What questions to ask on an incoming call: five key questions and a table by industry
Sado AI team · · 4 min read
In short
Three to five questions are enough on an incoming call: what the customer needs, when, where (or for whom), how much or how many, and how they found you. Answer the caller’s own question first, then ask. Offer options: “this week or next month?”. Write the answers into the same fields every time: name, phone, need, timing, source. Then a manager knows whom to call first, and you can see which ad brought the customer.
Why the questions matter
If all a manager has after the call is “Aziz, asked about the price”, they know neither what to offer nor when to call. The right questions do three jobs: you pick an offer that fits, you put customers in a hurry first, and you learn which ad worked.
Five key questions
- What do you need? “Which service were you looking for?” or “Which model are you interested in?”
- When? “Do you need it this week or later?” Timing is the clearest sign of urgency.
- Where, or for whom? District, address, the patient’s age, the student’s level, depending on your business.
- How much? Size, quantity or a rough budget: “How many rooms?”, “Roughly what budget do you have in mind?”
- How did you find us? Instagram, a friend, maps, Telegram. Without this question you can’t tell whether your ads work.
You need a name and number too, but ask in passing, not like an interrogation: “Who shall I book this for?”
Questions by industry
| Industry | Extra questions |
|---|---|
| Clinic | Which doctor or test do you need? Is this your first visit? Which day suits you? |
| Real estate | How many rooms? Which district? Cash or instalments? |
| Car dealer | Which model? Will you trade in your old car? When suits you for a test drive? |
| Training centre | Who will study, and how old are they? What level? Mornings or evenings? |
| Delivery | What, and where to? By when? How will you pay? |
| B2B services | Company name and number of staff? Who makes the decision? When do you want to start? |
How to ask: five rules
- Answer the caller’s question first. Don’t meet a price question with three questions back.
- One question per sentence.
- Offer options: “this week or next month?” is easy to answer.
- Don’t ask again what the caller has already said: if they said “in Yunusabad”, don’t ask for the district.
- No more than five questions. A manager can clarify the rest in the next conversation.
Sample call: ordering PVC windows
Yorug‘ Uy fits PVC windows. A customer calls to ask the price:
Sado: Assalomu alaykum, Yorug‘ Uy, this is Malika. Go ahead, please.
Caller: How much are PVC windows?
Sado: A standard window starts at 1.2 million so‘m; the exact price depends on the size. How many windows do you need, for a house or a flat?
Caller: A flat: four windows and the balcony. It has to be done before the cold weather.
Sado: We can do it this month, and the measurer comes free of charge. Which district are you in, and how did you find us?
Caller: Sergeli. I saw you on Instagram. Could someone come tomorrow evening?
Sado: Yes, I’m booking you for four o’clock tomorrow. May I have your name?
Four questions came up naturally: how many, when, where and how they found you. Now the manager knows: a hot lead, this month, Sergeli, the Instagram ad. The price in the call is only an example.
An AI operator asks your questions
An AI operator on incoming calls asks the questions you set, after first answering the caller’s question from your own facts. The answers are saved in the portal as fields: need, timing, district, source. In Bitrix24 a lead or deal is created with the call’s recording and transcript: Bitrix24 integration. If the caller says “I’ll buy today”, the call is transferred to a manager’s phone by your rule.
Sado’s team draws up the question list with you. You pay only for talked minutes, 800 so‘m a minute: pricing. Try it live or call 78 778 01 23 and hear how the operator asks.
Questions
How many questions should you ask on an incoming call?
Three to five. More than that feels like an interrogation, and the caller gets tired. A manager can clarify other details in the next conversation.
Isn’t it rude to ask about the budget?
Not if you offer options: “Roughly up to 50 million, or more?” Explain that you’re asking so you can suggest something that fits.
Where should the answers go?
Into the same fields every time: a CRM, Google Sheets or at least one shared table. With Sado the answers are saved as fields in the portal and go into Bitrix24.