The five qualifying questions every business should ask by text

Qualifying a lead is a filtering problem: separate the buyers from the browsers with as little friction as possible. Over SMS, that means five questions, asked conversationally, in the right order. Here's the set we recommend — and how to phrase each one so it sounds like a person, not a form.

1. What do you need? (The need)

Start open-ended. "What can we help you with?" lets the lead describe the job in their own words, and their answer tells you more than any checkbox — scope, urgency, and whether it's even your kind of work.

2. Where are you located? (The fit)

Service-area mismatches are the most common disqualifier for local businesses. Ask early so you never spend twenty minutes on a lead you can't serve.

3. When do you need it? (The timeline)

Timeline separates "buying this week" from "just researching." Both are fine — but they get very different follow-up.

4. What's the budget range? (The money question)

The question everyone dreads and every qualifier needs. Over text it lands softer than on a call. Give ranges, not an open field — people answer multiple choice far more readily than blank fields.

5. Who decides? (The decision-maker)

Nothing kills momentum like a two-week quote process with someone who can't say yes. One gentle question saves weeks.

The rules of texting like a human

A few principles that make the whole exchange work:

1. One question per message. Nobody answers a five-question wall of text.
2. Acknowledge before advancing. A quick "Got it" between answers keeps it feeling like a conversation.
3. Respect silence, then nudge. If they go quiet, one polite follow-up the next day. Then let it rest.
4. Hand off warm. When they're qualified, the summary should read like a briefing, not a data dump.

LatchLead runs exactly this playbook for you — your questions, your voice, over SMS, the moment each lead arrives. Join the early-access waitlist and we'll notify you at launch.

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