The 79% Advantage: How To Build a More Qualified Sales Pipeline

March 7, 2025
Contributor: Pamela Lea Plaza

How industry-trusted advisors from Gartner Digital Markets guide buyers to a purchase and help software providers hit pipeline goals.

Before committing to software, buyers need confidence it will fit their needs – but in order to get this information, they’re engaging with sales teams less than before. Buyers now engage (through demos and product trials) with just two vendors on average, down from three in 2024.[1]

For sales leaders, this stokes concerns about balancing productivity with seller burnout, and for marketers, triggers questions about how to stay top of mind when buyers are considering options. But standing out to your ideal buyer is just one call away: not between buyer and vendor, but between a buyer and a software advisor. 

Sales-Qualified Leads by Gartner Digital Markets connects software providers with buyers who have been pre-qualified by our team of 60+ software advisors. These industry-trusted advisors give buyers the confidence they need to make an informed decision. On average, 79% of buyer interactions leading to purchases are driven by our advisors' recommendation.[2]

In less than 2 minutes, learn how advisors connect with buyers, qualify them, and share their lead details with vendors:

Keen to start generating Sales-Qualified Leads with the support of our advisors? Get started now, or read on to see our client results. 

Customer success stories with Sales-Qualified Leads

Software companies are already driving growth with the support of our advisor-led program:

“Gartner Digital Markets is our number one PPL lead gen channel from a pipeline ROI perspective. Our strategy is to bid higher than competitors to always make sure that we are among the top four vendors that advisors recommend after they collect buyer requirements.”

Jason Rumanek, Head of Growth Marketing, CMiC

"Gartner Digital Markets’ leads represent 60% to 70% of the monthly Sales-Qualified Leads (SQLs) we hand over to sales. Around 20% to 30% of the SQLs we receive from this program convert into meetings."

Luis Lizola, Senior Digital Marketing Manager, FreeAgent CRM

"Our conversion rate is 38% from lead to opportunity when Sales-Qualified Leads are generated from Gartner Digital Markets. We have a 15% opportunity to win rate, so both the sales and marketing teams are very happy."

Dan Saunders, Senior Director of Growth and Performance Marketing, Swipeclock

How to target, match, and close with sales-qualified leads

Looking for a more efficient way to find in-market leads that have already been pre-qualified? Explore our sales-qualified leads program and discover how to build a more robust pipeline.  
1. Target your ideal customer profile

With over 100 million annual buyers researching software on our comparison sites (Capterra, Software Advice, and GetApp), our sales-qualified leads program gives you the flexibility and precision you need to target your ideal prospects. 

Here are the targeting filters available inside your Gartner Digital Markets account:

Once you set your targeting criteria, our software advisors are ready to start finding leads who match your ideal buyer.
2. Match with leads who are BANT-qualified by our software advisors 

Our 60+ software advisors based in the United States receive thousands of calls every year from buyers who found our software comparison sites with high-intent category-based searches. These buyers are looking for software, but are often overwhelmed with choices and need a hand. 

Having qualified 1 million+ buyers, our advisors have gained deep industry knowledge and stay on top of the latest software trends. They use this expertise to match your targeting criteria with each buyer’s needs.

Advisors use the BANT framework to qualify leads over the phone:

Once the lead is qualified, our advisors will recommend your software solution with up to 4 others, and share their information with your sales team for the follow-up. 
3. Close demos and deals with real-time access to leads and call notes

Our sales-qualified leads are passed to your sales team alongside the qualification notes taken by advisors. This ensures your sales team can engage prospects with contextual discussion points to nail the demo, such as: 

  • Budget available
  • Reasons for buying
  • Previous software used
  • When they are looking to purchase
  • When they’re available for a follow-up call
lead call notes visual gartner digital markets

However, there are even more opportunities to further optimize your campaigns. By integrating your CRM solution with your Sales-Qualified Leads campaign, lead information will be passed to your sales team in real time so they can be first to follow up.

And if you’re looking for further support booking meetings, the appointment setting add-on means our advisors will proactively set a specific date and time ranges for your sales team to meet with each buyer.

Ready for pipeline growth?

Software providers who successfully launch their sales-qualified leads campaigns consider our expert advisors an integral extension of their team.

Explore how this program can diversify your lead sources of new leads, shorten your sales cycle, and bring you the pipeline growth you’ve been looking for. 

Curious to learn more about sales-qualified leads?
Learn More

Pamela Lea Plaza

Pamela is a Senior Marketing Specialist focused on executing go-to-market product launches for Gartner Digital Markets. In addition, she leverages data-driven insights and innovative marketing strategies to empower software providers to build their brand, capture demand, and gain a deep understanding of their market.

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Sources 
  1. 2025 Software Buying Trends Report, Gartner Digital Markets.
  2. 4,649 responses received in post-advisor interaction survey, of which 2,620 (56%) resulted in a purchase, Gartner Digital Markets.
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