continuously validating whether the opportunity is real, winnable, and worth pursuing

This ties closely into something we teach in our social selling methodology: modern sales isn’t linear, and it certainly isn’t static

Qualification must evolve with the deal, just like buyer expectations evolve during the sales process

Social selling and smarter sales processes

A big part of smarter qualification today involves how you show up in front of buyers and that starts long before the first meeting

Here’s what modern sales teams need to get right:

✅ A buyer-centric LinkedIn profile
Your digital presence needs to reflect your credibility, not your quota

When buyers check you out (and they will), they need to see someone who understands their world, not someone who just wants to sell to them

✅ Industry credibility and relevance
Social proof matters

If you’re not visibly connected to their ecosystem, you may as well be invisible

✅ Real content—not brochures
Buyers today are validating everything, often starting with AI, then going to social media to double-check what they’ve seen

Your content needs to humanize you, contextualize your expertise, and build trust

The takeaway

Qualification isn’t just a checkbox. It’s a revenue lever

Sales teams that qualify smarter don’t just move faster, they close more, win bigger, and build more sustainable pipeline

Combine that with a modern social selling approach, and you’re not just keeping up with today’s buyer, you’re staying ahead of them

If this resonates and you want to dig deeper into how to align your sales process to the modern buyer, check out my third book:

📘 “Social Selling: Techniques to Influence Buyers and Changemakers” – available now on Amazon worldwide.