Lead Qualification

Purpose: How we decide, early and honestly, whether a lead is worth an estimate visit. Rosa runs the short version on the first call; Marcus and the sales reps run the deeper version before committing calendar time. Tara's site visits are expensive — a qualified lead protects her schedule.

Why we qualify at all

Every estimate visit costs us half a day of drive time and Tara's attention, and the estimate itself is free to the customer. If we send Tara to a property we were never going to win, or one we should never take, everyone loses. Qualification is not about being picky. It is about being honest with the customer and with ourselves before anyone burns an afternoon.

The five things we need to know

1. Location. Are they inside the service area? Riverton metro plus Fairview, Lakeside, Cedar Falls, and surrounding towns — roughly a 45-minute drive radius. Outside that, we decline politely and say why. See Locations and Service Areas.
2. Scope. Does the work match our four service lines (roofing, exterior restoration, remodeling, emergency repair)? If it is something we do not do — see What We Do Not Do — refer them out.
3. Timeline. When do they want the work done? "This year sometime" is fine; it just changes the follow-up cadence. Active leaks change everything — those get triaged as emergencies.
4. Decision-makers. Who else needs to be involved? If a spouse, co-owner, or property owner (for property managers) has to sign off, we want them at the estimate visit or on the discovery call. This one question prevents half our stalled deals.
5. Budget reality. Not a hard number — a gut check. We share the typical range for the work ("roof replacements around here usually run $12,000 to $38,000 depending on the roof") and watch the reaction. Sticker shock now is cheaper than sticker shock after a site visit.

Quick screen vs. full qualification

Rosa's quick screen (first call, 3-4 minutes): location, service line, urgency. If all three pass, book the visit. She does not need to run the full list — speed matters more than depth on the first touch, per Lead Handling Process.

Full qualification (sales rep, before or during discovery): all five items, plus insurance status for storm-damage work, plus a fit check against Ideal Customer Profiles.

Fit signals

Good fit (lean in):

• Owner-occupied home or a property manager with a portfolio in our area
• Real problem or real project, with some sense of timing
• Insurance restoration where the homeowner wants a contractor who knows the process
• Referrals from past customers or partners — these close at the highest rate we see

Bad fit (politely pass, per Bad Fit Customers):

• Shopping on price alone and says so ("I just need the cheapest number for my insurance")
• Wants us to work off another contractor's scope with no site visit
• Outside the service radius
• Project below our minimums (roof repairs under $650 minimum; remodels below ~$15k are usually not viable for our crews)
• Asks us to do something off-book (unpermitted structural work, fudging an insurance scope)

Sample phrasing

• Budget gut check: "Just so there are no surprises — for what you're describing, jobs like this usually land somewhere between twelve and thirty-eight thousand depending on what Tara finds up there. Does that range fit what you had in mind?"
• Decision-maker: "When Tara comes out, is there anyone else who'd want to be part of that conversation? It saves everybody a second visit."
• Declining out-of-area: "You're a bit outside where our crews run — about 45 minutes out of Riverton is our honest limit. I'd rather tell you that now than give you slow service later."

What happens next

• Qualified and booked → Estimate Scheduled in GHL, notes on the contact record, Discovery Call Framework applies if it is a remodel or larger scope.
• Qualified but not booked → Contacted, sales rep owns the booking.
• Not qualified → Lost with a reason logged. If it is a referral-out, note who we sent them to.

Related

• Lead Handling Process
• Ideal Customer Profiles
• Bad Fit Customers
• Discovery Call Framework
• Pricing and Estimating Rules
• What We Do Not Do