How to Qualify Sales Enquiries in Five Minutes: Five Questions That Decide Whether to Quote

BOTrento Team13 October 20269 min read

Why qualify before you quote

A proper quote takes time. In an event agency or an equipment rental business you check availability, calculate crew or transport, and often call a supplier as well. If you do that for every enquiry that arrives, the good ones end up waiting while you price the ones that were never going to buy.

Qualifying isn't about turning people away. It's about choosing the next step on purpose: quote now, ask first, or decline. Most bad quotes start with a request that was missing something, so qualification follows naturally from a good intake routine. Our enquiry intake checklist covers what to capture. This article covers how to decide once you have it.

The five questions

1. Fit: is this work we do well?

Check the type of job, the location and the size. A rental company that serves one region shouldn't be quoting a tour across three countries. Green: a typical job for you. Amber: it's close, but something is unusual. Red: it's outside what you offer.

2. Budget: is there money that matches the job?

You don't need an exact figure. You need to know whether their expectations are in the same range as your prices. Green: a budget or range has been mentioned, or it's a returning client who knows your prices. Amber: no budget mentioned. Red: the budget they've stated is far below your minimum.

3. Timing: can we deliver when they need it?

Green: a date or deadline you can realistically meet. Amber: "sometime in spring" or no date at all. Red: the date clashes with existing commitments, or the lead time is impossible.

4. Decision-maker: who says yes?

Green: you're talking to the person who decides, or you know who that is. Amber: it's an assistant or a colleague gathering quotes. Red: it's clearly a price check for a decision that has already been made elsewhere.

5. Scope: can we price it from what we have?

Green: quantities, location and the services they need are all clear. Amber: you have some of these but not others. Red: it's too vague to price even with a range, and they won't clarify.

The green/amber/red rule

Score each question green, amber or red, then apply this rule. Don't add the colours up into a number. One red is enough to stop.

The rule is deliberately strict. An amber enquiry isn't a bad one. It just isn't ready to quote yet. The mistake to avoid is sending a full quote to an amber enquiry and then wondering why nobody replies.

The five-minute routine, step by step

1. Read the enquiry once, all the way through. The person who looks after the inbox does this as soon as the enquiry arrives, or at a fixed time twice a day.
2. Score the five questions. Write the colours somewhere everyone on the team can see them, such as the deal note in Pipedrive or HubSpot, or a column in your spreadsheet. For example: F-green, B-amber, T-green, D-green, S-amber.
3. Apply the rule and name one owner. One person is responsible for the next step. If you're quoting, that's usually whoever prices that type of job.
4. Send the next step the same working day. That means the questions email, the call suggestion or the decline. A quote can take longer, but the client should still hear from you the same day, telling them when to expect it.
5. Set the follow-up date before you close the email. If they don't answer your questions, the enquiry stays amber and someone needs to chase it. For how to do that without being pushy, see how to stop forgetting quote follow-ups.

Example: an equipment rental enquiry

A Tuesday enquiry asks for "sound and lighting for our company party in October, can you send a price?" Fit is green because it's a typical job. Budget is amber because none was mentioned. Timing is amber because there's no exact date. Decision-maker is green because the sender is the client's office manager and signs off the event. Scope is amber because you don't know the number of guests, the venue or how much setup time there is. That's three ambers, so the rule says call. The person on the inbox suggests two call slots that same morning. After the call, all five are green and the quote goes out on Wednesday, based on facts rather than guesses. If you work in this sector, see how BOTrento fits equipment rental.

Template: the "ask first" email for amber enquiries

Keep it short. Thank them, show that you've read their request, ask no more than three questions, and tell them what happens next.

Subject: Your enquiry – sound and lighting, October

Hello Anna,

Thank you for your enquiry about sound and lighting for your company party in October. We regularly handle company events like this, so it's a good fit.

So that we can send you an accurate quote rather than a rough guess, could you let us know:
1. The date, venue and expected number of guests (and how much setup time the venue allows)?
2. Whether you have a budget range in mind?
3. Whether anyone else will be involved in the final decision?

Once we have these, you'll have the quote within one working day.

Best regards,
Tom

A first reply without a clear next step is one of the most common reasons buyers go quiet. Our article on mistakes in the first reply to an enquiry covers that in detail. For the full reply process, see how to reply to a sales inquiry.

How BOTrento handles this during the 14-day trial

The five questions are simple. The hard part is asking them every time, on every enquiry, while you're also running jobs. BOTrento Chief of Staff turns this into a managed process, with a person approving each step.

• What you connect: a mailbox over IMAP, or Gmail, Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 by forwarding or import, plus a CSV or XLSX export from your CRM or spreadsheet if you have one. Your 14 days start when the first data upload succeeds, not when you register. Within 24 hours on working days, a member of our team gets in touch to help you connect your mailbox.
• What you see each morning: on every working day, a Today 1+3 overview appears in the app and by email. It shows which enquiries and quotes need attention, so an amber enquiry doesn't sit unanswered for a week.
• What you approve: draft replies, quotes and follow-ups in English, Czech, German or French. For an amber enquiry, you check the draft, add or adjust your qualifying questions, and send it yourself. BOTrento never sends anything without a person's approval.
• What it remembers: promises such as "you'll have the quote within one working day". It picks these up and reminds you of them.

There are some limits to be aware of. BOTrento works from the text of the email and doesn't read attachments, so if the brief is in a PDF, the scoring is up to you. It doesn't read your calendar either, so checking the date is still your job. It doesn't replace your CRM. AI usage is included in the plan, and you don't need a card or your own API key for the trial. You can see a sample of the process, check the plans and pricing, or start the 14-day trial on your own enquiries.