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The RID framework, how we qualify every lead in under 60 seconds

One of the fastest ways to lose money on a caller/setter is letting them book unqualified calls. The closer burns 30 minutes on a prospect who was never going to convert, the calendar fills up with garbage, and the show-up rate craters because half the leads weren't really interested in the first place.

The framework we use to filter every lead in real time is RID. Revenue. Intent. Decision Maker. If a prospect doesn't clear all three, the call doesn't get booked. It's three questions and it takes about 1-2 minutes to go through.

R is for Revenue

Can they actually afford the offer?

The trick is asking it without asking it directly. "What does your monthly revenue look like right now?" works fine if you've built rapport. "What's your average client paying you? How many of those do you have roughly?" gets at the same answer from a different angle. Both numbers tell you whether the client is a good fit.

I is for Intent

Are they actually trying to fix this, or are they shopping for information? Intent is the piece most setters skip because it feels rude to ask. It isn't. The version we use sounds like, "Are you actively trying to scale right now or is this more of a research thing?" If they're researching, you book a follow-up for three months out. You don't burn a closer slot on someone who isn't ready to act.

Intent also shows up in tone. Are they asking real questions about how the system works, or are they scanning for reasons to disqualify themselves before the call? You can tell the difference within two minutes.

D is for Decision Maker

Are they the person who can say yes? Or do they need to "talk to my partner / my CFO / my coach"?

The line is, "Are you the right person to make a decision on something like this, or is there someone else we should have on the call?" If there's a partner, you book the partner too. If they say "I'll bring it back to them," the call gets postponed until everyone with veto power is in the room.

The bottom line

The closers we work with all run a deeper discovery on the actual call. The setter's job isn't to do that work. The setter's job is to make sure the closer's calendar is full of people who can pay, want to act, and have the authority to do so.

For our clients, we have a longer discovery process. The RID framework is the simple version.