TEMPLATE · QUALIFYING QUESTIONS
Twenty qualifying questions grouped by need, current process, authority, budget and timeline, each with the short checklist item it becomes in a live Playbook panel. Pick two or three per group, copy them into your docs, or load them into Amotions so open items stay visible to the rep during the call.
Published Last reviewed By Pianpian Xu Guthrie, Founder and CEO
Sales qualifying questions are the questions a rep asks to decide whether a prospect is worth pursuing: whether they have a real problem, how they solve it today, who decides, whether budget exists, and when they need a solution. They are usually grouped by a framework such as BANT, with current process added.
Twenty questions in five groups. You do not need all of them on one call: pick two or three per group that fit your sale. The line under each question is the short checklist item it becomes in the live Playbook panel.
The problem, in the buyer’s words, and what it costs them.
How they do it today, so you know what you are replacing.
Everyone who decides, influences or can block the purchase.
Whether money exists or must be found, without quoting a price too early.
A real date, and what happens if it slips.
SALES QUALIFYING QUESTIONS BY BUDGET, AUTHORITY, NEED, TIMELINE AND CURRENT PROCESS 1. Need Goal: The problem, in the buyer’s words, and what it costs them. [ ] What made you look into this now? [ ] What is the biggest problem you want to solve? [ ] What does that problem cost you each month, in time, money or deals? [ ] What would a good result look like six months from now? 2. Current process Goal: How they do it today, so you know what you are replacing. [ ] Walk me through how you handle this today. [ ] Which tools do you use for it now? [ ] What have you already tried, and why did it not stick? [ ] Who on the team does this work day to day? 3. Authority Goal: Everyone who decides, influences or can block the purchase. [ ] Who else will be involved in choosing a solution? [ ] Who signs off on the purchase? [ ] How have you bought something like this before? [ ] Is there anyone who might push back, such as IT, security or finance? 4. Budget Goal: Whether money exists or must be found, without quoting a price too early. [ ] Have you set aside budget for this, or does it still need approval? [ ] Is there a range you need to stay within? [ ] Which budget would this come from? [ ] What do you spend on the current way of doing it? 5. Timeline Goal: A real date, and what happens if it slips. [ ] When do you need something in place? [ ] What is driving that date? [ ] What happens if nothing changes by then? [ ] What needs to happen between now and a decision?
Add each group as a step and the questions you chose as substeps. Items can be covered in any order: when the buyer answers one, even before you ask, the panel checks it off. With the step completion rule set to “any task”, one answered question completes the group; with “all tasks”, every substep must come up.
Playbook · Qualification call · Zoom
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You know the problem. Ask who else will be involved in choosing a solution.
Illustration, not a screenshot. Steps and wording come from your own playbook. How playbook steps work →
Fewer than this list. Two or three questions per group are enough for most first calls; the rest are backups when an answer is vague. Start with need and current process, because budget and timeline answers mean more once the buyer has described the problem in their own words.
Each group is a playbook step and each question you keep is a substep with a short label, such as “Signer” or “Target date”. During the call the panel checks an item off when the buyer answers it, even if the rep never asked, and the coach avoids asking for information the buyer already gave.
Sign up free, then an admin opens Organization settings → Playbooks, adds a playbook, and enters the five groups as steps and the checks as substeps. Set it as the default so every rep’s live coach uses it. On Zoom, Teams, Meet or phone calls the private Playbook panel then tracks it live.
It starts from BANT and adds current process, because knowing what a buyer does today is often the best predictor of whether they will change. For a page on running BANT live, and for “done when” tests on each item, see the BANT and required-information pages.
It does not time each step or warn the rep that they are talking too long; there are no live time-per-topic, talk-time or monologue alerts. Talk ratio appears after the call. It also does not speak on the call or join as a meeting bot: guidance is private to the rep.
| Dimension | Question the rep asks | Live checklist item |
|---|---|---|
| Need | What made you look into this now? | Trigger |
| Current process | Walk me through how you handle this today. | Current workflow |
| Authority | Who else will be involved in choosing a solution? | Other stakeholders |
| Budget | Have you set aside budget for this, or does it still need approval? | Budget status |
| Timeline | When do you need something in place? | Target date |
Security & privacy
Amotions AI coaches live conversations with a private overlay—it does not join Zoom as a bot. Enterprise buyers can review how conversation data is processed, isolated, and kept out of foundational-model training.
Customer call transcripts, audio uploads, and chat sessions are strictly private to your organization. They are never used to train third-party foundational AI models. Playbook personalization applies your process at coaching time—it is not a claim that foundation-model weights are retrained on your conversations.
Data is hosted on Google Cloud, encrypted in transit and at rest, and isolated per workspace. Each practice sets its own patient notice policy for recorded conversations. We sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with your practice, and our hosting provider, Google Cloud, is covered by a signed BAA with Amotions. Ask us for the BAA before you share patient information.
Coaching workloads run in isolated Google Cloud environments, including Cloud Run, with encrypted data transmission and encrypted storage. Organization playbooks, transcripts, and uploads stay separated by customer workspace. Ask security for current technical controls during enterprise evaluation.
Details: Privacy Policy · Healthcare security · Healthcare communication coaching · Talk to security
Qualify → Demo → Objections and next step, in one playbook.
What to cover once qualification is done.
Stop spending time on prospects who were never a fit.
Private live qualifying prompts on desktop Zoom calls.
Ask what made them look now, how they handle it today, who else is involved in choosing, whether budget is set aside, and when they need something in place. Those five cover need, current process, authority, budget and timeline.
Start with need and current process so the buyer describes the problem first. Then ask about authority, budget and timeline. In Amotions the order is flexible: items can be covered in any order and are checked off when answered.
Yes. An admin adds a Reminder with a check delay in seconds, the playbook item to watch, and a coach message. The reminder appears after the delay only if that item has not come up in the call.
No. The Playbook panel is private to the rep. Amotions does not join the call as a bot, and the overlay stays hidden when the rep shares their screen.
No. Copy it into your own docs or CRM notes and use it as a written checklist. Amotions adds the live part: it checks items off during the call, reminds the rep about anything missed, and scores the call against the same items afterwards.
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