Lead qualification chatbot: the questions to ask before you call back

A contact form tells you someone wrote in. A lead qualification chatbot tells you whether the job is worth a call, how soon, and what to bring. The difference is the questions it asks while the visitor is still on your site.

This guide is for contractors and home service businesses deciding what their website chat should ask. It uses Formala, an AI website receptionist that answers your website chat 24/7, as the example. Formala works in website chat only; it does not answer phone calls.

What "qualifying" means for a trade business

For a software company, lead qualification usually means budget, authority and timeline. For a plumber, roofer or electrician, it is simpler and more practical. Before you call back, you want to know four things:

1. Is it a job you do? The right trade, the right kind of work.
2. Is it somewhere you go? Inside your service area.
3. How urgent is it? Water on the floor tonight or a quote for next spring.
4. Can you reach them? A name and a number or email that works.

Everything else is useful but optional. If a chatbot gets those four, you can decide what to do next without a phone call to find out the basics.

The core questions, in plain words

Good qualifying questions sound like what you would ask at the counter, not like a form.

• "What do you need help with?" Let them describe it in their own words first. "My AC is blowing warm air" tells you more than a dropdown.
• "What's the zip code or town for the job?" This answers the service area question without making it awkward.
• "Is this urgent, or are you planning ahead?" One question sorts emergencies from quotes.
• "What's the best way to reach you?" Ask for a phone number or email, and let them pick.

Trade-specific questions worth adding

Add two or three questions that save you a trip or a second call. A few examples:

• Plumbing: Is water actively leaking? Is the main shut off? House or business?
• HVAC: Heating or cooling? Is the system running at all? Roughly how old is it?
• Electrical: Is anything sparking, smoking or hot to the touch? Is it one outlet or the whole house?
• Roofing: Is there an active leak inside? One story or two? Is this for an insurance claim?
• Landscaping and hardscape: Rough size of the area? What is there now? Is there an HOA that needs to approve it?

Photos often answer these faster than words. Formala lets visitors attach a photo or a PDF, and it can look at the picture and ask about what is actually in it.

How many questions is too many

Every question you add is one more chance for someone to close the tab. A good rule is to ask only what changes what you do next. If the answer would not change whether you call, when you call, or what you bring, leave it out and ask on the call.

Two habits help:

• Ask in conversation, not all at once. The chatbot should answer the visitor's question first, then work your questions in. In Formala you choose the fields, it works them into the conversation instead of putting a form in front of somebody, and it stops once it has them.
• Don't make answers mandatory up front. A visitor who just wants your hours should get your hours. Qualifying comes after you've been helpful.

What a qualified lead should look like when it lands

The point of AI lead qualification is that you never dig through a transcript to find the phone number. A finished lead should show:

• Name and contact details
• What they need, in a short summary
• Where the job is
• How urgent it is
• Your trade-specific answers and any photos
• The full conversation underneath, in case you want the detail

Formala turns each chat into clean fields (name, contact, intent, category and priority) and emails the lead to you as soon as the chat wraps up. Custom fields let you collect exactly the details you need and sort every lead into your own categories. The lead inbox lets you filter by priority, and you can export to CSV. If you use other software, there is a webhook too.

What the chatbot should do when it doesn't know

Qualification falls apart if the bot guesses. A visitor who is told a made-up price or a wrong service area is worse than a visitor who was never answered.

Look for a lead qualification chatbot that says "I don't know" and still takes the details. Formala answers from what you told it and is built to say it does not know rather than guess, on every plan. From the Starter plan up, it also counts the questions it could not answer and drafts a reply for you to approve, so the next person who asks gets a real answer.

When to step in yourself

Some leads are worth your own answer right away: a big job, a commercial customer, someone asking whether anyone can come today. Formala shows who is chatting on your site right now, and you can take over any conversation on every plan. The assistant goes quiet while you are in it and picks back up when you hand it back.

After the chat: following up on the leads you didn't call

A qualified lead that nobody calls is still a lost job. On the Pro and Business plans, Formala can send one follow-up email on a rule you write, for example when no outcome has been recorded after a few days. It respects quiet hours in your timezone and stops once you record an outcome, or if the person unsubscribes or hits the limit you set. See follow-ups for how the rules work.

A simple setup checklist

1. List the four core questions in your own words.
2. Add no more than three trade-specific questions.
3. Write down your service area, hours and the jobs you don't do, so the chatbot can answer before it asks.
4. Decide what counts as urgent for your business.
5. Turn on photo uploads if pictures help you quote.
6. Read the first week of conversations and cut any question people skip.

For what to teach the chatbot about your business, see AI receptionist for contractors. For the basics of website chat, see AI chatbot for your website.

Frequently asked questions

What is a lead qualification chatbot?

It is a website chat that answers visitors' questions and asks a few of your own, so each inquiry arrives with what you need to decide whether and when to call back.

Is AI lead qualification different from a long contact form?

Yes. A form asks everything up front. A chatbot answers the visitor first, then asks your questions one at a time and stops once it has what it needs.

Can I choose the questions?

In Formala, yes. You choose the fields on every plan, including the Free plan.

Does Formala qualify leads over the phone?

No. Formala works in your website chat only. It does not answer phone calls.

How much does it cost?

Formala has a Free plan with 10 conversations a month, no card required. Paid plans add conversation volume and a few extras. See pricing for current plans.

Start free with Formala and set your own qualifying questions. Free plan, no card required.