Qualifying means sorting before acting
Qualifying an incoming call means finding out, in a few questions, who is calling, why, and how urgently, then noting what you need to act. Two questions are enough to place almost any call in one of five groups: new customer, existing customer, emergency, supplier or partner, public body. Each group then has its own questions. The aim is not to put the caller through an interrogation, but to avoid the pointless callback: the one where you ask again for the address, the case reference or the vehicle model.
The greeting, the sentence you say when you pick up, is a separate subject, covered in our phone greeting scripts by trade. Here, we are talking about what comes just after it.
The two questions that open the call
- “What is it regarding?” An open question that lets the caller explain in their own words. Listen to the end before classifying the call.
- “Are you already a customer?” Or a patient, or a property owner, depending on your trade. The answer decides what happens next: an existing customer has a file, a new customer has a need to understand.
During these two questions, keep an ear out for emergency words: leak, pain, stuck, summons, today. They move the call ahead of everything else.
Questions by type of call
New client
- The need, summed up in one sentence in the caller's own words.
- Where: the address or the area, to check that you cover it.
- When: the desired timeframe, any deadline.
- The details specific to your trade: the property, the vehicle, the type of work, the area of law.
- Contact details: name, number, email if a quote needs to be sent.
Existing client
- The name and a reference: case number, order number, registration number, property address.
- The purpose: a follow-up, a change, a complaint, a new request.
- The person handling the case, if there is one.
- A deadline, if there is one.
Don't give out any information about a case until you are sure you are talking to the right person.
Emergency
- What is happening, right now, in one sentence.
- The address and a callback number, straight away, in case the line drops.
- The questions that gauge how serious it is, the ones you have written for your trade. If someone is in danger, call the emergency services straight away, without waiting to finish the questions.
- The safety instruction to give in the meantime, then the transfer or the priority slot.
Supplier, partner, fellow professional
- The company and the contact person.
- The purpose: a delivery, an invoice, a shared case.
- The timeframe and the best time to call back.
If the caller delivers nothing to you and doesn't work with you on any case, but offers you something you didn't ask for, they are no longer a supplier: our guide to screening out sales calls takes over.
Public body, bank, organisation
- The organisation, the name and the department of the person calling.
- The reference of the case and its purpose.
- The deadline, if there is one.
- A direct number to call back.
Don't give out any information about a customer or about the business. If in doubt, call the organisation back on its official switchboard number rather than the number left.
In summary
| Type of call | What you need to know | Usual next step |
|---|---|---|
| New client | Need, place, timeframe, contact details | Appointment, quote or quick callback |
| Existing client | Reference, purpose, contact person | Answer, change or message to the right person |
| Emergency | Situation, address, severity | Instruction, transfer or priority slot |
| Supplier, partner | Company, purpose, timeframe | Message or transfer according to your instructions |
| Public body, bank | Organisation, reference, deadline | Message to the person handling the case |
What the summary should contain
Qualification is only worth something if it is written down. The summary of each call sets out, in this order: the type of call; who is calling, with name, company and number; the purpose in one sentence; the details gathered; how urgent it is; what has already been done, such as an appointment booked, an SMS sent or a transfer; what remains to be done; and when the caller can be reached.
At Sayelo, this summary arrives by email after every call: overview, key points, actions taken during the call, actions still to do, caller sentiment, and the full transcript.
Prioritising callbacks
The summary is used first and foremost to decide who to call back first. A simple order works for most trades:
- Emergencies that were not resolved during the call.
- Upcoming deadlines: a hearing, a signing, a viewing, a delivery.
- New customers: they often call several businesses, and the first one to call back has the advantage.
- Unhappy customers, who can be spotted by the tone of the call as much as by its purpose.
- Routine requests from existing customers.
- Suppliers and organisations with no deadline.
Sales calls, for their part, don't call for a callback. The guide to calling a customer back after a call details how to read the summary and prepare each callback.
Examples by trade
An estate agency first distinguishes between vendors, buyers and tenants. It asks a vendor for the property address, its type and how soon they want to sell, then books the valuation with the negotiator for that area. A buyer is asked for the property reference, their financing and when they are available for viewings. A tenant in a managed property reporting water damage is passed to the property management team or the on-call service. Our estate agency page shows a typical call.
A law firm asks for the area of law and the name of the opposing party, to check that it can take on the case. A summons, an imminent hearing or someone being held in police custody triggers a transfer or a priority callback. A request outside the firm's areas of practice receives a courteous referral, with no appointment. The lawyer page details these rules.
A garage asks for the model and registration number, the symptom, and whether the vehicle can still be driven. That last answer decides between an appointment within the week and a breakdown call-out.
Who asks the questions
You, between two customers, skip questions: that is only human. A telephone answering service follows a script written for many clients and knows little about your business, as our comparison with telephone answering services shows. An AI voice agent asks the questions you have written, in order, on every call. It recognises known callers, applies the instructions you have set for certain contacts, and sorts each request before summarising it. The plans are on the pricing page. You keep the decisions and the relationship; the agent brings you calls that have already been sorted.
