The word “inquiry” is too vague—a spam inquiry and a high-intent inquiry differ enormously in value. So we must first clearly define what counts as “qualified.”
Clearly defining the criteria for a “qualified inquiry” is both a commitment to results and a safeguard for the partnership. This article lays out the criteria and explains how to prevent fake inquiries.
In performance-based, pay-per-inquiry partnership models, the criteria for what counts as a “qualified inquiry” are critical. Clear criteria protect the interests of both parties and make results measurable and reviewable.
1. Criteria for Qualifying an Inquiry
- Accurate information: Contact information is real and valid — not fake, not invalid.
- Relevance to needs: The inquiry content is relevant to your company’s products and business.
- Has clear intent: Has genuine purchasing intent, rather than meaningless inquiries or spam.
- Traceable: Inquiry sources are traceable and verifiable.
2. How to prevent fake inquiries (spam submissions)
- Authenticity verification: Verify the authenticity and validity of contact information.
- Relevance assessment: Determine whether inquiries are relevant to the business and filter out meaningless messages.
- Objection handling mechanism: Establish a dispute-handling mechanism so questionable inquiries can be flagged for review.
- Transparent reconciliation: Provides traceable data and a basis for reconciliation.
Core principles: The determination of a qualified inquiry should be based on Authentic, relevant, intentional, traceable principle, not simply quantity. Using authenticity and relevance as core criteria can effectively prevent fake traffic and ensure every dollar is spent on genuinely valuable leads.
One-sentence conclusion · TL;DR
A qualified inquiry should be judged on four dimensions: authentic information, relevant needs, clear intent, and traceability. The key to preventing fake volume lies in authenticity verification, relevance assessment, a dispute mechanism, and transparent reconciliation. Only by using authenticity and relevance—rather than quantity—as your standard can you ensure results are real and measurable.
Common Questions
Do duplicate inquiries count as qualified inquiries?
Usually not. Repeated inquiries from the same customer for the same need should not be billed multiple times. Deduplication should be applied during assessment to avoid charging for the same lead more than once. This is also one of the reasons the “traceability” dimension matters in qualifying inquiries.
How should spam inquiries (ads, irrelevant messages) be handled?
Spam inquiries, irrelevant messages, and fake information are not counted as qualified inquiries. They’re filtered out through authenticity checks and relevance assessments. This is an important mechanism for protecting both parties’ interests and preventing inflated numbers.
What if I disagree with the inquiry quality?
A clear dispute mechanism should be established: submit a review request within an agreed timeframe (e.g., 7 days), and both parties negotiate based on the evaluation criteria. A transparent dispute mechanism is the foundation of trust in any partnership.
Li Yaochao
