Qualification criteria

Criteria are the structured questions used after a caller enters qualification. When qualification is enabled, configure exactly two or three complete criteria and order them from the most important decision to the least.

Add a criterion

1. Open Call Handling in Agent Center.
2. Select Qualification.
3. Turn on Enable caller qualification if it is off.
4. Select Add criterion.
5. Add exactly two or three criteria, with a short label and one question for each.
6. Choose Yes / No, Short text, Number, or Choice as the answer type.
7. Choose the pass rule and any required threshold, choices, or passing choice.
8. Select Save qualification settings.

Write one decision per criterion

Each criterion should ask for one clear fact. Prefer:

• “Is the property in one of our service areas?”
• “Are you looking to begin within the next 90 days?”

Avoid multi-part questions that make a single answer ambiguous.

Choose a simple answer format

Use the available answer format that best fits the decision. Write the question so a caller can respond naturally and the meaning is clear.

Answer format	Best for	Writing note
Yes / No	A clear binary requirement	Ask a question that can honestly be answered yes or no.
Short text	A compact category or fact	State what kind of answer is expected.
Number	An amount, count, age, or threshold	Name the unit in the question.
Choice	A small approved set of up to eight options	Keep choices unique, distinct, and easy to say aloud.

Number criteria support Number is at least and Number is at most thresholds. Choice criteria support up to eight unique choices and one passing choice. Use a Yes / No threshold question when the exact number is unnecessary.

The label should be a short business-facing name that your team will recognize in Inbox, such as Service area. The spoken question should be natural caller-facing language.

Order matters

Put the criterion most likely to determine fit first. The configured order is the order your agent uses. Reorder the list instead of repeating the same decision in multiple questions.

Keep the path bounded

When an answer is unclear, your agent should stay with the current criterion long enough to obtain a usable answer or continue safely. Do not write criteria that require a long consultation or staff judgment.

Do not use criteria to collect a full application, sensitive details, or information that does not change the qualified result. Use the minimum number of questions needed for the decision.

Mortgage qualification criteria example

A customer-safe initial screening flow might use:

1. Program fit: “Are you looking to purchase a home or refinance?”
2. Credit threshold: “Is your estimated credit score at least 620?”
3. Timing: “Are you hoping to begin within the next 90 days?”

This is business-configured initial caller screening. It is not underwriting, approval, pricing, financial advice, or a complete mortgage application. When an exact score is unnecessary, asking whether the caller meets a threshold collects less information and is easier to answer.

Home-services qualification criteria example

1. Service area: “Is the property located in one of our listed service areas?”
2. Service fit: “Is this request for plumbing repair or replacement?”
3. Timing: “Would you like service within the next seven days?”

Legal-intake qualification criteria example

1. New matter: “Are you calling about a new matter rather than an existing case?”
2. Practice fit: “Does the matter concern one of the services listed by the firm?”
3. Jurisdiction: “Did the matter occur in a state the firm serves?”

This is initial routing, not legal advice or a promise that the firm will accept the matter.

Test the full set

Test a qualifying answer sequence, a not-qualifying sequence, and an ambiguous answer. Confirm that the final result reaches the intended outcome.

For complete entry, criteria, and outcome recipes, see Start qualification from your greeting.