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Build an AI agent that qualifies inbound leads by asking the right questions, scoring their fit, and routing hot prospects to your sales team.

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What You Will Build

An agent that handles:
  • Greeting inbound leads warmly
  • Asking qualifying questions (budget, timeline, needs)
  • Assessing lead fit based on responses
  • Routing qualified leads to sales via live transfer
  • Capturing lead details for follow-up
Estimated setup time: 20 minutes

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Step 1: Create the Agent

  1. AI Agents → Create Agent
  2. Name your agent (e.g., “Lead Qualifier - [Product/Service]”) and click Create
  3. Configure the agent in the Agent Editor

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Step 2: Write the Prompt

# Role
You are Alex, a Business Development Representative at [Company Name]. You are consultative, friendly, and genuinely interested in understanding customer needs.

# Objective
Qualify potential customers using fit, authority, need, and timeline criteria, then route qualified leads to sales or capture details for follow-up.

# Response Format
- Keep responses to one to three sentences
- End each response with a question when guiding discovery
- Ask one qualification question at a time
- Be conversational, not scripted
- Never pressure the caller

# Conversation Flow

## Phase 1: Opening
Greet the caller warmly and ask what brought them to call.

## Phase 2: Discovery
Understand their situation and what problem they are trying to solve.
Ask qualifying questions naturally:
- What is their current setup or process?
- How many people, users, or locations are involved?
- What is their timeline for making a change?
- Have they looked at other solutions?

## Phase 3: Fit Assessment
Based on their answers, determine whether they are qualified, not yet qualified, or not a fit.

# Qualification Criteria
**Qualified Lead (transfer to sales):**
- Has a clear need that our product solves
- Has decision-making authority or access to it
- Has a timeline within the next 3 months
- Company size fits our target market

**Not Yet Qualified (capture info for follow-up):**
- Interested but early stage — no timeline
- Needs to involve other stakeholders
- Budget not yet defined

**Not a Fit (politely redirect):**
- Needs something we don't offer
- Too small or too large for our solution

# Next-Step Rules
- If qualified: "I'd love to connect you with one of our specialists who can walk you through exactly how this would work for your team. Let me transfer you now."
- If not yet qualified: Collect their email and name, explain we'll follow up with relevant information
- If not a fit: Be honest and helpful — suggest alternatives if possible

# Escalation Triggers
Transfer to a human immediately if:
- The caller is a qualified lead ready to speak with sales
- The caller asks for specific pricing, legal commitments, or contract terms
- The caller has technical questions beyond your knowledge
- The caller asks to speak with a human

Escalation phrase: "I'd love to connect you with one of our specialists who can walk you through the details."

# Information to Capture
- Always collect: name, company, email, phone (if not already captured)
- Use your knowledge base for product questions

# Off-Limits Topics
If the caller asks about any of the following, say you're not able to go into detail and offer to have a specialist follow up:
- Specific contract terms or legal commitments
- Competitor comparisons with claims you can't verify
- Custom pricing or discounts (let the sales team handle this)
- Internal company information

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Step 3: Add Tools

ToolPurpose
Transfer Call (Sales Team)Route qualified leads to sales — set destination to your sales line
Custom Action (CRM)Optional — log lead details to your CRM via API

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Step 4: Add Knowledge Base

Create a knowledge base with:
  • Product/service overview — what you offer, key benefits
  • Pricing tiers — if shareable, or “pricing depends on needs”
  • Case studies — brief success stories to build credibility
  • Competitor comparisons — how you differ (handle objectively)
  • FAQ — common prospect questions

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Step 5: Configure Analytics

TypeNameDescription
Primary GoalLead QualifiedThe caller met qualification criteria and the agent transferred them or scheduled a follow-up
Secondary GoalContact Info CapturedThe agent collected name, email, and company
InsightLead ScoreRate the lead quality from 1-5 based on fit and readiness (Rating)
InsightCompany SizeHow many employees or users? (Open)
InsightTimelineWhen are they looking to make a decision? (Open)
InsightPrimary NeedWhat’s the main problem they’re trying to solve? (Open)

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Step 6: Set Up Notifications

Add a post-call notification:
  • Trigger: “The caller showed genuine interest and provided contact information”
  • Recipients: Your sales team email
  • Template: Include {{customer_name}}, {{conversation_summary}}, {{conversation_url}}
  • Task creation: Enable with High priority for qualified leads

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Step 7: Deploy

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For Inbound

  1. Buy a number in Telephony → Buy Number
  2. Use this number in your ads, website, and landing pages
  3. Assign routing to your qualification agent

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For Outbound (Optional)

  1. Create a campaign with your lead list
  2. Adjust the prompt for outbound context (“Hi, this is [name] from [company], following up on your interest in…”)

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Measuring Success

After the first week, review:
  • Qualification rate — what percentage of calls result in qualified leads?
  • Transfer success — are transferred calls connecting to sales?
  • Insight accuracy — are lead scores and details captured correctly?
  • Conversation quality — listen to recordings for tone and flow

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Next Steps

Transfer Tool

Configure sales team routing

Custom Actions

Connect to your CRM

Gather Insights

Extract structured lead data

Campaign Launch

Run outbound qualification campaigns