A builder drives forty minutes to look at a kitchen extension. After an hour on site, it becomes clear the customer has a budget far below what the job needs and no plans yet. The builder drives home, having spent half a day on a project that was never going to happen.
Contractors cannot visit every enquiry. Qualifying before the site visit protects their time.
Step 1: decide what makes a good fit
Before qualifying, know your criteria: the types of projects you do, the areas you cover, your typical project size and your current lead times. Write them down. This is the basis for every question.
Step 2: publish the basics
Many poor-fit enquiries can be avoided with clear website information. List your services, service area, typical project sizes and current availability. Customers who do not fit will often self-select out.
Step 3: ask a few key questions
The questions that matter most:
- What type of project is it?
- Where is the property?
- Roughly how large is the job?
- When would you like it to start?
- Do you have a budget range in mind?
- Are there plans or permissions in place?
Keep it short. Budget is the most sensitive, and there are ways to raise it gently, covered in qualifying by budget without being pushy.
Step 4: explain why you are asking
A short explanation helps: "So we can make sure we're the right fit and bring the right person to the visit." Customers are more willing to share when they understand the reason.
Step 5: capture photos
Photos of the space save a lot of time. Ask customers to share them if they can.
Step 6: use a consistent process
SpideyChat for contractors and builders can ask these questions in conversation, at any hour, and capture the answers for you to review. It answers from your own website and does not give quotes or promise dates.
Customer: I'd like a quote for a loft conversion. Assistant: Thanks for getting in touch. Loft conversions are one of the services listed. So the team can prepare for a visit, could you share the property's location, roughly when you'd like to start, whether you have plans yet and a budget range if you have one in mind?
Automatic qualification in general is covered in how to qualify leads automatically with AI and how AI chatbots capture and qualify leads.
Step 7: review and prioritise
Review captured enquiries daily. Visit the best fits first. For poor fits, reply politely and, if you can, suggest where they might look instead. Software companies use the same approach to screen demo requests, as described in qualifying demo requests before they reach sales.
Step 8: follow up after the visit
Once you have visited, follow up with a quote within the time you promised. Qualified leads deserve prompt attention. If the quote will take longer because you need to price materials or check with a subcontractor, tell the customer when to expect it. Silence after a site visit is one of the most common reasons customers go with someone else.
Step 9: learn from the ones that did not go ahead
Keep a note of why projects did not proceed: budget, timing, planning problems or another contractor. After a few months, patterns appear. If budget is the most common reason, publish typical project costs more clearly. If timing is the problem, share your current lead times on the website so customers can plan around them.
Setting it up
Train the assistant on your services and area pages, then install it. The guides to installing the widget and training your bot explain how.
Fewer wasted visits means more time for the projects that go ahead.